By james art 
CHARLESTON — West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office of Elections staff and the state’s 55 county clerks are gearing up for Election Day today while catching their breath after a record early voting period.
According to data released Monday morning by the Secretary of State’s office, 310,412 West Virginians cast ballots during the early voting period that began Oct. 23 and ended Saturday, representing nearly 26 percent of the more than 1.2 million registered voters in the state.
The 310,412 early votes cast were also nearly a 23% increase from the total number of early votes cast in the 2020 general election, which was 253,243.
“I would say he certainly beat him by more than 50,000 voters,” said Donald “Dike” Kersey, deputy secretary of state and chief of staff. “That’s a significant increase, so I’d say we’ve broken all records.”
Registered Republican voters led early voting, casting 143,549 ballots during the 11-day early voting period, followed by 91,976 Democratic voters, 60,194 unaffiliated voters, 1,547 Libertarian Party voters, 329 Mountain Party voters and 12 801 voters registered in other minor parties.
“All we’ve heard from the counties — and we’ve been to all 55 counties — is that things are going very well and smoothly and the voters are happy,” Kersey said. “During early voting there were lines due to the high turnout, but I didn’t hear anything for more than half an hour.”
The COVID-19 pandemic was a factor during the 2020 primary and general elections, with the primary election being moved from May to June and all registered voters being allowed to request an absentee ballot regardless of the excuse. As of the November 2, 2020 general election, there were 141,233 absentee ballots.
The rules requiring a valid excuse to request an absence were brought back in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Secretary of State’s office, 26,299 absentee ballots have been requested for the 2024 general election, and as of Monday, 21,560 absentee ballots had been returned to county clerks — a nearly 85 percent decrease from 2020. Kersey said that’s about the average for past pre-covid elections.
“Absentee voting was around 21,000 or so, which is more than we’ve seen in pre-Covid years. Of course, COVID was an anomaly,” Kersey said. “Absentee voter turnout in 2020 was made possible by a statutory relief from the governor’s office, with the COVID medical excuse allowing anyone in the state to vote by mail if they choose.”
Democratic registered voters lead the way in absentee ballots cast so far with 9,493 absentee ballots returned, followed by Republicans, 7,989 absentee ballots returned, 3,269 absentee ballots returned by unaffiliated voters, 71 absentee ballots returned by 71 Libertarian Party voters, 23 absentee ballots returned by Mountain Party voters, and 801 absentee ballots returned by minor party voters.
State and county election officials are now turning their attention to Election Day, with county polls opening at 6:30 a.m. and closing at 7:30 p.m., though voters still in line at 7:30 p.m. they will still be able to vote. Kersey said the Elections Department and all county officials are ready.
“Counties are doing well,” Kersey said. “We’ve been working with counties across the state and the media to get the word out to get voters registered and that seems to be largely successful … so it looks like the counties are ready.” We’ll have 18 officials and investigators — that includes (Secretary of State Mack Warner) — who will travel around the state on Election Day to make sure the counties have what they need and to offer any assistance.”
Voters can go to the Secretary of State’s GoVoteWV.com to view sample ballots, find their polling places, learn about acceptable forms of photo and non-photo identification required to be displayed at polling places, track absentee and advance ballots , to file a complaint about elections, and more.
Kersey reminded voters to bring some form of acceptable photo or non-photo ID. Acceptable photo ID includes a driver’s license, student ID, or concealed carry permit. Non-photo ID options include voter registration cards; Medicare and Social Security cards; birth certificates; hunting and fishing permits; SNAP, TANF, and Medicaid cards; bank or debit card; utility bills and bank statements; health insurance cards; and any federal or state documents with the voter’s name on them.
Kersey also said to be aware of other rules. While there is no statewide ban on phones at polling stations, some counties have rules prohibiting the removal of phones. Also, wearing clothing supporting 2024 ballot candidates or their political slogans in the polling station is prohibited.
When the polls close, staff at county clerks’ offices across the state will begin uploading unofficial election results to the Secretary of State’s Election Night Reporting System.
“There are only two official sources for the election results,” Warner said in a statement on Monday. “The general public should rely on their county clerk and the WV Secretary of State’s office for unofficial election night results as they are provided. Any inconsistencies between the Secretary of State’s website and third-party reporting sites must be resolved by reference to the Secretary of State’s website alone.”