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CHARLESTON - Early voting in West Virginia was up 24% for this General Election from the last midterm General Election, in November 2022, Secretary of State Kris Warner announced Monday.
County clerks reported that a total of 162,349 West Virginia voters cast their ballots during the early voting period, which ran from Wednesday, Oct. 21 through Saturday, Oct. 31.
A total of 131,404 early votes were cast during the early voting period in November 2022, according to Warner’s office.
Unofficial early voter turnout statistics show a 19% increase in Democrat voters, a 28% increase in Republican voters, and a 31% increase in unaffiliated voters over the 2022 midterm General Election.
Warner’s office released numbers regarding the total number of ballots cast during the General Election early voting period. In addition to the 162,349 in-person early voting ballots cast, a total of 9,735 absentee ballots were requested, and 7,001 absentee ballots have been returned.
Combining the 162,349 in-person early voting ballots with the 7,001 absentee ballots results in a total early voting turnout of 169,350 ballots cast, representing nearly 14% of West Virginia’s 1,210,297 registered voters.
Warner attributes the rise in voter turnout to how easy it has become to register to vote in West Virginia.
“West Virginia voters have the opportunity to continue or increase this trend on Tuesday, Nov. 3, by voting between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Voters in line by 7:30 p.m. will be guaranteed the opportunity to vote," Warner said.
According to Warner, the general public plays an important role in keeping West Virginia elections safe and secure. He is encouraging citizens who may witness or believe that an election law violation has occurred to report it immediately to the WVSOS Investigations Division toll free at 877-FRAUD-WV to report any potential violation.
According to numbers announced Monday afternoon, a total of 57,030,406 early votes were cast across the United States for the General Election, including 31,838,677 in-person early votes and 25,191,729 mail ballots returned. A total of 61,141,934 mail ballots were requested, according to the Election Lab at the University of Florida.