Charleston, W.Va. (WVDN) – According to WV Secretary of State Kris Warner, county clerks reported a total of 162,349 West Virginia voters cast ballots during the early voting period from Wednesday, October 21 through Saturday, October 31. That’s 24% higher turnout than in the last midterm General Election held on November 2022, which that saw 131,404 early votes.
The unofficial early voter turnout shows a 19% increase in Democrat voters, 28% increase in Republican voters, and a 31% increase in unaffiliated voters in the 2022 midterm General Election.
This is Secretary Warner’s first statewide General Election as the state’s chief elections official. He attributes the rise in voter turnout to how easy it has become to register in West Virginia. He said, “West Virginia voters have the opportunity to continue or increase this trend on Tuesday, November 3rd, by voting between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Voters in line by 7:30 p.m. will be guaranteed the opportunity to vote.”
According to Secretary Warner, the general public plays an important role in keeping West Virginia elections safe and secure. He is encouraging citizens who may witness or believe that an election law violation has occurred to report it immediately to the WVSOS Investigations Division toll free at 877-FRAUD-WV to report any potential violation.
Below is a breakdown of turnout as of the last day of early voting, Saturday, October 31:
- Early in-person voting period ballots cast: 162,349
- Absentee ballots requested: 9,735
- Absentee ballots returned: 7,001
- Total ballots cast to date: 169,350
Total turnout stands at 169,350 ballots cast, representing nearly 14% of West Virginia’s 1,210,297 registered voters.
As a comparison, below is an overview of the 2022 midterm General Election turnout of 131,404 early in-person period ballots cast and 13,060 absentee ballots returned.
Early votes cast in November 2022 for the 2022 General Election include:
- Republican 53,398;
- Democrat 50,237;
- No Party Affiliation 21,075;
- Other 6,240;
- Libertarian 357;
- Mountain 92; and
- Constitution 5.
Overall absentee ballots returned in November for the 2022 General Election include:
- Democrat 6,407;
- Republican 4,451;
- No Party Affiliation 1,623;
- Other 537;
- Libertarian 32;
- Mountain 9; and
- Constitution 1.
Voters can find their polling location and review their specific sample ballot at GoVoteWV.com.
