West Virginia enters last week of early voting

Greg Jordan, Bluefield Daily Telegraph, W.Va.
·2 min read

Nov. 1—PRINCETON — A total of 435 of Mercer County's registered voters cast their ballots Monday at early polling places, bringing the total up to 2,152 as West Virginia entered its last week of early voting before the Nov. 8 election.

By the end of voting Monday, 168 people had voted at the Mercer County Courthouse. Another 74 voted at the Herb Sims Wellness Center along Stadium Drive in Bluefield,and 96 voted at the Covenant Baptist Church near Princeton. The early polling place at the Four Seasons Answering Service in Bluewell served 97 voters, according to figures provided by Mercer County Clerk's Office.

"It was very busy today between absentee and early voting," said Deputy Clerk Marie Hill.

The clerk's office was working to make sure the each of the county's 45 precincts were fully staffed for election day.

"We're required to have five (election workers) at each precinct on Election Day," Mercer County Clerk Verlin Moye said. "If one calls in and can't come because of an emergency or sick, we scramble to fill that position. In certain instances, we ran successfully with three workers. What's most important in that case is that we have a balance of parties as witnesses."

Since the last U.S. Census, precinct lines have been redrawn based on numbers of registered voters and population, Moye said.

People who are not sure where they should cast their votes can call the Mercer County Voter Registration office at 304-487-8338 or 8339. They can also go on the internet to mercervotes.com, which has a link to the West Virginia Secretary of State's Office.

"We tried everything within our power to minimize the changes, but we've got laws we have to follow and rules that keep our election process running secure and fair," Moye said.

In McDowell County, early votes can be cast at the McDowell County Courthouse in Welch. Citizens in Monroe County can cast their early votes at Petertown Town Hall and Union Rescue Squad Building at 160 Pump Street in Union. Early voting figures in McDowell and Monroe Counties were not available Monday.

Early voting in West Virginia continues until Saturday. Polls will be open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com