New Text, Photo Hotline To Make W.Va. Primary Voter Complaints

There is a new way to use your cell phone this primary to report any polling place problems.

If West Virginia voters see something suspicious at their polling place, as in years past, they can call the West Virginia Secretary of State’s hotline at 1-877-Fraud-WV.

But new this election – is the “say something, text something” hotline. Secretary of State General Counsel Deak Kersey said if there’s a candidate or operative inside a polling place, stopping vehicles or acting intimidating – voters can text “WV” to 45995, making complaint filing easier.

“Now they just whip out their phone,” Kersey said. “They can fill out the complaint using their phone and submit it right there. They can take a photo and attach images of things.”

Kersey said West Virginia voters are paying more attention now than ever before to suspicious polling place activity.

He said secretary of state’s office investigators will be stationed in all 55 counties on election day.

SOS staffers will also be in county courthouses to assist with reporting election night results and making sure everything goes smoothly.

Here are some statewide primary totals as of Monday, May 9 from the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office:

Absentee Ballots Requested: 6,574

Absentee Ballots Returned as of Monday, May 9: 3,897

Early Voters In-Person Through 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 7: 58,684

**Editor’s note: A correction was made to the number that voters may text. The correct number is 45995.