Voting in
West Virginia

Upcoming Election Dates & Deadlines

Upcoming Election: Primary Election

Election Day: November 5, 2024

Registration Deadline: October 15, 2024

Vote By Mail: no

Early Voting: October 23 - 2, 2024

How to vote in West Virginia

West Virginia's election schedule

West Virginia's Election Overview

In West Virginia, you can register to vote online, by mail, or in person. Voting can be done in person or by absentee ballot. Bring a photo ID when voting in person.

Important Voting Links for West Virginia

How to vote in West Virginia

Absentee Ballot Process

Absentee voting is available if you meet any of the criteria below. The last day to request an absentee ballot is 6 days before the election. Voted ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and received no later than 5 days after Election Day in order to be counted. You can return your absentee ballot request form through the mail, in person, or scanned as an attachment to an email. Just be sure to include your proof of ID no matter how you return the request form. You can sign up to track your absentee ballot on your Secretary of State website. Absentee ballots begin being counted on Election Day. For more information contact your local election officials. Requesting and Returning your Absentee Ballot You may submit an absentee ballot application beginning 84 days before the General Election if you meet any of the following criteria:

Attending school
Illness, injury or other medical reason
Traveling outside the county for business or personal reasons
Incarcerated or serving home confinement for misdemeanor, and legally registered to vote
Work hours and distance from county seat
Work assignment requires living temporarily outside the county (4 years or less)
Service as election or appointed or federal official requires living temporarily outside country
If the early voting, or Election Day polling locations are inaccessible
If you are attending college or another place of education or training

To download the absentee ballot application, use your state’s resource. Your request for an absentee ballot must be received no later than the 6th day before the election. Unless you are voting absentee by mail because of illness or disability, the ballot must be mailed to an out-of-county address. You may apply as early as eighty-four days before the election, but the ballots are not ready for mailing to you until six weeks before the election. Mailed ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and received no later than five days after Election Day in order to be counted. You can hand-deliver your ballot, but those must be received no later than the day before Election Day. You can track your ballot to see where it is in the process. Voting in Person if Absentee Ballot was Requested Those who requested an absentee ballot but end up voting in person: Voters must surrender their absentee ballots before receiving a regular ballot, otherwise they must vote by a provisional ballot. Do not mail a ballot and vote in person. For specifics, you can find your local county clerk contact info here. Permanent Absentee Voting If you are a participant in the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Address Confidentiality Program or you have a permanent, physical disability that prevents you from going to a polling place, you can apply for permanent absentee voting. Emergency Absentee Voting If you’re in a hospital or other health care facility on Election Day or are a poll worker appointed to a precinct other than your own after Early Voting you can apply for emergency absentee voting. Some counties allow for emergency absentee voting in other situations, so be sure to check with your County Clerk for more information.

Early Voting

The County Clerk is responsible for early voting. The locations will be in the County Courthouse, annex or on the property of the courthouse. The regular period of early voting begins 13 days before the election and ends 3 days before the election. Voting is available during regular business hours and on any Saturday on or between the 13th and 3rd days before the election. Contact your county clerk for more information on times and locations.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible to vote you must be:

A resident of West Virginia and the county where you register
A U.S. citizen
At least 17 years old and will be 18 years old by the next General Election
Not currently under conviction for a felony, including probation or parole, or a court ruling of mental incompetence

If you are currently serving any portion of a felony sentence, including probation and supervision, you are not currently eligible to vote. Once your felony sentence is complete and your rights have been restored your right to vote is also reinstated, but you must re-register before casting a ballot.

ID Needed for Voter Registration

If you register in person, you must bring proof of physical address. If you are registering by mail, fill out the application and remember to submit a copy of a current and valid ID or bring proof of identification with you to the polls. Examples of a physical address include:

Driver’s license
Utility bill
Bank statement
Paycheck, or other government document.

Valid proof of ID include:

Photo ID
Utility bill
Bank statement
Government check
Paycheck or any other official government document that shows your name a and address.

If you are registering online you must provide your name (as it appears on your WV ID or drivers license), your birthday, your WV ID or drivers license number and the last four digits of your Social Security Number. If you do not have a WV ID number or Social Security Number, you can still fill out the rest of the form online, print, and submit to your County Clerk by mail or in person. First time West Virginia voters who have registered by mail and did not provide verification with application must show identification at the polls.

