By Kristen Uppercue
Long before Mac Warner became West Virginia’s 30th secretary of state, his parents set an example of political and community involvement. His father, who served in World War II, passed this dedication to service on to all six of his children, most of whom have served in the Army or Navy.
Warner graduated from the U.S. Military Academy and the West Virginia University College of Law before receiving his master’s degree in international law from the University of Virginia. He then spent 23 years serving in the U.S. Army, five of which were spent in Afghanistan, before retiring as a lieutenant colonel. Upon being elected secretary of state in 2016, Warner had the goal of incorporating his family’s dedication to service into the position.
Whether a West Virginian needs help starting a business, running for office or registering to vote, Warner and his staff take pride in running similar to a business, focusing on efficiency, positive customer service and keeping West Virginians first. This focus has allowed West Virginia’s smallest constitutional office to lead the nation in many areas surrounding the election system and small business support.
“So many times, you hear about West Virginia being last in things or at the bottom of lists, but we’re actually leading the nation in a number of areas,” says Warner.
Moving at the Speed of Business
When Warner entered office, he began streamlining processes and limiting the amount of hoops business owners in the state had to jump through.
There is a lot of paperwork required to register a business, but the process is now completely digital, eliminating the need for thousands of filings each year and opening up the process for even more potential business owners. Warner plans to incorporate a similar process this summer in other areas, including nonprofit, notary and trademarking.
“We’re taking out the middle person and streamlining the entire process,” he says. “This has reduced the workforce in this office by about 15 percent. We’re doing more with less.”
One of the most effective improvements to West Virginia’s business arena is its new business portal, a multi-agency initiative that provides a single point of entry for business owners to access state services and complete the requirements for operation. Coined the West Virginia One Stop Business Center, the portal was launched during Warner’s first year in office. Now in its third year, it houses five state agencies under one roof: the Secretary of State’s Office, Department of Labor, State Tax Department, Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and WorkForce West Virginia. This center was the first in the nation to combine such a large number of government agencies, according to Warner.
While business owners would have had to travel from building to building to meet with government agencies in the past, today all the services they need are located inside one building. Two regional business hub offices are also available in Clarksburg and Martinsburg to offer local resources to business owners in those areas.
“It’s never been easier to start a business in West Virginia,” says Warner.
To make the process even simpler, Warner, alongside the SBDC, has implemented a one-stop resource kiosk that presents the SBDC’s services and resources to business owners, including free business coaching, workshops, loan programs and available tax incentives.
To encourage young people under the age of 30 to stay and open businesses in the state, as well as support new career paths for veterans, the Young Entrepreneur waiver and the Boots to Business waiver have been implemented to waive the annual business registration fee.
“It’s more of an invitation and a desire that we want you here,” says Warner. “We want those good ideas and those energetic people to start their businesses in West Virginia.”
Every Voter Counts
When Warner took office in 2016, there was a national discussion taking place about election meddling and hacking. While new protocols have been set in place to ensure West Virginia’s election system remains secure, Warner’s office has also developed an educational presentation on Russian election meddling, featuring real-world examples of misinformation, disinformation and commonly used social media tactics.
Warner has used the presentation to educate West Virginians on vetting the information they see online. He has also taken it around the nation to inform other Americans. In addition, his office has worked with the West Virginia Legislature to invest more than $14 million in new election equipment and information technology security programs throughout the state. The funding, nearly half of which was provided through the federal Help America Vote Act, was distributed between 23 West Virginia counties for equipment purchases, technology upgrades and Americans with Disabilities Act improvements to polling locations.
Along with keeping West Virginia elections secure, Warner has also made it a goal to ensure all citizens can vote in these elections—especially those serving overseas. He implemented the nation’s first voting application in 2018 for military voters and others who are living outside of the country. The inspiration behind this initiative came from Warner’s experience in Afghanistan, where he saw firsthand the hardships those who serve face in sending and receiving mail, let alone absentee ballots.
“There was one, six-month period when I was in Afghanistan where our mail either came under attack or the helicopters turned around,” he recalls. “For six months, I went without being able to mail something back to the states.”
The electronic application was piloted in 2018 and incorporated into the general election, allowing those overseas a much simpler and more secure way to ensure their vote was counted. In March, Warner’s office chose the mobile voting platform Omni-Ballot Online to be used during the state’s primary election to provide accessible solutions to veterans and citizens with physical disabilities. The platform was used by 180 voters in 26 countries in West Virginia’s 2020 primary election.
When the state’s traditional May primary was moved to June this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Warner immediately moved to offer absentee voting to all registered voters, and more than 250,000 people requested mail-in ballots.
“You often hear every vote counts,” he says. “We’re sending the message out to people in West Virginia that every voter counts. We want to hear from every one of you.”
