CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Several county clerks in West Virginia say the first day of the early voting period produced record numbers.
“It’s probably the largest number we’ve ever had,” Berkeley County Clerk Tony Petrucci said.
Berkeley County had 2,563 voters on Wednesday.
“This is proof of it that people want to vote. They are here doing it and we are tickled to death,” Petrucci said Thursday on MetroNews “Talkline.”
Berkeley County has added two satellite early voting locations this year.
Jefferson County Deputy Clerk Nikki Painter said the total of early voters on the first day of early voting there was 925 while Morgan County Clerk Kimberly Nickles said it was busy all day in their early voting location at the courthouse, with about 450 voters taking part in early voting there.
Monongalia County Clerk Carye Blaney said 4% or about 3,100 voters cast ballots in her county Wednesday. Blaney said if the numbers stay steady they’ll beat their 2016 and 2020 early voting totals which were around 20,000 early voters.
“We had steady lines but the line moved pretty quickly. We have a pretty efficient set up,” Blaney said.
Putnam County Clerk Brian Wood said his county broke a single day record for early voting with 1,350 voters on Wednesday.
Wood said the early voting option seems to grow with each election.
“I believe a lot of people like the convenience of it. They love the convenience of being able to come when they want to instead of being nailed down to one day,” he said.
Early voting continues, excluding Sundays, through Saturday, Nov. 2.
Reporters Marsha Kavalek and Mike Nolting contributed to this story.