voter turnout Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Restructuring DHHR And Youth Voter Turnout Is On The Rise, This West Virginia Morning

Appalachia Health News Reporter Emily Rice sat down with the chairs of the Senate and House Health committees: Del. Amy Summers, R-Taylor, and Sen. Mike Maroney, R-Marshall, to discuss DHHR’s future.

On this West Virginia Morning, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources touches the lives of nearly everyone in West Virginia in one way or another. But a big problem is internal communication. New legislation aims to fix that.

Also, in this show, recent reports show that young people in the U.S. are showing up to vote. Turnout among 18 to 29-year-olds shot up in the 2020 election to a level not seen since the 1970s. The numbers also show there are more young people engaging in conservative politics.

In the next episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay explores how young people engage with politics.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from West Virginia University, Concord University, and Shepherd University.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

2020 Voter Turnout Increased As Ohio Valley States Expanded Voting Options

Much of the Ohio Valley saw historic levels of voter turnout in the 2020 election, as election officials expanded voting options to reduce the risk from coronavirus.

Compared to the 2016 election, voter turnout for the 2020 general election increased slightly in Kentucky and Ohio, while West Virginia — which had some of the nation’s lowest turnout in 2016 — saw a substantial jump, bringing the state up to just above the historic national average.

A data analysis by the Ohio Valley ReSource compared the percentage of registered voters casting ballots this year to turnout from 2016. The analysis shows West Virginia turnout jumped by 5 points to 62.5%, compared to 57.4% in 2016.

Ohio turnout increased slightly from 71.3% to 72%. Kentucky only had a slight increase of less than a percentage point.

These numbers might change slightly in the coming weeks as the states finish up counting any left out and absentee ballots.

West Virginia

Nine counties in West Virginia posted a more than 10% increase in registered voters who cast their ballots compared to 2016, including Calhoun, Hampshire, Monroe, Greenbrier and Ritchie.

West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner said the state set a record and “an example for the rest of the nation on how to conduct a smooth and successful election during these unprecedented times.”

Voters cast more than 793,000 ballots across the state, Warner said.

Marybeth Beller, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Marshall University, called the increase from 2016 “stunning,” and credited Republicans who turned out in droves on Election Day.

“That party should be very, very proud of its efforts,” Beller said.

Kentucky

Several county clerks throughout Kentucky credited the election success to the expanded voting options that Kentucky voters had for the election: three weeks of early, in-person voting and greater freedom to use mail-in absentee voting.

“This many people would not have taken that opportunity, I don’t believe, to have gone and voted if they hadn’t had the choice of more days to vote,” Hardin County Clerk Debbie Donnelly said.

Kentucky’s Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams both support making some of those expanded options permanent.

“If you had told me that when I took office that we would have a record number of voting and it would’ve been in the context of a pandemic, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Adams said in an interview with partner station WFPL.

Although over 90 Kentucky counties saw an increase in turnout, the state’s two largest cities — Louisville and Lexington — saw a drop in turnout according to the ReSource analysis.

Ohio and the Ohio Valley

In Ohio the largest increase in turnout came in Holmes Co., a 6.5% jump. Eight counties, including Athens and Hamilton, saw a decline of more than 1%.

Overall, the three Ohio Valley states had a one percentage point increase in registered voter turnout as 85%, or 224 counties, reported an increase in the registered voters who cast ballots.

Despite these increases, at least 7 counties still recorded a turnout of less than 50%, including West Virginia’s McDowell County, which has in recent elections reported among the lowest turnout in the country. But even there voting increased by 6 percentage points compared to the 2016 General Election.

Kentucky’s Edmonson County, where just one in two registered voters cast their ballots, recorded the biggest fall in the Ohio Valley with about an 8% decline in turnout.

ReSource reporter Brittany Patterson contributed to this story.

W.Va. Midterm Voter Turnout Up by 10 Percent

More than 100,000 new voters have registered in West Virginia within the past two years.

Since January 2017, Berkeley and Kanawha Counties had the highest increase in new voter registrations.

The West Virginia Secretary of State’s office reports in a news release that more than 30,000 of the 100,000 new voters are high school seniors.

During the recent midterm election, 48 percent of registered voters showed up to the polls, casting nearly 600,000 ballots statewide.

That’s compared to the last midterm election in 2014 – 37 percent – which was the lowest voter turnout in at least six decades.

West Virginia Registers Nearly 67,000 New Voters

West Virginia’s secretary of state says nearly 67,000 new voters are registered for this fall’s midterm election.

Mac Warner says more than 140 voter registration drives have been held in the 18 months since he took office. He says the new registered voters include more than 22,000 high school students.

Warner credited high school administrators, teachers and civic engagement groups for the successful effort. He says it “demonstrates our collective effort to give young people a voice in their state and local government.”

Warner says that in turn could encourage young people to remain in West Virginia.

Residents can register to vote until three weeks before the Nov. 6 election.

State Sees 40 Percent Turnout for Primary Election

West Virginia is reporting that 40 percent of registered voters turned out for its primary election.

A secretary of state news release about the unofficial results says the Mountain State cast 487,550 ballots with 54 of 55 counties reporting. Braxton County is the county that isn’t reporting.

The release says the total tops unofficial primary results of 27 percent in 2012 and 36 percent in 2008. Official turnout totals in 2008 ended up at 43 percent.

Secretary of state spokeswoman Briana Wilson says it’s possible that this year’s results could go up a few percentage points after votes are canvassed and totals are made official.

The primary was Tuesday. Canvassing begins Monday.

W.Va. House Amends Voter ID Bill

The House of Delegates will vote on a contentious piece of legislation Friday; a bill that would require West Virginians to show a form of identification at their polling place. But on Thursday, the bill saw a change on the floor.

House Bill 4013, the voter ID bill, would require West Virginia voters to show a photo ID or some kind of other official documentation to prove their identity before voting at the polls. A voter without proper documentation will be allowed to vote on a provisional ballot.

Supporters of the bill say it will help avoid voter fraud and make vote counting more reliable. But those opposed say it will keep people from the polls, bringing in another step to the voting process and possibly increase wait times.

Democrats proposed three amendments Thursday, but only one of them passed. That amendment was suggested by Delegate Mike Pushkin from Kanawha County.

His amendment allows someone over the age of 70 to renew their license at the DMV with a religious family heirloom to show proof of birth.

Republican Delegate Patrick Lane of Kanawha County is the lead sponsor of the bill, and he says Pushkin’s amendment is good, because the DMV currently has a policy that allows people to bring in a family Bible as proof of birth.

“Delegate Pushkin’s concern, I think, was that Bible is a specific religious document, it identifies as specific religion, and there are obviously are provisions in our West Virginia State Constitution that prohibit recognizing a particular religion, and so his language provides a general religious document exception to that,” Lane said.

The voter ID bill will be up for a final vote in the House Friday.