Wood County Commissioners Jim Hamric and Jimmy Colombo went over registered voter numbers Monday with County Clerk Joe Gonzales as the Commission oversaw testing of the county’s voting systems. Early voting starts Wednesday at the Judge Black Annex in Parkersburg. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

PARKERSBURG – Early voting in Wood County will begin Wednesday at the Judge Black Annex in Parkersburg.

The Wood County Commission on Monday oversaw the testing of the county’s voting equipment conducted by County Clerk Joe Gonzales and IT Director Chris Whittaker.

“We came before the commission and gave them all of the information of all the registered voters and information on the test ballots,” Gonzales said. “The IT Department runs that and gives a report showing everything matched up with the registered Republicans, Democrats and every other voter.

“After that we have to zero that computer out (and run a report showing there were no votes listed on the computer) to get it ready for May 12 (Primary Election Day). We are now ready to go.”

Wood County has 55,481 registered voters. Of those, 26,401 are Republican, 12,175 are Democrat and 16,905 are non-partisan.

Wood County Commission President Blair Couch, standing, looks on as Wood County IT Director Chris Whittaker conducts a test of the county’s voting systems. Early voting will start Wednesday at the Judge Black Annex in Parkersburg. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

Based on a percentage of the registered voters in Wood County, there were 11,033 test ballots ran through the system covering the 145 races that appear somewhere in the county, based on voting precincts, city council districts, county commission districts, school board districts and more.

“We have to make sure every precinct that we ran through with test ballots matched up, and they did,” Gonzales said.

Early voting starts Wednesday at the Judge Black Annex and will continue through Saturday, May 9. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays.

Community voting sites will be open Tuesday, May 5, to Saturday, May 9, at the Lubeck Volunteer Fire Department, Mineral Wells Volunteer Fire Department, Vienna Community Building and Williamstown City Building. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Any registered Wood County voter may vote at any early voting site.

“We encourage everyone to do their research and get out to vote, early if they can,” Gonzales said. “We will see you at the polls.”

If voting on Primary Election Day, May 12, people will have to go to their assigned precinct. If people have questions about where their precinct is, they can call the Wood County Clerk’s Voters Office at 304-424-1860.

Gonzales told commissioners the county needs 307 poll workers and had that number for a while, but some have had to pull out.

“We have several people who (called) off for health issues or something came up with their family.” Gonzales said.

They need six people and have been making calls to see if they can fill those positions up. They are reaching out to the county Republican and Democratic parties.

“They are very helpful in this process,” Gonzales said.

The county needs Democrats, people with no party affiliation and independents, he said, adding there could be a need for more Republicans if additional vacancies arise with illness, emergencies and more on Election Day.

People interested in being poll workers can contact Gonzales at the County Clerk’s office to see where they can be used.

The County Clerk’s office will offer a two-hour make-up training session for poll workers on May 2 at the courthouse.

Poll workers are paid $25 for training and $175 for working on Election Day. Poll commissioners who are responsible for delivering the ballots to the courthouse are paid $185.

“You do have to have a photo ID in order to vote,” Gonzales said. “They will match up your voter ID information to make sure you live where you say you live and you are in the right precinct.

“If you are in the wrong precinct, they will send you to the right precinct.”

In other business:

– The commission opened bids for the demolition/cleanup of property at 33 Homewood Road, Washington, W.Va. The bids were $5,500 from Tim Graham Excavating in Parkersburg and $6,900 from Empire Builders in Parkersburg. The bids were given to Compliance Officer Levi Brady for review and a recommendation.

– The commission unanimously agreed to give $5,000 to the Boys and Girls Club of Parkersburg after the organization’s leadership came before the commission recently asking for financial assistance for their programs.

Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com