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PARKERSBURG -- The primary election for the State of West Virginia and in Wood County will be held May 14, 2024, the Wood County Clerk said.
The county will have 43 voting locations open on Election Day to cover 71 voting precincts, said Wood County Clerk Joe Gonzales.
The county recently paid around $8,000 to replace a number of batteries in the county's 76 voting machines.
"We had to make sure everything is in working order as we get prepared for the primary in May," he said, adding they charge the batteries in the machines every three months to make sure they are in working order.
"That is what keeps the life of the battery longer," Gonzales said. "We checked them (the voting machines) to make sure they are all in working order."
The county will have early voting at the Judge Black Annex at 315 Market St. from May 1 to May 11.
Community early voting sites will be open May 7-May 11 at the Williamstown City Building, 100 W. Fifth St., Williamstown; the Vienna Community Building, 609 29th St., Vienna; the Mineral Wells Volunteer Fire Department, 1695 Elizabeth Pike, Mineral Wells; and the Lubeck Volunteer Fire Department, 1340 Harris Highway, Parkersburg.
All the early voting sites will be open Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The county will take absentee ballot applications Jan. 1 through May 8.
The deadline for voter registration is April 23.
Candidates can file to run for office from Jan. 8 through Jan. 27. Jan. 27 is a Saturday and personnel will be available at the Clerk's Office from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. that day. Candidates can file by mail as long as the paperwork being sent in is postmarked by Jan. 27.
Candidates for a city office file with the city in Parkersburg, Vienna and Williamstown. County offices file with the Wood County Clerk's Office. State/national offices file with the West Virginia Secretary of State's Office.
In the county, there have been four magistrate positions for a number of years. During this election, there will be five magistrate positions open, Gonzales said.
"There will be a new position in this race," he said.
Absentee ballots will be mailed out from March 29 through May 8. Returned ballots have to be postmarked May 14 to be counted.
Poll worker training will be April 15-19.
The clerk's office is looking for volunteers to help work the voting locations. The positions are paid.
"We are always in need of poll workers," Gonzales said. "We would love to have anyone interested in being a poll worker."
People can call the Wood County Clerk's Office at 304-424-1850 for more information.
Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com