Ballots Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

New Online Tool Helps Voters Prepare For Election

With the Nov. 8 General Election less than a month away, the West Virginia Secretary of State announced an online tool to help voters prepare.

Secretary of State Mac Warner announced Tuesday that voters can now access an interactive sample ballot tool at GoVoteWV.com.

The tool allows voters to review their specific ballot, practice making their selections, and print their sample ballot for later review.

As in past elections, traditional sample ballot images will also be posted online at GoVoteWV.com, or voters can contact their county clerk at any time to request a traditional sample ballot.

This is the first election since West Virginia redistricted and moved to single-member districts for the House of Delegates, and there are four amendments to the state constitution on November’s ballot.

Oct. 18 is the last day for an eligible resident of West Virginia to register to vote for the general election. Early, in-person voting begins on Oct. 26 and runs through Saturday, Nov. 5.

Hearing Set to Determine if Ballots Will Be Counted

A court hearing has been scheduled in West Virginia to determine if 57 ballots from the 2018 general election that were found two weeks ago will be counted.

The Exponent Telegram reports the hearing is scheduled Wednesday in Marion County Circuit Court after county officials filed a writ of mandamus through the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office. Marion County Administrator Kris Cinalli says the judge has the final decision on whether to count the votes, which would only affect two races, each for seats on the Fairmont City Council. Both races ended in ties, and the winners of each tiebreaker have already been sworn in.

“Obviously, we’re hoping that they let us count them as they should be, but I wouldn’t be shocked if we couldn’t since everything has been certified and people have been sworn in,” Cinalli said. “That’s terrible, but there has to be an end to it, too.”

Marion County Commissioner Randy Elliott said he hopes a judge allows the votes.

“We’re asking to have those votes counted, because we feel like that the 57 votes placed on that machine were accurate and precise and without any question, and they should be counted,” Elliott said.

Cinalli said the lost votes were originally thought to be caused by a voting machine malfunction, but further investigation found it was human error.

“We think one of the poll workers tripped over the cord, unplugged it, panicked and pulled the ballot out. It was just one of those glitchy things with electronics. It ended up recording the ballots as cast (but not counted). Luckily it did that, or we probably would never have found them.”

Cinalli said officials are working to prevent a similar occurrence in the future.

Official: 57 Uncounted Ballots Found in West Virginia County

A West Virginia county’s officials say 57 uncounted ballots have been found from the 2018 general election, all from one voting machine, so they’re preparing to ask a judge for permission to include them.

Marion County Administrator Kris Cinalli tells The Exponent Telegram officials spent most of Tuesday confirming the lost votes are isolated. They were discovered when county clerk’s office workers were compiling voter information for the secretary of state’s office last week.

The ballots would affect two Fairmont City Council races that coincidentally had tie-breakers determining the outcomes.

County attorney Chuck Shields says a circuit court judge needs to allow that the races be decertified so the ballots can be counted.

Officials aren’t sure what exactly caused the discrepancy. Cinalli says it’s likely a combination of a machine glitch and human error.