CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Off-year primary elections usually produce the lowest voter turnout numbers in West Virginia and that may be the case again Tuesday. The county clerk in the state’s most populated says the turnout may not reach 20 percent.
“We’ll be lucky to do between 10 and 14 percent,” Kanawha County Clerk Vera McCormick said.
All 100 seats in the House of Delegates are up for grabs this year and half of the seats in the 34-member state Senate. There are also contested primaries in the state’s congressional races along with multiple candidates seeking their party’s nominations for U.S. Senate.
There may be more local issues that generate higher voter turnout in some areas. Contested school board elections dot the ballots while Wayne County residents have an $18 million school bond issue to vote for or against. Also a handful of counties are voting on the Sunday hunting issue.
McCormick said there are more reasons to vote than not to vote.
“People need to get out and vote,” she said. “That’s a right and privilege that we have.”