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This newspaper has at several points in the past published editorials criticizing low voter turnout across our region of West Virginia. It’s only right that an editorial be published today that praises local residents for voting and making their voice heard in Tuesday’s General Election.
In recent mid-term elections, the voter turnout rate in our region has hovered between 20% to 25% from county to county. In this election, however, the voter turnout was almost twice as high across our local counties.
Randolph County ended up with a 42% voter turnout for the 2026 General Election, according to unofficial vote tallies Tuesday night.
A total of 7,345 votes were cast in the election, out of the county’s 17,456 registered voters, resulting in a 42.08% voter turnout.
A total of 3,950 votes were cast on Election Day in Randolph County, while 3,250 were cast during the early voting period. A total of 145 absentee ballots were cast, according to unofficial results provided by the Randolph County Clerk’s office Tuesday night.
Upshur County posted a 39.73% voter turnout for the General Election, with 5,750 ballots cast out of the county's 14,473 registered voters.
A total of 3,578 ballots were cast in Barbour County, out of 9,654 registered voters, resulting in a 37.06% voter turnout rate for the county in the General Election.
And Tucker County can boast of a 50.07% voter turnout rate for the General Election. A total of 2,597 ballots were cast, out of the county's 5,187 registered voters.
This is a major turnaround. There are many explanations being offered for why so many more voters turned out this fall, but whatever the reasons, this increased voter engagement is good for our counties, our region and our state.
If you cast a ballot in the General Election, thank you for doing your duty as citizens. Let’s take this voter involvement into the future, and build on it. Good things will result.