Warner to vote in Alexandria, questions DHS file access

Early voting event

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner plans to cast his ballot at Alexandria’s registrar’s office at 9 a.m. Friday as Virginia’s early voting period opens. He will appear with Rep. Don Beyer at 132 N. Royal St.

The event is the first of four campaign stops Warner has scheduled Friday and Saturday across Northern and Central Virginia, his campaign said. Warner encouraged Virginians to use early voting.

Voter-file allegations

During a Thursday media call, Warner said Department of Homeland Security agents accessed Virginia voter files to obtain residents’ personal information. He said the access violated state law, which he described as allowing voters to obtain only their own personal information.

Warner cited New York Times reporting about federal access to voter data in Virginia, California and other states. He said he expects lawsuits and is especially concerned that federal actions or claims about elections could discourage people from voting.

Warner said he has asked business, military and intelligence leaders, particularly former officials, to encourage the public to pause before accepting claims that could deter voting.

Mail voting

Warner also addressed the Supreme Court’s Monday rejection of the Trump administration’s effort to restrict mail-in voting. He said the executive order and a related Postal Service rule would have disrupted voting for military service members, Virginians living abroad and older voters.

Warner joined a friend-of-the-court brief opposing the order. He said the court’s decision allows mail-in voting to proceed and again encouraged voters to cast ballots early.