West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner has removed 36,635 dead or departed voters from state’s election rolls during his first 45 days on the job.
A Republican, Warner began working with the state’s 55 county clerks almost immediately upon taking office on Jan.16 and was able to report March 3 that outdated voter lists are being set right.
“Since I took office in January, West Virginia county clerks have canceled tens of thousands of outdated voter registrations,” Warner said in a statement. “I applaud the continued effort by the county clerks to ensure an all-encompassing voter registration list maintenance process ensuring an accurate and up-to-date voter file.”
Warner’s office noted that using updated technology and tools, elections experts have estimated that up to ten percent of the state’s voters, or more than 100,000 registered voters, may have changed residency or passed away and may need to be removed from current voter rolls. Those status updates include voters who have moved from their initial registered address, have died, or have duplicate registration records on file.
In 2016, over 300,000 postcards were mailed through the Election Reporting Information Center system to dead voters or those already registered to vote elsewhere, telling them they were legally eligible to vote, the Weirton Daily Times reported.
The West Virginia Secretary of State’s office said it would continue to work to correct the voter rolls and expects more to be removed in the coming months.
“I’m dedicated to the partnership and cooperation with our county clerks to achieve clean and accurate elections that begin with updated voter registration files. Our team will remain focused on assisting county clerks with every tool possible from the Secretary of State’s Office,” Warner said. “My motto is ‘Moving at the speed of business,'” he added.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.