Warner visits Randolph Courthouse

ELKINS -- West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner made a stop at the Randolph County Courthouse Tuesday during his week-long trek to meet with county clerks across the state.

Warner's journey began Monday as the official candidate filing period for the May 14 Primary Election got underway across the Mountain State.

"We're getting around to a lot of places this week. This is the 10th courthouse we've made a stop at so far," Warner said. "We are making these visits for several reasons, including to see if the clerks are having any issues now that the filing period has started."

During his visit Tuesday, Warner spoke with Randolph County Clerk Brenda Wiseman and members of her staff, including Karla Mahanes, Ryan Stanley and Brandy Simmons. Warner said he wanted to make sure preparations for the election were running smoothly and that all Wiseman's staff had everything they needed.

Warner will visit with a total of 14 county clerks this week in an effort to promote the election season to the general public. Before his stop in Elkins, he visited Berkeley County and Jefferson County on Tuesday. Warner will be in Raleigh, Cabell and Putnam counties today. Over the next several weeks, he plans to visit with all 55 county clerks in the state.

"During these visits we are out here talking to the press and to people who might have an interest in running for office, or being a poll worker," Warner said. "We are also talking to people to see if they want to change their registration or register for the first time…"

Warner has put together a six-point plan to promote interest and participation in the upcoming election. The plan includes the following steps:

Announce the official start of West Virginia's May 14 Primary Election with Candidate Filing;

Promote a fair, safe, and secure election; 

Remind voters to update their current voter registration, if needed; Encourage eligible voters to register to vote;

Educate the public on the voter resources available at GoVoteWV.com;

Recruit registered voters to be Election-Day poll workers.

"Any information someone would need about the upcoming elections can be found at GoVoteWV.com," Warner said. "If someone wants to file for an absentee ballot or file for office, they can find all of that information on the website. If someone wants to change their registration, they can also do that online. Everything they need is on the site."

Candidate filing for the May 14 Primary Election will continue until midnight on Saturday, Jan. 27.  The primary election is scheduled for May 14 and early voting will take place in Randolph County from May 1 to May 11. The General Election will be held on Nov. 5, with early voting scheduled for Oct. 23 through Nov. 2.