Tennant for secretary of state

After interviewing both candidates and much deliberation, The Dominion Post is endorsing Natalie Tennant for secretary of state.

Both candidates were able to point to successes during their respective terms, and we see where each can — and should — make improvements.

Mac Warner has our respect for doing his best to coordinate elections during a pandemic. We don’t agree with all his decisions, but we do recognize he was faced with a difficult task. We still believe the secretary of state and county clerks should have mailed absentee ballot applications to registered voters for the general election, same as the primary. Warner insists all the county clerks asked him not to take that approach, but multiple county clerks have mailed out applications anyway. Monongalia County has put absentee ballot applications as an insert in The Dominion Post. The voting portal, while a good idea, has had issues and isn’t for everyone. The mailed applications worked, and West Virginians have been vocal about wishing that method had been used again.

Tennant would like to see some of the elements of mail-in voting become enshrined in law. She sees a future for no-excuse absentee voting and for the use of ballot drop boxes. This would increase access for people who are uncomfortable sending their ballots through the mail but don’t have the ability to hand-deliver their ballots to the county clerk’s office.

Warner points to a one-stop business hub he built in Charleston as his greatest success. It’s a good idea: Get all the agencies a new business needs to register with in one place so owners don’t have to run all over Charleston. And he’s using expedited processing fees to pay for the building, so tax dollars aren’t spent. But, HB 2878, passed in 2015, instructed the secretary of state to create “a web-based business portal to facilitate interaction between government and businesses,” and Warner created a physical location instead.

Tennant had started an online business portal that the majority of businesses were using to file their paperwork — without fees. By creating a physical building, Warner still forces business owners to travel to Charleston, which can be a deterrent, especially to out-of-state individuals who wish to bring their business to West Virginia.

When Tennant was in office, she created a waiver that allowed veterans to start their own business without the start-up fee and first four years of filing fees. If she takes office again, she’d like to see that waiver extended to military spouses, because the transient nature of military families can make it difficult for service members’ spouses to find work. She has plans already to increase ease of access, including once again removing transaction fees in the business portal and creating an online chat function on the secretary of state website so people can more easily communicate with the secretary’s office.

Warner came to the table with his accomplishments; Tennant came to the table with her accomplishments and a list of improvements and the plans to do them. She is forward thinking: Looking at what needs done now and what can be made better for the future.

Tennant has experience, passion and vision, which is why we endorse her for secretary of state.