CHARLESTON, W.Va. — After West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner announced another conviction for an election crime, he came on 580 Live Wednesday to remind citizens his office continues to work to prevent such kinds of fraud.
“Even in a great state like West Virginia you still have election fraud, irregularities, improprieties, and we will search those out, we will prosecute them,” Warner said.
A Mingo County Magistrate received a no contest plea by resident Judy Taylor following her submission of a false swearing on an official absentee ballot application during the 2020 general election.
Logan County Prosecutor, David Wandling, who was specially appointed to the case, alleges the person named on Taylor’s ballot “no longer resided in West Virginia making him ineligible to complete an absentee ballot application.” Taylor agreed to pre-trial diversion for a period of one year for her actions.
Warner said the case in point is a reminder it’s not just double voting, buying votes, or actions performed on ballots which may be considered more serious to some, but it’s the entire process that needs to be treated fairly, including crimes which are misdemeanors such as false swearing on ballots.
“The point of all of this is that the whole process needs to be free, fair, and clean,” he said.
Only registered citizens of West Virginia are eligible to vote in any election. If an eligible voter is qualified to vote via mail-in absentee ballot, the voter must personally fill out the application in their own handwriting, but Taylor signed it for an ineligible person no longer living in the state, then submitted it to the Mingo County Clerk’s Office.
Warner emphasized such actions will be held accountable and said they now have five times the number of investigators to respond to questionable or suspicious activity at polling places across the state.
“We’re taking election integrity very seriously, people know that, and hopefully that will serve as a deterrent from keeping these things from happening, and when people do decide that they’re going to tamper with the system or vote twice, or intimidate a voter, as soon as it gets reported we’re going to investigate and take care of the situation,” said Warner.
According to public records, the ineligible person living out of state which Taylor wrote in on the ballot application was mailed that application, but did not return it or vote in the state’s 2020 election.
Warner launched the See Something, Text Something reporting tool in 2021 to allow citizens to report an election complaint or any suspicious voting acts, and attach photos or videos using their mobile device by texting WV to 45995 and follow the prompts.