From the Natalie Tennant Campaign:
Charleston, W.Va. — There are only three weeks until West Virginia voters can begin requesting an absentee mail in ballot. It’s time Secretary of State Mac Warner communicates his intentions on whether he will allow county clerks to mail the applications to voters as was done for the primary election.
In an interview with a Martinsburg radio station on July 9, Warner said he would go back to what was done before in state law that requires someone who wants a ballot to apply for it.
That is a significant change from the process used in the primary election when all registered voters were mailed absentee ballot applications.
“Warner is leaving voters in the dark and pulling the rug out from under them by changing the way they voted in the primary election which is causing voter confusion,” said Secretary of State candidate Natalie Tennant.
“With more than 250,000 voters requesting ballots in the primary, it is clear West Virginia voters embraced absentee voting by mail. They are now expecting to be mailed the application.”
Tennant said Warner should request increased funding from Congress for county clerks to conduct accessible, fair and secure elections in November.
“Our county clerks have done a herculean job during this crisis and they deserve to have the resources to administer elections,” Tennant said. “We should be requesting more funding from Congress or use more money from the CARES Act to provide the resources for both vote by mail and traditional in-person voting at precincts.”
At a time when more states have committed to mailing out absentee ballot applications and in some cases, the ballot for the general election, West Virginia should not be changing from the way voters cast ballots in the primary.
