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West Virginia election officials ready for Election Day

Early voting shatters previous records

(Graphic by Steven Allen Adams)

CHARLESTON — The elections division staff of the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office and the state’s 55 county clerks are prepared for Election Day today, while also taking a breath after a record-breaking early voting period.

According to data released Monday morning by the Secretary of State’s Office, 310,412 West Virginians cast their votes during the early voting period that began Oct. 23 and ended Saturday, representing nearly 26% of the state’s more than 1.2 million registered voters.

The 310,412 early votes cast is also a nearly 23% increase from the total number of early votes cast in the 2020 general election, which was 253,243.

“I would say it certainly beat it by more than 50,000 voters,” said Donald “Deak” Kersey, deputy secretary of state and chief of staff. “That’s a significant increase, so I would say we shattered all the records.”

Registered Republican voters led the way in early voting, casing 143,549 ballots during the 11-day early voting period, followed by 91,976 Democratic voters, 60,194 unaffiliated voters, 1,547 Libertarian Party voters, 329 Mountain Party voters, and 12,801 voters registered with other minor parties.

“Everything that we’ve heard from the counties — and we’ve been in all 55 counties — is that things seemed to go very well and smoothly, and voters were happy,” Kersey said. “There were lines during early voting because of the high turnout, but I didn’t hear anything longer than half an hour.”

The COVID-19 pandemic was a factor during 2020 primary and general elections, with the primary election being moved from May to June and all registered voting being allowed to request an absentee ballot regardless of excuse. By the time of the general election on Nov. 2, 2020, there were 141,233 votes cast by absentee ballot.

Rules requiring a valid excuse to request an absentee were put back in place following the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Secretary of State’s Office, 26,299 absentee ballots have been requested for the 2024 general election and as of Monday, 21,560 absentee ballots have been returned to county clerks – a nearly 85% decrease from 2020. Kersey said that’s about average for past elections pre-COVID.

“Absentee voting was about 21,000 or so, which is more on par with what we’ve seen in years prior to COVID. Of course, COVID was an anomaly,” Kersey said. “The turnout for absentee voting in 2020 was made possible by a statutory relaxation by the Governor’s Office, with COVID being a medical excuse that authorized everybody in the state to vote by mail if they chose.”

Voters registered with the Democratic Party led the way in absentee ballot cast to date, with 9,493 absentee ballots returned, followed by Republicans returning 7,989 absentee ballots, 3,269 absentee ballots returned by unaffiliated voters, 71 absentee ballots returned by 71 Libertarian Party voters, 23 absentee ballots returned by Mountain Party voters, and 801 absentee ballots returned by minor party voters.

Now, state and county election officials are turning their attention to Election Day, with county polling precincts opening at 6:30 a.m. and closing at 7:30 p.m., though voters still in line at 7:30 p.m. will still be allowed to vote. Kersey said that the Elections Division and all county clerks are ready.

“The counties are doing well,” Kersey said. “We worked with the counties across the state and the media to get out the word to get poll workers to sign up and that seems to be largely successful…so it looks like the counties are ready. We’re going to have 18 staff and investigators — that includes (Secretary of State Mac Warner) traveling the state around on Election Day to make sure that the counties have what they need and to offer any assistance.”

Voters can go to the Secretary of State’s GoVoteWV.com to view sample ballots, find their polling precincts, learn about the acceptable forms of photo and non-photo identification required to show at polling locations, track absentee and provisional ballots, file an election complaint, and more.

Kersey reminded voters to bring some form of acceptable photo or non-photo I.D. Acceptable photo I.D. includes a driver’s license, a student I.D. card, or a concealed carry permit. Non-photo I.D. options include voter registration cards; Medicare and Social Security cards; birth certificates; hunting and fishing licenses; SNAP, TANF, and Medicaid cards; a bank or debit card; utility bills and bank statements; health insurance cards; and any federal or state documents with the voter’s name.

Kersey also said to be aware of other rules. While there is no statewide prohibition against phones in polling locations, some counties have rules prohibiting having phones out. Also, wearing clothing supporting candidates on the 2024 ballot or their political slogans in a polling place is prohibited.

When the polls close, staff of the county clerks’ offices across the state will begin uploading unofficial election results to the Secretary of State’s Election Night Reporting System.

“There are only two official sources for election results,” Warner said in a statement Monday. “The general public should rely on their County Clerk and the WV Secretary of State’s Office for unofficial results on election night as they are made available. Any discrepancies between the Secretary of State’s website and third-party reporting sites should be resolved by considering only the Secretary of State’s website.”

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com

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