The West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office is keeping a close eye on election day issues across the Mountain State.
Secretary of State Natalie Tennant says there were very few problems during the morning hours of voting. She says the Hurricane Sandy impact has actually helped her office.
“We have tried to trouble-shoot any potential problems,” she said on the MetroNews Morning News. “There’s been extra communication.”
The left over effects of Hurricane Sandy’s blizzard in West Virginia have created situations. Ten precincts have been moved in five counties. Although it’s unusual, it’s not unheard of.
“Not to this degree, but in any given election you may have a water break or something and it states in code what you need to do,” Tennant said. “You just place on the door the change of precinct.”
Tennant says they’ve also had plenty of poll workers show up on time, which they feared early would be a problem. Many of the poll workers in the higher elevations may have been snowed in or out of power for days. Clerks across the state have been working to make sure they had enough backups and alternate poll workers to complete the task.
The changes have been unusual in some locations. The polls are open at Phillip Barbour High School. However, instead of being in the building, they’ve set up in a National Guard Tent in the schoolyard, powered by a generator and a heater inside.