CHARLESTON, W.Va. — More than 728,000 ballots were cast across West Virginia in the 2016 General Election, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
The state had a 57.2 percent voter turnout, which surpassed the 2012 General Election’s 54.96 percent, according to unofficial county-by-county election results.
The county with the highest voter turnout was Lewis County with 68.96 percent. Preston County came in a close second with 68.73 percent.
Other counties with a more than 60 percent turnout included: Barbour, Braxton, Doddridge, Grant, Hardy, Harrison, Jefferson, Marshall, Mineral, Ohio, Pendleton, Pleasants, Pocahontas, Preston, Putnam, Randolph, Tucker, Upshur and Wood.
McDowell County had the lowest voter turnout out with just 36.24 percent. About 6,300 of nearly 17,500 registered voters in McDowell made it out to the polls.
A few other countries with a low turnout were: Calhoun with 45.33 percent, Logan with 45.8 percent, Mingo with 47.25 percent and Wyoming with 44.81 percent.
A record number of voters took advantage of the 10-day early voting period in West Virginia this election. More than 220,000 ballots were cast, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
“I sincerely thank all local election officials, Secretary of State staff and our statewide partners for their work in making this election run smoothly,” Secretary of State Natalie Tennant said in a news release. “And thank you to the hundreds of thousands of West Virginians who exercised their right to vote.”