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CHARLESTON -- Tuesday would have been primary election day in West Virginia, but the coronavirus pandemic forced state officials to move the primary to June 9.
As the date fast approaches, deadlines to register to vote and turn in absentee voting requests are just around the corner.
May 19 is the last day to register to vote or update voter registration information to vote in the June 9 primary. Voters can contact their county clerk about registering to vote or go to GoVoteWV.com to register or update registration online. The county clerk receives the information and sends the voter a new voter registration card.
In-person early voting starts May 27, and continues through June 6, excluding Sundays. Early voting is available during normal business hours during the week and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Voters will be able to vote in person again June 9.
Speaking by phone Thursday, Secretary of State Mac Warner said he has been traveling across the state visiting county clerks and seeing what local election officials need. On Wednesday, Warner was in Wheeling supervising the distribution of personal protective equipment and hand sanitizer to all 55 county clerks in time for early voting.
"It has been going extremely well. I'm very pleased with where we are at. (County clerks) are on top of this," Warner said. "This election is underway and it is going smoothly, all things considered. I'm very proud of the clerks and their staffs. They've all been working hard and working overtime to stay on top of this."
The coronavirus has wreaked havoc with primary elections in several states. Ohio was supposed to hold the primary on March 17, but its Legislature tried to transition to mail-in absentee ballots with a month's notice. In Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers tried to move in-person voting to June one day before the state's April 7 primary, but the state's Supreme Court reversed his order.
In West Virginia, Gov. Jim Justice issued an executive order April 1 moving the May 12 primary to June 9. On March 19, Warner issued an emergency rule allowing for the coronavirus to be allowed as an excuse to request an absentee ballot.
"I'm very proud here West Virginia in relation to the other states and some of the issues they have had," Warner said. "I've talked to their secretaries of state and they've explained to me their lessons learned and best practices. We're bringing those to bear here in West Virginia."
Every registered voter in the state was mailed an application to request an absentee ballot. Those who wish to vote absentee for the June 9 primary and haven't received an application can go to wvsos.gov to download and mail in an application to their local county clerk. The deadline to request an absentee ballot for all voters is June 3. Absentee applications received after June 3, even if postmarked, cannot be accepted by law.
Absentee ballots can be mailed in and hand delivered to county clerks by Monday, June 8. The deadline for absentee ballots to be received is Wednesday, June 10, without a postmark, and absentee ballots postmarked by June 9 can still be accepted as long as they arrive at county clerk offices by June 15, when canvassing starts.
As of end of the day Wednesday, 220,660 absentee ballots have been requested -- representing 18 percent of registered voters -- and 94,532 absentee ballots have already been mailed back to county clerks. Of the state's 1.2 million registered voters, 7.7 percent of registered voters have cast absentee ballots so far.
The Secretary of State's Office has been working with county clerks to help recruit additional poll workers to help process absentee ballots as part of Operation: Elective Service. The program's goal is to recruit poll workers who are not in the high-risk category for contracting COVID-19, which included people over the age of 60 and people with chronic health issues.
Those wishing to be poll workers can visit wvsos.gov and fill out an application. Pay for poll workers varies by county but can range from $175 to $240, with workers being paid for training and for work on Election Day. Warner said some states, such as Florida, had thousands of poll workers not show up for their primary election, though he doesn't see that same problem happening in West Virginia.
"I have been pleased with the response, and clerks tell me that they're in good shape for poll workers, but you never know what will happen on Election Day," Warner said. "Our clerks are building a wait list for extra poll workers. Anyone wanting to be a poll worker, please contact your local county clerk and give them your name. They'll gladly put you on the list so if they have those emergency situations, they'll have those extra people to turn to."
Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com.
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Key Dates to Remember
* Last day to register to vote or update voter registration for primary: Tuesday, May 19
* Early voting (excluding Sundays): Wednesday, May 27-Saturday, June 6
* Last day to request an absentee ballot: Wednesday, June 3
* Last day to hand-deliver absentee ballot to county clerk: Monday, June 8
* Primary Election Day: Tuesday, June 9
* Last day for absentee ballot to be accepted without postmark: Wednesday, June 10
* Last day for absentee ballots to be accepted with June 9 postmark: Monday, June 15