ID Needed for Voting

All West Virginia voters must show an approved form of identification at the polls during early voting or on election day. All forms of ID must be valid and not expired. A list of acceptable ID’s include:

West Virginia driver’s license
Other ID issued by West Virginia DMV
Driver’s license issued by another state
US Passport
US Military ID
Employee ID card issued by United States government or West Virginia state government
Student ID card
Concealed carry permit

Voters can call or text 844-338-8743 at any time to reach VoteRiders Voter ID Helpline

Overseas and Military Voting

You are a Military or Overseas voter if you are in uniformed services, living overseas OR a spouse or dependent of a uniformed services voter. To get registered and vote, you can utilize Overseas Vote Foundation. If you have additional questions about elections and voting overseas you can use our state specific elections official directory or contact the Overseas Vote Foundation.

Primary Election Process

West Virginia has a hybrid primary system. If you are registered to with a particular party, you must vote in that parties primary. However, if you are unaffiliated with any political party, you can choose which party’s primary you wish to vote in. If you have any questions about your state’s primary election, please contact your local election officials.

Provisional Voting

If there is a question about your eligibility to vote in an election, you may vote a provisional ballot. You might vote a provisional ballot if:

Your registration record is not available at the time of the election
Your signature in the poll book does not match the signature on the registration record
The registration record indicates any other legal disqualifications

The canvassing board will review the information associated with the ballot and will determine whether or not your vote can be counted. Provisional ballots are counted 5 days after the election. To check on the status of your provisional ballot, please use your state’s tool.

Provisions for Voters with Disabilities

If your health or disability does not permit you to go to the polls, you may get a mail in ballot. Be sure to apply early enough so that your application reaches the clerk at least six days before the election. If you are permanently unable to go to the polls, you may apply to be placed on the permanent absentee voting list to vote by mail. A doctor’s statement must be filed with your application, but once approved, the clerk will automatically send you an absentee ballot before each election. If you vote at the polls and need assistance, you may choose a person to assist you, or two poll workers of opposing political parties may read the ballot to you or help you mark your ballot (only poll workers may mark your ballot). If you need them in order to vote, you may use braille navigation, audio reading of the ballot or touch screen interfaces to help you cast you ballot. If you are unable to enter the polling location, curbside voting is available, or you may request a precinct change. Please contact your County Clerk for more information. You can also utilize the American Association of People With Disabilities (AAPD) resource.

Voting Machines

The voting systems used in West Virginia are Optical Scan, AutoMARK, Paper Ballots and DRE. Optical Scan: An optical scan ballot is a specially designed paper ballot which is marked by the voter with a special pencil, then tallied by a computer reader. The layout is very similar to the standardized tests given in school, the voter darkens an oval next to a candidate’s name in order to enter a vote. AutoMARK:This voting system actually uses the Optical Scan ballot. The voter inserts the ballot into the machine and uses the AutoMARK touch screen to make his/her choices; when the voter is finished, the unit then marks the ballot for the voter and the voter retrieves his/her ballot and places it in a ballot box. Paper Ballots: Paper Ballots are still marked with an x to select the preferred candidate and then counted at the polling place by a team of five election officials called a Counting Board. Direct Recording Electronic (DRE): This is the newest kind of system in use in the U.S. All the information about who and what you are voting for is on an electronic screen like a TV or computer screen. There are many variations of DREs because lots of companies are inventing new ones, and many cities, counties and states are trying them out. Usually, after you have signed in, the poll workers will give you a card that you slide into a device to start your voting session. Some of these devices will show all of the candidates and ballot choices on one big screen. Often, with these big screen devices you push a button next to the name of the candidate you want to vote for (or yes or no on a ballot measure). On other DREs, the screen is set up to show pages. On each screen or page, there will probably be one thing to vote on. For example, on one screen or page, you might vote for president. Then you might move to the next page to vote for senator. Often these small-screen devices have a touch screen, where you touch the screen next to the name of the person you want to vote for. Other devices have a key pad. And some have a keyboard, so you can write in the name of someone you want to vote for. You let the system know you are finished voting by pushing a button, touching the screen or entering something on a keypad. You can learn more about voting systems by checking out the Elections Assistance Commission’s (EAC) resource.