CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Longtime Kanawha County Clerk Vera McCormick says it’s been a typical election day in the state’s most populated county.
“It’s been steady today. I think we might have a pretty good turnout. I hope so,” McCormick said.
The Kanawha County ballot is loaded with races from president to magistrate. The ballot itself that is put into the touch-screen voting machine is 17 inches long. McCormick said that’s created delays at some of the county’s 184 precincts.
McCormick and her staff sent a few extra machines to some precincts.
“We’ve taken more Express Votes out, the ones that had lines,” McCormick said.
Kanawha will be a key county in several races including challenged races for governor, the 2nd Congressional District, state attorney general, secretary of state and state auditor.
Eastern Panhandle voting
The Eastern Panhandle will also make up a key voting block in West Virginia Tuesday.
It may have been lunchtime for some folks, but in Morgan County, County Clerk Kim Nickles was making the rounds to precincts in the noon hour to check for issues.
While his boss was out and about, Mark Hill, deputy Clerk Morgan County Clerk reported that so far things were going pretty smoothly, with most questions fielded a the county clerk’s office related to “precincts and where to vote.”
That number, to ask questions specific to Morgan County voting, is (304) 258-8547
Last week Morgan County Clerk Kimberly Nickle talked about the new machines:
“It’s a paper ballot that you stick into a new machine. It’s the same concept as the old ones, you make your selections (touch screen),” Nickle said. “Once you finish and print your ballot you’ll go to anoither machine and cast your ballot.”
In Jefferson County, voting for the Primary Election was going pretty smoothly when we checked in around lunchtime. Any issues were minor ones, according to Deputy Clerk Kaelyn Hoffman.
Jefferson County currently has approximately 43,000 registered voters.
There are 32 voting precincts across the county divided among 4 delegate districts: the 97th, 98th, 99th, and 100th.
Hoffman said if a voter has a concern in Jefferson County, call the County Clerk’s office at (304) 728-3386.
Berkeley County Clerk Tony Petrucci said “so far, so good,” on this Primary Election Day.
By around 9:30, about 2,000 voters had already cast their ballots in person in Berkeley County Tuesday.
There are 80 precincts in the county, and Petrucci had been out to about a dozen before lunch time to see how they were faring.
He said there were a few glitches, which he says is normal, and that IT is taking care of any issues that arise.
With some recent precinct changes, he said there are some voters who showed up at the wrong precinct. When that happens, the voter can choose to leave and go to the correct precinct, or they can request a provisional ballot.
As for the poll workers, who will be putting in more than 14 hours today before polls close at 7:30, “They’re doing okay,” Petrucci said.
Reporters at The Panhandle News Network contributed to this story.