MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Unofficial election results in Morgantown show 7.8% of registered voters cast ballots in the municipal election Tuesday.
In all council races, including two uncontested wards, 1,517 votes were cast. Even during the 2017 elections, when all seven seats on city council were contested, 2,707 ballots were cast. In 2019, 1,630 registered voters made their voices heard.
The winners in the contested races were Patrick Hathway in the First Ward, Ixya Vega in the Third Ward, Danielle Trumble in the Fifth Ward, Dave Harshbarger won in the Sixth Ward and Brian Butcher won the race for the council seat in the Seventh Ward.
By a vote of 945 to 495 voters approved a referendum that will change city council terms from 2-year concurrent terms to 4-year staggered terms. Some of the benefits of a staggered four-year term are stability, is consistent with West Virginia’s larger cities, and elections are still held every two years, sometimes electing a majority of city council.
The election is scheduled to be certified on May 3 at 10 a.m.