By: Lacie Pierson, Courts Reporter | Posted: May 4, 2015 | Source: WV Gazette-Mail
With one more day left in the early voting period this election cycle, a little more than 50,000 West Virginians have taken advantage of the extra time to cast their ballots.
As of 8:45 a.m. Friday, 50,225 ballots had been cast across West Virginia, according to a news release from Secretary of State Mac Warner.
Kanawha County voters account for roughly 10 percent of that amount, with 5,417 votes being cast in the county as of 3:48 p.m. Friday, according to data at the Kanawha County Clerk’s Office.
The vote totals from the Secretary of State’s Office aren’t official, and those totals only include the early votes and absentee votes reported by each county and entered into the State Voter Registration System, Warner said in the news release.
The unofficial statewide voting totals already have exceeded the number of voters who voted early during the midterm primary election in 2014.
During that election, 45,143 people voted during the early voting period, according to data from the Secretary of State’s Office.
In the 2016 presidential election, 100,962 votes were cast in West Virginia during the early voting period for the primary.
The last chance to vote early before the May 8 primary will take place between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday.
All 55 counties in West Virginia offer early voting, and Kanawha County is one of 10 that provide multiple early voting locations.
The Kanawha County Clerk’s Office staffs six locations where registered voters may vote ahead of the primary.
Voters may go to the Kanawha County Judicial Annex to vote in the Voter Registration Office, which is located on the Quarrier Street side of the building.
Early voting also will be available Saturday at the Belle Town Hall, Marmet Town Hall, the sheriff’s detachment in Elkview, the sheriff’s detachment in Cross Lanes and the Sissonville Public Library.
Voters in other counties may contact their county clerk for more information on early voting poll locations.
