CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s Secretary of State maintains that elections in the Mountain State are secure after voter information corruption claims by President Donald Trump.

Secretary of State Kris Warner joined MetroNews “Talkline” Friday to unpack claims by President Trump that voter information for over 200 million Americans had been compromised by China, starting in the 2020 election. Trump addressed the nation Thursday night and said 18 states had experienced corruption by the Chinese government in regard to voter data.

“Our elections are safe, secure, fair, and honest,” Warner said. “We have 55 county clerks and about 8,500 poll workers that did a phenomenal job in the Primary Election, and we’re ready, less than four months away to conduct a general midterm election. So, there’s confidence in our elections and we’re very proud of that.”

Warner said his office has not heard from federal officials.

“I know the President mentioned 18 states, but West Virginia’s not been contacted by the White House, by anyone in the intelligence community; nobody from FBI, CIA, DNI (Director of National Intelligence), or any other federal agency alerting us to any real or existing threat for our upcoming election,” he said.

If the White House or other officials reach out to the Secretary of State’s office with “actionable intelligence,” Warner said the election division will investigate it. Warner praised his office, saying that other states consider West Virginia as a gold standard for election safety,

“People from all over the country look to us,” Warner said. “So, obviously, anything that comes our way that we can act on, we want to increase our election security even further. But until then, we’re going to stay the course.”

West Virginia’s elections are quite secure, Warner emphasized, because the state uses ballot-marking devices. He said that not only are ballots marked electronically, but those votes are also noted on paper.

“Every vote in West Virginia cast is backed up by a paper ballot,” Warner said. “You get to see that paper ballot and make sure that it is exactly who you intended to vote for.”

Because of this commitment to security, Warner said, the election officers in West Virginia will catch anything out of the ordinary. He said his office tracks previous elections and understands the typical numbers of who votes in each precinct. Additionally, he said that 10 days after the election, an audit occurs to confirm results through hand counting.

West Virginia has also been one of the states targeted by the U.S. Department of Justice over disclosure of voter information. A federal judge tossed out a DOJ lawsuit against West Virginia earlier this week over voter data.

Warner said Trump’s claim doesn’t change West Virginia’s stance on refusing to hand over voter information to the DOJ.

“West Virginia law says I’m not to share personal information — that’s social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, tied to birth dates, in some cases, cell phone numbers, email addresses, your home address,” Warner said. “Again, there would need to be actionable intelligence that is going to strengthen our election security before we do anything further.”

While he said he agrees with the mission — keeping people outside of the law from voting — but this isn’t the way to do it. Warner said voter information is personal, and it doesn’t need to be “floating around to vendors” in the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Traffic in the Capital City will soon have to adjust as the busiest bridge in West Virginia draws closer to undergoing a rehabilitation project.

The West Virginia Division of Highways recently awarded a $74.5 million contract for the rehabilitation of the Eugene A. Carter Bridge to Triton Construction. The bridge, also known as the Fort Hill Bridge, is located in the Capital City and carries Interstate-64 over the Kanawha River.

Around 100,000 vehicles travel across the bridge each day.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey joined state and local officials Thursday at Magic Island to officially announce the contract awarding. DOH officials have told MetroNews that crews will build two median crossovers this August, with the majority of that construction taking place at night and on weekends to minimize its impact on traffic. Official repair work is expected to begin in early 2027, with an anticipated conclusion next December.

DOH officials said everything should be “back to normal” by Spring 2028 under the current timeline.

Del. J.B. Akers, R-Kanawha, was on hand for the news conference. He emphasized that motorists will have to be flexible with their routes.

“We’ll have a little bit of an inconvenience while that’s going on,” Akers said. “This is going to be a huge project that impacts traffic from all over the East Coast, really.”

Issues have popped up at the Carter Bridge in recent years. The state DOH made emergency repairs to fix potholes that had popped up last summer, causing traffic delays. Triton Construction also repaired concrete, installed a waterproof membrane, and added a 2-inch layer of asphalt last October.

Minimizing the impact on motorists during this project has been a top priority, according to state Transportation Secretary Todd Rumbaugh.

“Our team at the Department of Transportation has worked tirelessly to phase this construction, so we minimize the disruptions on your daily commute and your businesses,” Rumbaugh said.

DOH officials said crews will work on one side of the bridge first, then crews will shift traffic and begin work on the other side. Motorists can stay up to date on the project by visiting the Division of Highways website to see the anticipated construction schedule.

Akers commended Morrisey and Rumbaugh for taking action now.

“For doing the hard thing, on a project like this, which is a maintenance and repair project,” Akers said. “They’re not kicking the can down the road for some other administration to deal with. They’re dealing with a major issue, right now, and this will be a generational project for this bridge. It’s going to prevent us from having to deal with this in the future.”

The governor mentioned the state had previously been given poor grades by national surveys on bridge safety. He said his administration is committed to improving bridges all across the state, starting with the heavily trafficked bridge in Charleston.

“This is a signal that we take bridge repair work very seriously,” Morrisey said. “When we inherit being an ‘F’ in bridges, I do not want that to be the case. We need safe bridges for our people, and I’m going to keep working every day to make sure that happens.”

Morrisey said in his year and a half as governor, the administration has been focused on “getting back to the fundamentals.”

“Site-selection and remediation, speed to build; cutting red tape faster, that’s what’s why I’m so excited about our one-stop shop permitting. (That’s) going to make things go even faster, and responsibly.”

Those efforts have been paying off, Morrisey said.

“When you have that kind of economic growth, that level of construction, it’s particularly important to make sure that your infrastructure is strong,” Morrisey said. “That’s really why we’re here today.”

Rumbaugh said the investment signals a commitment to the future of the Mountain State and its travelers.

“This rehab project represents a once-in-a-generation investment in our economic corridor,” Rumbaugh said. “It’s about much more than concrete, structural steels, and orange barrels. It’s about safety, reliability, and planning for the next 50 years.”