Associated Press Published

West Virginia Primary Turnout Less Than 20 Percent

Voting

  West Virginia’s secretary of state says voter turnout for this week’s election was 19.7 percent, a 4-percent drop from a similar 2010 midterm primary.

Unofficial results show 241,020 ballots were cast this election.

About 46,800 people voted early and absentee combined, which Secretary of State Natalie Tennant’s office called a midterm primary record. Still, turnout remained low.

Midterm primary turnout has been cut in half since 1994, when 39 percent voted.

Tennant’s office says there were minor issues, like incorrectly numbered precincts and inconvenient road construction. Logan and Hardy county precincts experienced power outages, but voting was uninterrupted after officials switched to battery backup.

A high profile U.S. Senate race featured primaries for Democrat Tennant and GOP Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito. Both advanced easily against little-known opponents.

Canvassing begins Monday.