Secretary Warner Reminds Voters Primary Election Day is Tomorrow

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - On the heels of a successful early voting period, Secretary of State Mac Warner reminds voters there is still time to cast their ballots in the 2018 primary election.

Primary election day is tomorrow (Tuesday), May 8th, across West Virginia's 55 counties. The polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. Voters who are unsure of where to vote can go to GoVoteWV.com to look up the location of their polling place.

Voters can also use GoVoteWV.com to learn more about the kinds of acceptable identification required when showing up to the polls.

"Regardless of your party or political affiliation, we are encouraging registered voters who didn't vote early to get out and vote on Tuesday," Warner said.

Early voting for the May 8th Primary started on April 25th and ended May 5th.

Although the number is unofficial at this time, county

clerks reported that 68,391 registered voters took advantage of early voting (attachment).

That number is a substantial increase in early voters from the last midterm election in 2014. In that primary, only 45,143 voters went to the polls early.

According to the information collected from all 55 counties, the Secretary of State's Election Division said that 23,248 more voters casted early ballots this year than they did in the 2014. That translates into a 51 percent increase over the early voter turnout since the last midterm.

Since January 2016, more than 53,000 new voter registrations have been added to the state's voter rolls. Warner said that 14,339 of those new voters are high school students who have become eligible to vote for the very first time.

There are 1,224,600 West Virginia citizens registered to vote as of April 17th, the last day to register before the May primary.

One of the new features being launched is the Office's new Election Night Reporting (ENR) website.

A collaborative effort between the Secretary of State's Office and county clerks, the ENR website is a centralized location for federal, legislative, and county election results.

The public and press can access ENR by visiting www.wvsos.gov.

Warner said that he is also encouraging voters and poll workers to report inappropriate election or campaign activities that may occur on Election Day.

The Secretary of State's Office has a "See Something - Say Something!" public education effort to encourage citizens to immediately report possible illegal activity to the Secretary of State's Office.

The toll-free number to report that activity is 1-877-FRAUD-WV.