Voting Story Archives - Page 2 of 13 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

The Future Of The American Chestnut And Our Latest Us & Them, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, WVPB last spring covered efforts at Shepherd University to regrow American chestnut forests in Appalachia. One year later, that project has incorporated new technology and a familiar tree variant. Jack Walker caught up with a pair of self-proclaimed “chestnutters” to discuss the project at large, and the future of the American chestnut.

On this West Virginia Morning, WVPB last spring covered efforts at Shepherd University to regrow American chestnut forests in Appalachia. One year later, that project has incorporated new technology and a familiar tree variant. Jack Walker caught up with a pair of self-proclaimed “chestnutters” to discuss the project at large, and the future of the American chestnut.

Also, in this show, more than 4.5 million Americans cannot vote because they’ve been convicted of a felony. On the newest episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay looks at the patchwork of state laws that restore voting rights to people after those convictions. The laws differ significantly from state to state. A few allow a person to vote from prison, while others require release and completion of probation or parole. Kay meets Anthony Cole who’s been out of prison for nearly a year after serving 12 and a half years. We listen to an excerpt from the next Us & Them: “Locked Out of Voting?”

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 Shepherd University.

Chris Schulz produced this episode.

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

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.

The Role Of Corridor H In W.Va. — And Its Importance

On this episode of The Legislature Today, the Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 571, creating an Advanced Energy and Economic Corridor Authority for Corridor H. Curtis Tate spoke with Economic Development Secretary Mitch Carmichael about the importance of Corridor H to the state.

On this episode of The Legislature Today, the Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 571, creating an Advanced Energy and Economic Corridor Authority for Corridor H. Curtis Tate spoke with Economic Development Secretary Mitch Carmichael about the importance of Corridor H to the state. Before that discussion, though, they talked about some breaking news about a steel plant in the Northern Panhandle.

In the House, there was a lengthy, emotional, life and death debate over the pros and cons of euthanasia and medically assisted suicide.

In the Senate, the chamber focused on voting, with three out of five bills relating to voting or voter ID. Briana Heaney has the story.

Also, whether or not to teach middle schoolers about fentanyl and overdose-reversing medicine sparked discussion in the House Education Committee, while Senate Education modified a House bill on special education. Chris Schulz has more.

Finally, West Virginia State University is one of the state’s two HBCU’s, or Historically Black Colleges and Universities. It was WVSU Day at the Capitol, where school leadership worked the shoe leather, as they say, to see big dollar budget legislation passed.

Having trouble viewing the video below? Click here to watch it on YouTube.

The Legislature Today is West Virginia’s only television/radio simulcast devoted to covering the state’s 60-day regular legislative session.

Watch or listen to new episodes Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

100,000th Student Registers At Voter Registration Drive

State and local officials helped register students to vote today at Capital High School. Rico Franquez was the 100,000 high school student to register to vote since Secretary of State Mac Warner took office in 2017.

State and local officials helped register students to vote today at Capital High School. Rico Franquez was the 100,000th high school student to register to vote since Secretary of State Mac Warner took office in 2017.

Warner, Elections Divisions Director Brittany Westfall, and County Clerk Vera McCormick talked to students about the importance of civic engagement.

The event also celebrated U.S. Sen. Jennings Randolph who worked to pass the 26th Amendment. Randolph was a West Virginia native and represented the state from 1958 to 1985. Lee Dean impersonated the late senator during the presentation. He said Randolph believed that if U.S. citizens under the age of 21 were old enough to fight then they should be old enough to vote.

“Old enough for Bullets, Old enough for Ballots slogan really resonated with young people at the time and I believe it still does,” Dean said.

Warner said that West Virginia has a legacy of getting young people involved in politics. He named Saira Blair the youngest legislator ever elected, and Caleb Hanna as the youngest African American elected to office.

“When people hear about other 18 and19 year olds getting elected to office, they’re like, well, I could do that, too. And that’s the importance of coming out and telling that story and making them feel part of this proud legacy that West Virginia has,” Warner said.

Warner said that one of the biggest challenges that the state faces is young people moving away.

“We spend all this time and effort educating them. And then when they take off to Charlotte, or Denver or somewhere, we lose that talent,” Warner said. “And so we want to keep them here. And this voter registration drive gives them that opportunity to feel part of the process.”

He said staying engaged with what is happening in the student’s community ties them to those communities.

Any West Virginia high school that registers at least 85 percent of their eligible students to vote will receive the Jennings Randolph Award for Civic Engagement.

Voter Registration Reminder Postcards Sent To State’s Voters

Nearly 16,000 West Virginia voters will soon receive a postcard from the Secretary of State’s office to confirm their voter registration.

When voters update their address at other agencies or move to a different state, that information does not automatically update or cancel a voter’s old registration.

If a voter receives a postcard at their current address, no action is required.

If a voter does not respond, no action will be taken on their voter registration status. The postcard is merely a reminder, participation is voluntary, and it will not affect the voters’ ability to vote in upcoming elections.

Voters that receive a reminder, and have moved to another address or state, can update or cancel their voter registration by filling out the postcard and mailing it back to their county clerk using the return address printed on the card.

Existing registrations can also be updated at any time by visiting GoVoteWV.com or the QR code included on the postcard.

Sec. Warner Testifies Before U.S. House Committee On Voter Confidence, Election Security

The Republican-majority Committee on House Administration plans to use testimony from the hearing to develop a bill known as the American Confidence in Elections Act that would strengthen states’ roles in establishing and administering election laws.

Secretary of State Mac Warner testified Thursday before members of the U.S. House of Representatives about voter confidence in elections, as well as election security measures.

It would provide states with tools to “boost election integrity and remove outdated federal policies that get in their way,” according to the committee’s website.

The bill would also prohibit non-citizen voting, allow REAL ID state drivers licenses or identification cards as proof of citizenship, and would create a federal forum that would help states discuss “best practices, paired with model state legislation for state legislatures to consider.”

Warner discussed West Virginia’s constant voter roll updates and technological ease of access as points of interest for the bill. He also mentioned that West Virginia has permanent state funding for voting infrastructure like equipment and maintenance.

“Collectively, these measures build public confidence, which has been reported independently by MIT who put West Virginia near the top of states in voter confidence,” he said in his testimony to the committee.

He also argued for reducing mail-in voting, revisiting the National Voter Registration Act that allows for streamlined voter registration for anyone who applies for a driver’s license and stricter enforcement of election laws.

“Technology has advanced considerably since 1993, and many local election officials, and our state’s Department of Motor Vehicles contend that the DMV should not be registering people to vote,” Warner said. “People can register online using a cell phone, computer, tablet, or other mobile device.”

Warner also echoed allegations from House Republicans like Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who claim that federal intelligence agencies misinformed the public about the Hunter Biden laptop controversy during the 2020 presidential campaign.

Warner cited the controversy as an example of an election being compromised, though numerous independent experts and courts say there was no significant fraud in the 2020 election, including the U.S. Justice Department and the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Warner, alongside Rep. Alex Mooney, R-West Virginia, opposed the Biden administration’s Executive Order 14019, “Promoting Access to Voting,” last June, citing federal overreach. It would have involved federal agencies in state voter registration efforts.