The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia Bill 4864 mandates public access to cast vote records, bans foreign-made voting systems, and requires random equipment inspections
Last action · January 28, 2026: To House JudiciarySponsors: Jim Butler and 6 others
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What This Bill Proposed
House Bill 4864 defines election data records and makes them fully accessible to registered voters under the Freedom of Information Act without exemptions. The measure bans the Secretary of State from approving voting systems with foreign ties, requires random annual physical and code inspections of all voting equipment to check for wireless capabilities, and tasks county sheriffs with investigating election fraud allegations.
Registered voters gain immediate right of access to cast vote records and election management system logs, while county election offices face strict new restrictions on voting machine hardware and mandatory hand-counting procedures if non-compliant systems are rejected.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Registered voters of West Virginia
Registered voters gain the right to obtain unedited cast vote records and election data under public records laws without standard FOIA exemptions.
County clerks
County clerks must preserve cast vote records for five years and provide election data upon request to registered voters.
County sheriffs
County sheriffs are mandated to thoroughly investigate voter fraud and illegal voting allegations brought by qualified voters.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can request cast vote records under this bill?
How long must county clerks preserve cast vote records?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
4 actions- Jan 28, 2026HouseCommitteeTo House Judiciary
- Jan 28, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced in House
- Jan 28, 2026HouseCommitteeTo Judiciary
- Jan 28, 2026HouseIntroducedFiled for introduction
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
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Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Mandatory Preservation and Public Disclosure of CVRs
The legislation removes standard FOIA exemptions for election data and explicitly mandates a five-year retention period for unedited cast vote records.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy65Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment15Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz50Current news / social attention level
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