Absentee Ballot Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Absentee Ballots To Be Mailed Beginning This Weekend

Some West Virginia voters who applied for absentee mail-in ballots will see them in their mailboxes this weekend. These are sent out directly from county clerks.

West Virginia voters who applied for absentee ballots will receive them as early as Friday.

Nearly 1,200 voters applied for an absentee ballot for the 2024 primary election, according to data from Secretary of State Mac Warner.

Absentee ballots are distributed by the county clerk from each voter’s county of residence.

In West Virginia, only some residents qualify for absentee ballots. They include residents living overseas, military service members who are actively deployed out of state and individuals with a disability that prevents them from voting in person without assistance.

In West Virginia, this year’s primary election will be held May 14, with early voting from May 1 to May 11.

For more information on absentee voting in West Virginia, visit GoVoteWv.com, which is published through the secretary of state’s office.

Registration Deadline Passes For Candidates In 2022 Primary Election

The deadline to file candidacy papers in West Virginia’s May 10 Primary Election passed at midnight on Jan. 29.

A total of 491 people registered with the Secretary of State’s office for elections to the House of Delegates, the state senate races, judicial races and the two seats in Congress. Another 1782 people registered with County Clerks for county level races and seats on the party executive committees. That accounts for a total 2261 candidates.

It is possible the final number may change slightly. Candidates who mailed their registration forms may still be eligible if those forms are postmarked by Jan. 29. Candidates may also choose to withdraw their names before the ballots are prepared.

Registration is slightly lower than in 2018 — the comparable non-presidential election. In that election there were 2480 candidates. A total of 13 candidates, including the three incumbents, filed for the two seats in Congress. Secretary of State Mac Warner said he thought there were several reasons for that level of interest.

“One is that we lost a congressional seat. So there’s really no true incumbent,” Warner said. “We actually have three significant incumbents that have been there before. I guess some folks are looking at it as an open seat. That may have drawn some folks in.”

The next deadline in the election cycle is March 25, when county clerks will begin sending out absentee ballots. Warner cautions that voters will need to have an excuse to receive an absentee ballot, according to state law.

“If you want an absentee ballot, you have to apply for it,” Warner said. “And you have to have a reason for it. The 2018 election is the best analogy prior to COVID. The legislature changes the laws, we’re still operating under that you have to have a reason or an excuse. It has to be one of those on the ballot application.”

Those reasons include:

Illness, injury or other medical reason (includes confinement due to COVID-19)
Disability or advanced age
Incarceration or home detention (does not include individuals convicted of any felony, treason, or election bribery)
Work hours and distance from county seat
Inaccessible early voting site and polling place
Personal or business travel
Attendance at college or other place of education or training
Temporary residence outside of the county
Service as an elected or appointed state or federal official

Changes in the 2020 election that made it easier for everyone to request an absentee ballot were temporary based on Gov. Jim Justice’s stay at home order because of the coronavirus pandemic. Since that order has been lifted, absentee ballots revert back to state election law. Any changes to that process would have to come through the legislature.

Warner said the next key date is April 19. That’s the last date you can register to vote, or change or update your registration or change parties.

Teens who will turn 18 before the General Election on Nov. 9 can register to vote by April 19 and can vote in the Primary Election.

Deadline Approaches To Request Absentee Ballots In W.Va.

With election day just one week away, Wednesday is the deadline to submit requests for an absentee ballot. For it to be accepted, county clerks must also receive the application no later than tomorrow, Oct. 28.

People can request their ballots online at govotewv.com or print and drop off their requests at their local county clerk’s office.

The deadline for in-person, early voting is this Saturday, Oct. 31.

Nearly 150,000 absentee ballots have been requested in the state so far, with almost 77 percent, or 114,000, according to Secretary of State Mac Warner. So far about 10 percent of voters, or 126,147, have come out for early in-person voting in the state.

That breaks the record for early voting in the Mountain State by about 20,000 votes so far, with the record being set in the 2016 general election with more than 220,000 early ballots cast.

In West Virginia, absentee ballots being returned by mail must be postmarked by election day and received by the start of canvass, which according to state code will begin Nov. 9. Ballots can also be hand-delivered to local county clerks offices through Nov. 2.

Given the increased amount of absentee voting this year, elections officials expect complete results will not be available on Election Day. Nationwide, nearly 66 million people have early-voted so far, with 19 million more cast than in the 2016 general election.

More Than 94,000 Registered Voters In W.Va. Have Requested Absentee Ballots

A total of 94,413 registered voters in West Virginia have so far requested an absentee ballot for the upcoming general election.

County clerks in the state have sent out more than 94 percent of those requested ballots as of Sept. 29, according to a press release from the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office.

Voters can request an absentee ballot online using the absentee ballot application portal. Voters will need to print and mail an application from GoVoteWV.com, or they can call or write their county clerk to request an application form by mail.

