CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Voters have cast a record number of ballots during the early voting period, state elections officials said Thursday.
Secretary of State Natalie Tennant announced that as of 4 p.m. Thursday, counties reported 158,046 early voters, which breaks the record set in 2008 of 153,096 ballots. However, early voting now lasts 10 days, ending on Saturday at 5 p.m., when in 2008, it lasted 20 days.
In a Thursday morning news conference in Charleston, Layna Valentine-Brown, state elections director, discussed early voter numbers and other topics pertaining to the election.
Early voting numbers do not necessarily translate to a higher voter turnout on Election Day, however.
“I still encourage every registered voter in the state to get out and vote either during the early voting period or on Tuesday,” Valentine-Brown said.
Tennant said West Virginia had 40 percent voter turnout in the primary and she anticipates more than 40 percent turnout for this election as well.
“We are hoping the enthusiasm will continue,” she said, referring to early voting turnout numbers.
Valentine-Brown addressed other issues in the Thursday conference, discussing security questions, the new voter ID law and wanted to make people aware of the law regarding electioneering and ballot selfies.
The Secretary of State’s office has received many questions about security, Valentine-Brown said. She said the voting machines, each of which stands alone, are not connected to the internet and there is a mandatory paper trail.
“A security breach would have to involve over 9,000 dedicated poll workers and this is not likely,” Valentine-Brown said. “They take their job very seriously as a West Virginia poll worker.”
“The Secretary of State protects databases and files not just during election years but every day all the time,” Valentine-Brown said. “We currently have strong security measures in place to protect but we know we can never be too careful. That’s why we continue to review our security measures and upgrade protections based on national recommendations and best practices as they’re updated in the industry. We are always monitoring threats and are in close contact with other Secretaries of State and federal and state entities to make sure we are doing everything possible to protect our systems.”
Liaisons also will be in place in every county on Election Day. Tennant said there are more liaisons than in other years. If voters experience problems, liaisons will be there to answer questions and make sure things are running smoothly.
“They are the eyes and the ears of the office,” Valentine-Brown said.
“In most cases, you will not have to bring anything with you,” Valentine-Brown said. “Voters should proceed as they always have going to the polls on election day.”
However, people voting for the first time in the state will have to bring a valid ID or other government document showing the name and current address. If people don’t have this form of ID, they will have to vote on a provisional ballot, which will go to the board of canvassers who will make a ruling whether it will be counted based on the info they have on the ballot.
Valentine-Brown also addressed the issue of “selfies” in the booth. Under state code, people cannot bring a “recording device” into the voting booth. However, if people want to take pictures of themselves outside of the polling place, they can do so, she said.
Valentine-Brown stressed electioneering laws, saying people cannot hand out campaign literature, display signs or solicit voters for or against a candidate or a ballot issue within 300 feet from the entrance of the polling location. Tennant said electioneering doesn’t happen in one location over another and can be a problem around the state. She said sometimes, it can slow elections when someone is 290 feet or 301 feet from the entrance because two poll workers will have to come out and investigate the situation.
If voters have experienced problems or believes they have witnessed an election law violation, they can contact the poll worker or county election first and then contact the Secretary of State’s Office at 304-558-6000.
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