West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey signed S.B. 640 into law on March 2nd, making the Mountain State the first in the nation to pass the Protect Donors at Home Act (PDHA). The PDHA shields individual donors’ home addresses and employers from disclosure on public campaign finance reports. It also protects this sensitive information from exposure in public record requests and imposes penalties on state agencies for non-compliance.

“Our campaign finance laws never anticipated today’s world of doxing and political violence. Redacting addresses and employers from public databases is a commonsense reform to protect Americans at home and at work,” said Heather Lauer, CEO of People United for Privacy Foundation (PUFPF).

S.B. 640 was sponsored by Sens. Mike Azinger, Anne Charnock, Brian Helton, and Zack Maynard. A companion bill in the House, H.B. 5066, was championed by Delegate Daniel Linville with support from Delegates Josh Holstein, Michael Hornby, Jordan Maynor, and Jonathan Pinson. The Senate bill passed with overwhelming support in both the Senate (31-2) and House of Delegates (78-17) on the way to Governor Morrisey’s desk. Supporters of the bill said their goal was to protect West Virginians and their employers from intimidation.

“You should be able to donate to somebody you believe in, or to a cause you believe in, in this state and in this country without having to be concerned about this kind of unjust retribution,” Sen. Azinger said on the Senate floor.

The PDHA is a model policy developed by PUFPF to address the rise in political violence. Its provisions mirror the Federal Election Commission’s unanimous, bipartisan recommendation to redact street addresses from federal campaign donor databases. A few states, including California, Texas, and Wyoming, already require that home addresses not be published in public campaign finance databases.

“A number of states have moved to shield the home addresses of elected officials, but few have acted to protect their constituents. Governor Morrisey and Senators Azinger, Charnock, Helton, and Maynard deserve enormous credit for taking the lead in shielding donors from retribution,” said Alex Baiocco, PUFPF’s Director of Government Affairs.

West Virginia has long been at the forefront of efforts to protect donor privacy. In 2020, state lawmakers passed the Protect Our Right to Unite Act (known in other states as the Personal Privacy Protection Act) to penalize unlawful collection and disclosure of nonprofit donor and member lists. In 2023, West Virginia conducted a comprehensive overview of state campaign finance and lobbying laws that resulted in two additional successful reform bills to strengthen privacy protections for nonprofits and their supporters. Notably, Senator Azinger was the lead sponsor of those reform measures as well.

The passage of the PDHA, on top of those previous reforms, makes West Virginia one of the safest states in the nation for citizens to exercise their First Amendment rights to support candidates and causes without fear of retaliation. PUFPF wishes to extend our congratulations and appreciation to Governor Morrisey, as well as Senators Azinger, Charnock, Helton, and Maynard, and the entire West Virginia Legislature for acting to shield their constituents from harassment and intimidation.