CHARLESTON, W.Va. — More than 16,000 West Virginians cast their ballots on the first day for early voting.
Polling places opened Wednesday across the Mountain State, with at least early voting location available in each of West Virginia’s 55 counties. The 10-day early voting period, which includes two Saturdays, continues through October 31.
Election Day is set for November 3.
West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner provided preliminary voting numbers during an appearance Thursday on MetroNews “Midday.” He said there’s an uptick in voting since the last comparable election four years ago.
“Early voting numbers statewide, 16,584 voters that have shown up on the first day, which is a 41% increase over and above the last non-presidential election in 2022,” Warner said.
While the early numbers are encouraging, Warner pumped the brakes on making any projections for the entire voting period.
“We’ve got to watch it through the end,” Warner said. “We’ve been in this position before. We’ll all determine what the overall percentage is, once November 3rd’s over. But it’s encouraging to see this level of activity. We’ve registered 17,000 new voters just since the May primary. That’s encouraging as well.”
This year’s election is the first opportunity for 16- and 17-year-olds to be poll workers, Warner said, thanks to a law passed by the legislature. He said that the Secretary of State’s office is doing everything in its power to promote voting locations throughout West Virginia.
“We’re doing everything that we can to make sure that everyone knows how to register to vote, how easy it is by going to GoVoteWV.com,” Warner said. “We can also use that site for the general election to see where your polling location is and to see your sample ballot.”
Warner visited the Montgomery Community Center in Fayette County, along with Belle Town Hall and Marmet Town Hall in Kanawha County, on Thursday. He said there were encouraging signs in several locations.
“Very active in Marmet and Belle,” Warner said. “We couldn’t even get a picture in one of the places because those poll workers were working so hard just trying to keep up with the folks who were there. There was no line, but there was activity at every one of the stations where we stopped.”
As for how many early voting locations there are per county, Warner said the information is helpfully stored on their website.
“In Kanawha County, nine different locations that are early voting centers,” Warner said. “The way to find that out, no matter what county you’re in in West Virginia, if you go to GoVoteWV.com, you can see where the early voting locations are.”
In addition to knowing where to vote, Warner encouraged residents to know when they can vote, especially on the two Saturdays included in early voting.
“Now, both Saturdays, you can vote from 9 (a.m.) to 5 (p.m.) statewide in every one of the counties,” Warner said. “But outside of that, you need to check with a county clerk or go to the GoVoteWV.com website to see the times and the locations of the early voting centers.”
Voter ID has been required in the Mountain State for eight years, but this year is the first time that Photo ID is needed at the polls. Warner said the early response has been positive from voters.
“It’s going well, we haven’t had any complaints, but they can use a driver’s license, a military ID, a passport,” Warner said. “For elderly citizens that might not drive anymore you can still use your driver’s license that is expired if it was active when you turn 65 years of age.”
Learn more about the Photo ID requirement here.