Early voting for the upcoming election has started in West Virginia.
Wood County residents can now vote in-person at the Judge Black Judicial Annex on Market Street in the afternoon Monday through Saturday.
Additional community voting sites at the Lubeck and Mineral Wells Volunteer Fire Departments, the Vienna Community Building and the Williamstown City Building open with the same hours starting on October 29.
Absentee ballots can be requested up until October 30 for those wishing to vote by mail.
In April 2022, West Virginia became one of the latest states to pass legislation that would restrain local and state election officials from accepting certain gifts and other funds from nongovernmental entities to conduct elections.
In West Virginia, HB 4097 received near-unanimous support in the state legislature, with only one House delegate voting against the bill. Signed by Gov. Jim Justice at the time, the law seeks to prohibit “public officials and bodies responsible for elections in West Virginia from directly receiving or accepting money or anything of value for election administration and related expenses from private parties.”
While the bill does not ban private funding outright, it does require the West Virginia secretary of state, with the approval of the state election commission, to be the one “to accept, distribute, and utilize private gifts of tangible property or non-monetary things of value for election administration and related expenses.”
While speaking with The Federalist, Del. Josh Holstein, who introduced the now-passed measure in the House, elaborated on how “West Virginians are deeply concerned with election integrity and want [their] elections to continue having a reputation of security.”
“Voters should have confidence that their official election administration is not influenced by outside groups,” he said. “The provisions in this bill are some of the most impactful steps that can be made to ensure the security of our elections in West Virginia and across the nation.”
