Warner Touts Technology Upgrades as Secretary of State
WHEELING -- West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner says his office has been transformed by technology upgrades instituted since he took office four years ago.
Warner said upgrading the office’s outdated mainframe computer system -- in place since 2002 -- first was necessary before new online projects could be fully implemented. One of these was the state’s One-Stop Business Portal.
“We have transformed this office in ways beyond measure,” Warner said. “It was in terrible shape when we came in. The cybersecurity and the electronics had not been kept up, and the integration technology had not been kept up with the times. I don’t know if there is not a piece of office that hasn’t been transformed and brought up to current standards.
"The most current and modern technology protocols now are in place. We are in excellent shape now. We are light years ahead of where we were when I took over in 2017.”
During his tenure, Warner said his office has implemented an online Enterprise Registration Licensing System for state business, and developed a new campaign finance reporting system for candidates.
A corporations database that utilized 2002 technology also was updated, according to Warner.
The secretary of state additionally launched the West Virginia One Stop Business Portal, for which it won a national award from the Scoop News Group. Warner said he is most proud of this accomplishment.
The portal is designed as one on-line spot where users wanting to start a business in West Virginia can link up with multiple state agencies on one visit, including the Secretary of State’s Office, the State Tax Department, Workforce West Virginia the West Virginia Division of Labor.
The West Virginia Small Business Development Center also operates through the site, and can provide coaching to those wanting to start a small business in West Virginia, according to Warner.
He acknowledges, though, not all of the participating agencies are fully using the portal. This is because the portal, as implemented by the Secretary of State’s Office, has such an updated technology platform that other state agency systems are not yet compatible, he explained. He expects this to change in the coming months.
As Warner faces re-election on Nov. 3 against Democrat Natalie Tennant, who preceded him in office. The one-stop portal project was begun under her tenure, and she has criticized Warner for not yet having the portal fully operational.
“What my predecessor had done (with the portal) wasn’t much better than going than going straight to the tax department of the labor department,” Warner said. “It was using technology dated in 2002 that was on a main-frame that couldn’t withstand the pressures of today’s high influx of information, data transfer, and security protocols.
“Now we have the foundation in place so those agencies can come on board as they are ready.”
Once the other agencies complete existing contracts with their computer vendors, they likely will be compatible with the new platform and this will bring all the agencies together for the portal, according to Warner.
He reports under his tenure the office also has removed about 195,000 names of inactive voters from voting rolls, while registering more than 202,000 new voters.
“The cleaning up of the voter registration list has been the foundation of cleaning up elections in West Virginia, providing integrity to the process, and making sure people have confidence in the elections system,” he said.
“If you don’t have clean voter roles, a lot of nefarious activities — voter fraud and irregularities — can occur from that, as well as inefficiencies. You can imagine all the activity that can come from bloated voter registration lists.”
Information provided by the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office says current staff have worked to improve West Virginia’s Voter List Maintenance Program; helped secure grants for county voting equipment upgrades and cybersecurity; increased accessibility in voting options for military and voters living with physical disabilities; updated Statewide Voter Registration System (SVRS) with geo-enabled elections; made GoVoteWV.com much more user friendly and accessible and launched online Portal for absentee ballot applications with tracking.
In 2018, the office developed and Implemented a new Election Night Reporting (ENR) system, and launched the nation’s first online voting app for military voters. A similar app to assist disabled citizens with voting was launched this year, according to the information.
Warner is proud of what his office has done to improve its technology over the past four years.
“In the elections arena, as well as the business and licensing arena, all of that has been transformed and brought up to current standards and safety protocols in the information technology arena,” Warner said.