CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Voters head to the polls Tuesday for elections in more than 100 municipalities in West Virginia.
Polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in 101 municipalities.
Residents will be voting for mayors, council members, clerks, recorders and other local officials.
In just 5 months, the state received more than 16,400 newly registered voters. About 1,200 of those new voters are high school students.
“These new registrations are from real live voters who are concerned about their communities, their state and their country,” said Secretary of State Mac Warner in a news release. “I’m working with county clerks all over West Virginia to increase voter confidence in our election process. It appears our hard work is paying off.”
Donald Kersey, elections director for the Secretary of State’s Office, said they’re expecting a high voter turnout Tuesday due to the past presidential election.
“Our most recent presidential election has encouraged folks who may not traditionally be as involved civically to get out to register to vote, so they can participate,” Kersey said.
Early voting numbers, he said, were at an all time high this year.
The Secretary of State’s Office has pushed voter registration in recent years and has worked to clean up voter rolls. Kersey said county clerks and others have also made a good push to encourage young people to vote.
“Inspire West Virginia actually has gone into high schools with our field staff, county clerks and various other election officials to encourage students to register to vote,” he said.
Most municipalities, though, still experience less than a 20 percent voter turnout. Kersey said they’re working to change that.
“I think that there’s a belief that, again, not just in the state but in also in the United States that one vote doesn’t just make a difference, but it does,” he said.
Voting for your local officials means voting for those who will make important decisions for your town, Kersey said.
“Those are the folks that are going to pass ordinances that affect you directly,” he said.
Municipal elections are taking place this year in 48 of West Virginia’s 55 counties.