by WV Secretary of State
Mac Warner
Even in times of crisis, leaders must act consistent with facts and law. The current pandemic is a fact, and state law still controls the way elections are conducted. As secretary of state and chief election officer for West Virginia, I have advised Gov. Justice how to run our Primary Election within the bounds of law, and at the same time protect the health and safety of our citizens.
Last Sunday’s editorial, “Only partial solution to voting woes,” presented three suggestions, one of which is not allowed by law, and the other two my office has already implemented to the extent possible.
First, the editorial objects to sending absentee applications to all registered voters and argues instead that everyone should just be mailed a ballot. West Virginia law requires absentee voters to provide a reason for voting absentee, which makes the direct sending of ballots proposal illegal.
The editorial states, “ … it is a little disconcerting to know there are excess applications for ballots floating around out there,” yet the author contends ballots be sent to everyone. I ask, Would you rather have extra applications or ballots “floating around out there”? Due to the pandemic and upon the advice of our 55 county clerks, we chose to mail applications to all registered voters so everyone in West Virginia can vote an absentee ballot should they so choose.
Moreover, nearly one-quarter of West Virginia voters are registered as “independent” or not affiliated with a major party. The absentee application process is the only method for independents to select a partisan ballot. Without an application, independents would be given non-partisan ballots containing only non-partisan contests such as judicial races, school boards and levies — major party presidential candidates would not be shown.
The editorial’s second suggestion was to “give serious consideration to expanding eligibility for mobile voting.” We have, in fact, given serious consideration to expanding mobile voting. That is why earlier this year, we advocated to the legislature the expansion of eligibility to voters with disabilities. Admirably, our legislature voted unanimously to expand electronic absentee voting from military and overseas citizens to voters with physical disabilities. A voter with a physical disability successfully cast the first electronic absentee ballot on March 27, becoming the first voter in the upcoming June 9, Primary Election. The editorial noted the mobile voting expansion is “fantastic,” and it is. Rest assured, West Virginia will remain at the leading edge of using technology to enfranchise voters. However, any further expansion of electronic absentee voting requires legislative action.
The third suggestion dealt with enfranchising the homeless. The author wrote, “we may see an uptick in homelessness or in people going to live with family or friends. This means a change in mailing addresses.” Back to the first point, that is exactly why clerks are sending absentee applications and not ballots. For those people who are homeless and have no mailing address, they maintain the same voting opportunities as they have always had, the ability to vote in person during early voting May 27-June 6, or on Election Day, June 9.
The editorial’s suggestion to go straight to sending ballots does not solve the homeless challenge, and it would open massive opportunities for voter impersonation and fraud. By the way, impersonating an absentee voter is a felony with a minimum penalty
of $10,000 and at least one year
in jail.
County clerks and my office have dealt with the facts, stayed within state law, examined our options and now we are vigorously executing a well-thought-out plan. Fairness calls for everyone to be sent an application; safety calls for all registered voters to be eligible to vote absentee; and election integrity calls for absentee ballots to be limited to live people who properly complete an application.
There are no woes to voting this year. There is a full solution. Options to vote in this upcoming 2020 Primary are more robust than ever in West Virginia.
Mac Warner was elected West Virginia’s 30th secretary of state in November 2016. He and his wife, Debbie, maintain a home in Monongalia County.
