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PARKERSBURG -- Today is the last day to register to vote in West Virginia in the general election and the Wood County Clerk is urging people to register or make sure their registration is up to date.
Clerk Mark Rhodes said the office will be open today to deal with people who want to register.
"If they are concerned, they need to come to the office and bring the proof of who they are and their address to us and we can make sure we get them registered," he said.
People either need a state-issued driver's license or identification card, similar to a state-issued concealed weapon permit.
"It has to be something proving who they are and their address," Rhodes said.
He recently dealt with a man who moved to the area and meets the requirements to vote, but he has yet to get his driver's license changed over to West Virginia. However, he has utility bills with his local address so the clerk's office can use those bills to establish residency while using the driver's license to confirm identity, Rhodes said.
People can also register through the portal being offered through the office of the West Virginia Secretary of State throughout the day before it is shut down.
Rhodes said he has been receiving calls from people checking to make sure their registration, address and other information are current.
So far, the clerk's office has received 3,588 absentee ballots of the 5,745 sent out. People can still request an absentee ballot.
The completed ballots have to be back in the County Clerk's office by Oct. 28.
"They have a little time to request it, but they have to make sure it gets back to us," Rhodes said.
Early voting starts a week from Wednesday on Oct. 21 at the Black Annex in downtown Parkersburg as well as the satellite sites for the full 10 days leading up to Election Day. Those sites include the Mineral Wells Volunteer Fire Department, the Vienna Community Building (like they used for the Primary Election in June), the former Williamstown Elementary (the one that was closed once the new school building was completed and opened) and the new Blennerhassett Volunteer Fire Department at 5859 DuPont Road (instead of the Lubeck VFD where it was held in previous years).
Since the primary, a number of candidates have been able to secure positions on the ballot through petitions. These include non-partisan candidates Dave Foggin running for Wood County Commission and Mike Smith running for Mayor of Vienna as well as Libertarian candidate Brett Lee Sullins for District 5 for Parkersburg City Council.
There are some write-in candidates for Parkersburg mayor including Byron Meeks and Mark Meredith. Their names do not appear on the ballot, but Rhodes said a list of eligible write-in candidates will be available at each appropriate precinct.
''Someone would have to write in (the candidate's name) for it to count,'' he said.
The Wood County Clerk's Office can be reached at (304) 424-1850.
Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com