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West Virginia Secretary of State Warner praises staff for successes during first six months

Secretary of State Kris Warner wants to use his office to help West Virginians and the public reach the state, or even federal, agency they need, with staff providing assistance in-person, through its regional offices, and using AI and virtual assistance. (Photo by Steven Allen Adams)

CHARLESTON — From visiting county clerks offices in the Potomac Highlands to flying into meetings at the White House, Secretary of State Kris Warner hears the same thing: the staff of the Secretary of State’s Office are key to the success of the office.

“I’ve got to tell you…in the last six months, the number of people that have come up to me and told me that they count on our office in West Virginia to guide their office when there’s an issue,” Warner said Thursday in an interview at his office in the State Capitol Building.

Warner — a former chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party, a former state director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development office, and most recently the executive director of the state Economic Development Authority — has now served as Secretary of State for more than six months. He was elected last November, succeeding his brother, two-term Secretary of State Mac Warner.

The Secretary of State’s Office is the smallest of the five elected Board of Public Works offices, with only 51 full-time employees as of June. But it has some of the most important responsibilities. The Secretary of State serves as West Virginia’s chief elections officer, chief business officer, and the keeper of the official records of state government.

While the staff is small, the Secretary of State’s Office is served by public employees with decades of experience helping counties and cities as they run elections, helping new businesses and non-profits register, and helping state agencies get their legislative rules filed on time. With a dedicated staff already in place, Warner said his transition to his new role as Secretary of State has been smooth.

“Mac assembled just a phenomenal team here,” Warner said. “We have a great staff here, which has made it a little bit easier for me.”

Having a knowledgeable staff allowed Warner to begin a 55-county tour in January to meet with county clerks and the staff to ascertain needs and build relationships. Warner just wrapped up visits with county clerks in Pendleton, Pocahontas, and Grant counties earlier this week. That leaves just one county left to visit: Webster County.

“The last one I’ve got to hit is Webster, and we’ll get to do that in August,” Warner said. “But you can do a tour like that and go see what the county clerks are thinking when you’ve got a staff like the one that we have here.”

Warner was able to also spend time with members of the West Virginia Legislature and advocate for election integrity bills. Warner said his office was able to get 60% of its requested bills passed earlier this year during the 2025 legislative session. Bills passed and signed into law by Gov. Patrick Morrisey include reducing the state’s multiple-document voter I.D. program down to allowing just one photo I.D.; clarifying that non-citizens cannot vote in state, county, and city elections; and prohibiting the use of ranked-choice voting.

“I think these bills were commonsense legislation that lined up with the citizens of West Virginia and what they want,” Warner said. “I think we now have a Legislature that represents the citizens of the state, and these commonsense election reforms just help streamline the process.”

Warner just over saw his first elections, with 110 municipalities holding their elections since he took office. Earlier this week, Warner joined 20 other state elections officials at the White House to discuss the issue of voter roll maintenance going into the 2026 midterm elections.

“We were just conversing on how important list maintenance is,” Warner said. “The White House was reaffirming how important list maintenance is, and so that’s why we were there, for a working session.”

With changes in state election laws and possible executive orders that could come from President Donald Trump, Warner and representatives of the 55 county clerks are meeting for a conference later in August to begin planning for the 2026 elections.

“Make no mistake about it, the chief election officers in the state are the 55 county clerks. We’re only here to help supply the tools they need to make them more efficient,” Warner said.

“You’ve got federal regulations, state regulations, new state laws, presidential executive orders, and we’re preparing for plan B and plan C. We’re going to be able to roll with it,” Warner continued. “We’re on top of the game.”

While the Secretary of State’s Elections Division is one of the smallest with just six employees, the bulk of the staff work in the Business Division, which registers profit and non-profit corporations and limited liability companies among other duties. To date, more than 8,000 new business registrations have been filed with the office.

The Secretary of State’s Office still provides in-person service to business owners and other registrants at its Capitol office, the One Stop Business Center in Charleston, and business hubs in Clarksburg and Martinsburg. But the office has also turned to artificial intelligence (AI) to better help those navigating the registration process or other services.

The office was recently awarded by the International Association of Commercial Administrators for SOLO (Single Online Location), an AI chatbot tool that can guide a person through registering a business and provide additional assistance.

“That’s just an AI tool that expedites business, customers’ needs, and is able to answer questions,” Warner said.

Another new tool the office uses is VirtualOneStop, an online tool that allows someone to make a virtual appointment with the Secretary of State’s Business Division and have a staff member provide one-on-one assistance through their computer.

“If you’re up at 11 o’clock at night, you can go on, click that you want to set up an appointment for next Thursday at noon when you have time off, and you can schedule that,” Warner said. “If you really like dealing with Sarah, for example, you can schedule that meeting, and she’ll call you…She can share a screen with you and she can show you exactly what you need to know.

“We’re glad that our offices are within a two-hour drive of almost of anybody in the state, but what’s more important is being able to do it from your flannel pajamas and your bedroom if you so choose 24/7. We’re just trying to make it as easy as possible.”

One goal Warner is working on is making the Secretary of State’s Office live up to the name, serving as a central intake – a secretary – to help direct the public to state agencies and even federal resources.

“Many times in state government, we’re getting asked questions that don’t have anything to do with the Secretary of State’s Office,” Warner said. “We’re not adding any new employees, but cross-training all of our workers in the West Virginia One Stop Business Center to say here is what the EDA does, here is what the USDA does, here is what the (Small Business Administration) does.

“We want to be a resource…people just don’t know where to go in state government,” Warner continued. “I think this office probably does it better than any other in state government, and that is just being able to connect people with the right people in state government that they need.”

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com.

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