| Charleston, W.Va – The deadline for a registered West Virginia voter to request an absentee ballot for the May Primary Election is Wednesday, May 8th. Absentee ballot applications must be received by county clerks on this date. Qualified voters are eligible to vote absentee by mail if they meet one of the reasons listed in WV law. Additionally, active-duty military, along with their spouses and dependents, voters with disabilities that prevent them from voting in person or by mail, and qualified emergency responders have the option to vote electronically. Warner said that WV law also allows for emergency absentee voting under limited circumstances involving unanticipated medical emergencies. A complete list of eligibility requirements for absentee voting can be found here. According to WV Secretary of State Mac Warner, an Absentee Ballot Application must be received at the county clerk’s office by the close of business on Wednesday, May 8th. Applications may be hand-delivered, emailed, faxed, or sent by mail to the voter’s county clerk. Applications sent by mail but not received by the county clerk by the close of business on Wednesday cannot be processed according to law. “There is no reason that any registered voter should miss the opportunity to cast a ballot in the upcoming May 14th Primary Election,” said Secretary Warner. “West Virginia offers voters more ways to cast a ballot than any other state in the nation. “In-person early voting is open to all registered West Virginia voters, and it is currently taking place daily during the county clerk’s regular business hours. In addition, early voting is available from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on this Saturday, May 11th. View a list of early voting hours and locations in each county here. Voters registered with a recognized party in the state are only permitted to vote their party’s ballot in the primary election. Non-affiliated voters will be given a nonpartisan ballot unless they request a partisan ballot of their choice at the polls or on their absentee application. Partisan ballots include candidates registered with a recognized political party that are seeking nomination to run in the General Election. The non-partisan section of the ballot includes non-partisan office candidates, including judicial candidates and local questions such as levies and bonds. Voters can review their party affiliation and check their Election Day polling location by searching their voter registration record here, and they may view their sample ballot here. Warner is reminding voters to bring one of the many accepted forms of voter identification to the early voting location or to the polls on Election Day when they vote. The identification does not have to include a photo. For more information, or to see the list of acceptable forms of voter identification, visit GoVoteWV.com |
