According to West Virginia’s chief election official, it’s time to plan for fair and secure 2022 midterm elections.
Last week, WV Secretary of State Mac Warner announced the launching of his office’s new “See Something, Text Something!” election security campaign. The program leverages the technology of common communication devices to quickly and securely report allegations of wrongdoing directly into the WVSOS Investigations Division.
Warner said the text to report technology makes it easier than ever to report possible violations. Warner sees a double benefit of this program: on one hand the easy-to-use text to report technology will encourage people to report possible election fraud, while on the other, the accessibility and speed of the ability to report will deter offenders from engaging in errant behavior. With investigators situated around the state, the immediate transfer of information will allow them to get to work quickly.
According to Secretary Warner, possible violations of election law can be confidentially reported from any common texting device in three easy steps:
- Text “WV” to 45995 *Msg & Data rates may apply
- Click on the incoming text link
- Submit the Confidential Complaint
Once submitted, the complaint is received immediately by the WVSOS Investigations Division for action with a notice of receipt upon submission. Complaints made to the WV Secretary of State’s Office are kept confidential. By state law, employees of the WVSOS Office are not permitted to discuss any election investigation or complaint.
“In West Virginia, we’re continuing our effort in making it easy to vote and hard to cheat,” said Secretary Warner. “The general public plays a vital role in helping my office and our county clerks keep elections fair and secure.”
“The See Something, Text Something! campaign is another way for us to use today’s technology to increase voter confidence in the election process,” Warner said. “The higher the level of confidence, the higher voter participation is in our elections.”
Lee Durham, CEO of Global Mobile, the company providing the technology for the platform stated “We are very excited to support the security efforts of the West Virginia Secretary of State making reporting of election issues as simple as possible”
A national study released by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for the 2020 election cycle reported that West Virginia was one of the top ten states in the nation in voter confidence. Last month, Democracy Works, a national non-partisan organization, presented the WV Secretary of State’s Office with the organization’s “Voter Information Project VIP Partner Award” for effective communication with voters and transparency with the general public.
The “See Something, Text Something!” campaign kicked off today and will run through next year’s November 2022 General Election.