“For voters with access to the absentee ballot request portal, our data shows the online option is their most expedient way to request a ballot,” Secretary of State Mac Warner said. “Clerks across the state are returning requested ballots within about a day of voters requesting them. They are now able to give more time and attention to the voters who need assistance when filling out the paper application or need additional items to complete the voting process.”

County clerks started mailing absentee ballots to West Virginia voters on Sept. 18.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 28. Applications must be received by county clerks by that date to be accepted.

There are 1,249,812 registered voters in West Virginia, according to the Secretary of State’s office.

Election Day is Nov. 3.

W.Va. Mail Carrier Admits Attempted Election Fraud

ELKINS, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia postal carrier pleaded guilty Thursday to altering mail-in requests for absentee voter ballots.

Thomas Cooper entered the plea in federal court in Elkins to attempted election fraud and injury to the mail, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell said in a statement.

Cooper was charged in May after eight mail-in requests for absentee voter ballots had their party affiliations altered.

Cooper, 47, of Dry Fork, held a postal contract to pick up mail in the three towns in which the voters live and delivered the forms in April to the Pendleton County clerk, according to a federal affidavit.

An investigation by the secretary of state’s office found five of the ballot requests were changed from Democrat to Republican with a black ink pen, the affidavit said.

Bennie Cogar, an attorney general’s office investigator who conducted the probe on behalf of the secretary of state’s office, said in the affidavit that the Pendleton County clerk called some of the voters after receiving the requests because she knew they were not Republicans. The clerk then contacted the secretary of state’s office to report the alterations.

On the other three requests, the voters’ party was not changed. However, in addition to the “Republican” box originally checked in blue ink, the word “Republican” was later circled in black ink, the affidavit said.

Cooper admitted in an interview with Cogar and a postal inspector that he changed some of the requests he picked up from the Onega post office from Democrat to Republican.

According to the affidavit, when he was then asked about the other requests, Cooper said, “I’m not saying no,” but if the requests were picked up along his postal route, “I would take the blame.” Cooper was then asked if he was “just being silly” and he replied he did it “as a joke” and that he didn’t know those voters.

Absentee ballots became a political flashpoint nationally in recent months, often along partisan lines. Some state governors have moved to make absentee ballots more available in this year’s elections because of concerns about the spread of the coronavirus. Other elected officials, including President Donald Trump, have raised concerns that expanding the practice would increase the likelihood of election fraud. Examples of mail-in ballot fraud have been minimal, and Trump himself has voted absentee in recent elections.

Absentee ballot applications were mailed to all registered voters in West Virginia in April in a bid to encourage mail-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic. West Virginia held its primary election on June 9.

Secretary of State Reports Absentee Voting Fraud Scheme, Provides Little Details

West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner said Friday that an alleged absentee voter fraud scheme will not affect the state’s 2020 primary election results.

Details at this point are scant, but in a press release Thursday evening, Warner said his office and law enforcement discovered the plot early and turned over their findings to the state’s U.S. attorneys. Neither would comment on the matter Friday.

“I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of any matter in our office, or any investigation,” said Mike Stuart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia.

If an indictment is handed up, the announcement would come from U.S. Attorney William Powell for the Northern District of West Virginia, Warner said.

In the Mountain State, all registered voters this year can legally cast absentee ballots in the upcoming primary, to allow for social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. In-person early voting is still happening, from May 27 to June 6, and on election day, June 9.

In March, Warner announced that county clerks across West Virginia would be sending every registered voter an application for an absentee ballot. A month later, he announced the creation of a West Virginia Election Fraud Task Force, involving Stuart, Powell, law enforcement and election officials, “to deter voter and election fraud” associated with the primary.

Since ballot applications went out to roughly 1.2 million registered voters in April, more than 235,000 people have applied to vote absentee. Roughly 115,000 already have cast a ballot.

Only a little more than 6,500 West Virginians voted absentee during the 2016 presidential primary.

President Donald Trump has criticized Democratic leaders for opening up absentee voting options in states like Michigan, where he threatened to withhold federal funding as that state expanded options to vote by mail. Trump has cited concerns over voter fraud for years without providing evidence; election experts have said the problem is rare, and there’s little evidence that absentee voting works in favor of a certain party.

Warner echoed the president’s concerns, saying more absentee voting leads to an increase in opportunities for fraud.

“It really irks me to hear reportedly on the national TV and so forth, you’ll hear, ‘well there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud.’ You don’t need widespread voter fraud,” Warner told West Virginia Public Broadcasting on Friday. In smaller elections and elections with tied results, he added, a handful of votes matter.

Former Secretary of State and Democratic candidate Natalie Tennant called on her Republican opponent Warner to disclose more details of the alleged voter fraud.

“This kind of fly-by-night statement without evidence or explanation hurts the voter’s confidence in the election process,” Tennant said. “It could look like an attempt to suppress voters.”

Emily Allen is a Report for America corps member.