Tennant Forces Warner to Come Clean About Questionable Mobile Voting App

March 2, 2020

Charleston, W.Va.- Former Secretary of State and current candidate Natalie E. Tennant exposed a questionable mobile voting app that forced Secretary of State Mac Warner to admit there were vulnerabilities with his app causing him to abandon it. Tennant personally emailed Warner and publicly requested he answer questions from security experts.

During the 2018 elections, Warner implemented a Mobile Phone Voting App that allowed military and overseas citizens to use their cellphones to vote. But he failed to be transparent and honest about how it worked and whether or not the votes were secure, or the voter’s personal information was kept private.

Over the last three years, security experts have asked Warner and the company that made the app to answer concerns about the security of the system, but they refused.

Last month, MIT researchers released a report that said the voting app and its processes had a number of security vulnerabilities that could lead to hackers altering the ballot and revealing voter identity.

“It’s ridiculous that it has taken more than two years for Mac Warner to admit the mobile voting app that he was forcing on West Virginians was vulnerable to hacking and not secure to use for voting,” said Tennant. “He put the votes of our military members at risk.”

In October of 2018 during the election, there was an attempted hack on the voting app, but Warner kept that information quiet until a year later when the FBI began an investigation in October 2019. The investigation is ongoing.

His office has also given misleading information to the media about reports on the app.

 “It’s hard for the public to have confidence in our elections when we have a Secretary of State who hides facts and misleads the public,” Tennant said. 

NBC News has reported that Warner will now not use the voting app during the state’s primary election. The state will use a system that allows users to fill out a ballot online and return it via the postal service.

Tennant suggested using the online ballot delivery method in a press release last month.

“I am glad that Mac Warner took my advice and is using a system that I implemented for voters in 2012,” Tennant said. “We deserve to have a Secretary of State who is forthcoming and will protect our vote and keep our elections secure.”