Deadline Approaches To Request Absentee Ballots In W.Va.

With election day just one week away, Wednesday is the deadline to submit requests for an absentee ballot. For it to be accepted, county clerks must also receive the application no later than tomorrow, Oct. 28.

People can request their ballots online at govotewv.com or print and drop off their requests at their local county clerk’s office.

The deadline for in-person, early voting is this Saturday, Oct. 31.

Nearly 150,000 absentee ballots have been requested in the state so far, with almost 77 percent, or 114,000, according to Secretary of State Mac Warner. So far about 10 percent of voters, or 126,147, have come out for early in-person voting in the state.

That breaks the record for early voting in the Mountain State by about 20,000 votes so far, with the record being set in the 2016 general election with more than 220,000 early ballots cast.

In West Virginia, absentee ballots being returned by mail must be postmarked by election day and received by the start of canvass, which according to state code will begin Nov. 9. Ballots can also be hand-delivered to local county clerks offices through Nov. 2.

Given the increased amount of absentee voting this year, elections officials expect complete results will not be available on Election Day. Nationwide, nearly 66 million people have early-voted so far, with 19 million more cast than in the 2016 general election.