Early voting off to a 'slow start:' Only 297 ballots cast in Mercer, but new voting machines a 'big hit'

May 2—By GREG JORDAN

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

PRINCETON — Nearly 300 of Mercer County's registered voters headed for the polls Wednesday and cast their ballots on new machines as early voting got underway for the 2024 Primary Election in West Virginia.

Early voting opened at 8:30 and 9 a.m. in all of the Mountain State's 55 counties Wednesday and will continue until Saturday, May 11. The Primary Election will be May 14.

Every county is offering early voting at its county courthouse or courthouse annex, and several counties have extra polling locations offering easy access to voters.

Mercer County has four early voting locations. One is at the Mercer County Courthouse in Princeton and another opened at the Herb Sims Wellness Center along Stadium Drive in Bluefield.

A third polling place for early voting opened in the Four Seasons Answering Service at 3311 Coal Heritage Road in Bluewell and a fourth opened at Covenant Baptist Church at 145 Wyndale Drive between Princeton and Athens.

Early voting polls in Mercer County are open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and both Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Voters should bring their voter ID card, a driver's license or a utility bill which verifies their address.

Mercer County Clerk Verlin Moye said the county's registered voters can go to any of the four locations.

Moye said Wednesday that early voting's first day was "a little slow," but voters and the county's voter registration staff liked the new voting machines.

"We're tweaking our procedures and processes with the new system," he said.

Chief Registrar Marie Hill compiled voter statistics for the first day.

"The machines were a big hit with the voters," she said. "Voters seemed to like them."

The courthouse had 124 early voters and another 55 cast their ballots at the Bluefield location.

The Four Seasons Answering Service in Bluewell and Covenant Baptist Church had 59 voters apiece, giving the county a total of 297 voters for the first day of early voting.

In Monroe County, early voting is available at the old Union Rescue Building on Pump Street in Union and at Peterstown Town Hall on Thomas Street. Both of Monroe County's early polling places will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both Saturdays.

Early voters in McDowell County can go to the McDowell County Courthouse in Welch. The county's early voting location will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and both Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com