If you ask Washington State Secretary of State Kim Wyman how she plans to respond to the request from the Trump administration for our Washington State voter records, you are likely to get a reply that says she will protect private information, but will provide voter information in the state’s voter database.

There are two aspects of this issue, and Kim Wyman is responding to only one of them.

Her response is focused on the “transaction.” There is a request to her office, and there are laws and protocols that govern the response. There are consequences if her office does not comply.

The other point of view, which she is not responding to, is values based. Those values are the independence of states, the protection of the people in the state from federal intrusion and protection of state citizen privacy. To enforce these values, especially state citizen privacy, may call for not following the laws and protocols regarding these requests, particularly if that request is made for nefarious or not-above-board purposes.

The request from the Kris Kobach Voter Integrity Commission strongly suggests this request for state voting records could result in voter suppression, “cleansing” of the voter records (which disenfranchised thousands of voters in Florida during the Al Gore vs. George W. Bush election — where Bush won Florida by around 500 votes, and consequently became our 43rd president). They may be used to “prove” that Trump won the popular vote, which is a completely false narrative.

Kim Wyman needs to protect our values as citizens who want our privacy respected and as Washingtonians who do not support the Voter Integrity Commission or its stated charter. Our values are a greater concern than the rules that govern compliance with normal voting record requests. This request is not normal. We should not use normal procedures or policies to respond to the request. Kim Wyman should decline and make a public statement to this effect.

— Kevin Jones