Votes Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

W.Va. Supreme Court Votes Unanimously For Harpers Ferry To Count Votes In 2019 Municipal Election

Updated on June 18, 2020 at 9:15 a.m.

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has settled a yearlong debate over four provisional ballots in Harpers Ferry.

The state’s highest court voted unanimously on Monday for the Harpers Ferry Town Council to count four provisional ballots from last June’s municipal election. The council had thrown out those ballots over typographical errors.

The election was contested by two council candidates, Nancy Singleton Case and Deborah McGee. The Harpers Ferry Town Council consists of the mayor, recorder, and five members of council — all are elected to two-year terms.

In a news release, Secretary of State Mac Warner said he’s pleased the Supreme Court upheld state code that says technical errors shall be disregarded and the votes would be required to be counted.

In September, the current town council – two of whom could lose their seats depending on the four votes – issued a majority opinion rejecting the four provisional ballots.

It’s unclear if the votes will affect the outcome of the election once they are counted. The West Virginia Secretary of State’s office said in a statement to West Virginia Public Broadcasting that the Harpers Ferry Town Council would be required to count the votes at their next scheduled meeting or at a special meeting.

Regular monthly meetings of the Council are held at 7:00 p.m. on the second Monday of each month, according to the Council’s website.

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey also stood by the Supreme Court’s decision saying “technical errors should not be used to deny someone the right to vote.”

Details and a timeline of the contest can be found on Harpers Ferry’s website.

West Virginia Early Votes Surpass Last Midterm Election

West Virginia is among the states where this year’s general election early and absentee voting numbers have already exceeded those from the 2014 midterms.

As of Thursday morning, 121,679 West Virginians had voted early or submitted an absentee ballot for the general election, according to the Secretary of State’s office.

By comparison, at the end of the 2014 general election, the state counted 97,388 early votes, and in 2010, that number was 108,264.

Marie Hill, the deputy clerk in Mercer County described turnout as “very heavy” there since its four early-voting sites opened Oct. 24.

“We had like 3,700 early voters in 2014, and this year we’ve had already 5,500 — and we still have another day to go,” she said Friday morning. “So we’ll probably reach maybe even 7,000.”

An apparent increase in voter engagement isn’t unique to West Virginia, said Michael McDonald of the United States Elections Project at the University of Florida.

“There are some people who are voting earlier than they may have in past elections, but that’s not the whole story,” he said.

West Virginia’s Senate race has been among the most closely watched this year. Incumbent Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat, is facing Republican state attorney general Patrick Morrisey, who has the backing of President Donald Trump.

The state’s three congressional districts, two state Supreme Court seats and a number of state and local races are on the ballot, too, as well as two constitutional amendments.

Election Day is Tuesday, and early voting ends Saturday. Early voting locations and times are at www.GoVoteWV.com.

Internet Issues Delay Early Voting in West Virginia County

A West Virginia county official says internet issues at two early voting locations created long lines at one and prevented people from voting at the other for more than a day.

Cabell County Clerk Phyllis Smith tells The Herald-Dispatch wait times were lengthy at the county field office in Ona on Wednesday and Thursday, as polling place workers had to help voters one at a time because only one computer could connect to the internet. She says voting at Marshall University didn’t begin until Thursday afternoon because of the same problems.

The issues were resolved after new network adapter switches were installed.

Poll workers need the internet to look up voters’ identifications before signing them out of a physical book containing their signature.

Early voting started Wednesday in West Virginia.

More than 50,000 Votes Cast in West Virginia's Early Voting

West Virginia’s secretary of state says more than 50,000 West Virginians have taken advantage of the early voting period this election cycle.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that as of early Friday, 50,225 ballots had been cast across West Virginia.

Secretary of State Mac Warner says vote totals from his office aren’t official. He says those totals only include the early votes and absentee votes reported by each county and entered into the State Voter Registration System.

The unofficial statewide voting totals already exceed the number of people who voted early during the 2014 midterm primary election. During that election, 45,143 people voted during the early voting period, according to data from the Secretary of State’s Office.

The last chance to vote early before the May 8 primary was Saturday.