Early Voting – The Solution to West Virginia’s Poor Voter Turnout
Another election of huge importance for West Virginia will be held in November 2026. All 100 in the House of Delegates and many Senators will be selected. The problem is that large numbers of West Virginians don’t turn out to vote and are left with the political choices other people make.
West Virginia’s voter participation rate is one of the worst in the country. In 2016, the election that brought us Donald Trump for the first time, voter turnout in West Virginia ranked 50th in the country. In the 2024 presidential general election, West Virginia voter turnout was 55.5%, while the national average for the same election was 64.1%.
In “midterm,” non-presidential elections like the one to be held in November 2026, turnout is even worse. In the November 2022 midterm general election, West Virginia again had very low voter turnout. Statewide, 35.4% of registered voters cast ballots. More voters by far stayed home than cast ballots. Only five of our 55 counties had turnout over 50%.
Why is this happening? West Virginians cite the same reasons as non-voters in other states. However, nonvoters in West Virginia were far more likely than in other states to cite the following reasons for not voting:
- Too busy because of conflicting work, family or school schedule,
- Illness or disability,
- Transportation problems,
- Forgot to vote, or
- Did not know where to vote.
There is a solution for this problem, and it is called early voting! If you wait until election day you have only that last chance to vote. If you have a schedule conflict or transportation problem on that day you might miss your chance to vote.
On the other hand, early voting will be conducted in 2026 for a 10-day period from October 21 through October 31. Early voting is held in one central place – your courthouse or a designated annex or community location. In Jefferson County, early voting has been conducted at Charles Washington Hall, across the street from the courthouse. Early voting occurs over an extended period, which means there are typically no lines. Early voting is a short in-and-out process.
There are some who wait to vote until November 3 — election day. But sometimes there are unpleasant surprises like some emergency or obstruction. Sometimes life just gets in the way. But voting is too important a right to sacrifice to poor planning or bad luck. Early voting is the solution.
