Four Things to Know About Voting Ahead of the 2026 Election
New Laws Governing Voting Could Silence Vulnerable West Virginians at the Polls
It will take a concerted effort to educate people about the voting changes enacted since the last election and to counter the ongoing attempts to silence our voices. Here are four things you need to know about voting ahead of the next election.
In 2026, West Virginia voters will be required to provide photo identification to vote.
During the 2025 legislative session, the Legislature passed a bill that threatens voting access for many eligible West Virginians. HB 3016 eliminated West Virginia’s expansive list of non-photo voter ID options and requires all West Virginians to present a photo ID to vote, ignoring a critical reality: many West Virginians do not have — and cannot easily obtain — the necessary documents to obtain a photo ID. HB 3016 will significantly increase the difficulty for eligible voters to cast a ballot — especially those who do not drive, lack internet access, or cannot afford the time or money to obtain hard-to-obtain documents like birth certificates. These burdens fall disproportionately on seniors, people of color, people with disabilities, low-income voters, and students.
Registered voters can receive a voter registration card that includes the voter’s photograph by submitting an application in person at their county clerk’s office. Although this has been available to voters since 2016, now that non-photo IDs will no longer be accepted, it’s more important than ever that we help voters take advantage of this free photo ID option and ensure that county clerks and the Secretary of State’s office are prepared to fulfill their obligation to provide them. You can register to vote or check and update your registration at GoVoteWV.com.
The Legislature made it easier to remove voters from the rolls.
SB 487 passed during the 2025 legislative session, will allow county clerks and the Secretary of State to start the process of removing you from the rolls after missing one election. The new law shortens the amount of time, from four years to two years, a voter can go without voting or updating voter information before being considered inactive. In the year following a federal election, voters who have not voted in the last two years or whom election officials believe may no longer be eligible due to an address change will be mailed a postcard requesting that they confirm or update their registration information. If the person does not respond to the notice or the US Postal Service returns the notice as non-deliverable, then the voter is considered “inactive.”
To be returned to “active” status, they will need to update their information or confirm that it is correct, which can be done by contacting their county clerk or by voting in the next election. “Inactive” voters who fail to respond to the notice or otherwise update their registration and do not vote in the next two federal elections will have their registration “cancelled.”
The Legislature also passed a bill (SB 624) in 2024 that allows the Secretary of State’s office to cancel the voter registration of individuals who obtain a driver’s license in another state, potentially in violation of the National Voter Registration Act. This is most likely to impact students who are registered to vote and attend school in West Virginia, but who obtain or renew their driver’s license in their home state.
Voter rolls need to be up-to-date and accurate. People move, die, change their party affiliation, and so on. However, because those who want to silence certain voices exploit the system for political gain, and because Congress has failed to set national standards to ensure that all Americans have equal access to the ballot by mandating Same Day Registration, that would protect eligible voters from improper voter roll purges, all voters need to check, and if necessary, update their registration in advance of every election.
Voters can no longer look to the federal government
to protect their right to vote.
The Department of Justice, which has long been charged with enforcing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, has abandoned much of its inherited voting rights caseload to prosecute so-called voter fraud rather than affirmatively protecting voting rights and upholding enforcement of the VRA. The Brennan Center for Justice has written extensively about how this pullback comes at a time when some courts are undermining the ability of individuals and organizations to file suit under the Act. At the same time, the US Supreme Court has stripped judges of a key power to stop illegal actions/block unconstitutional policies – like Trump’s attack on birthright citizenship – from taking effect. In the wake of the ruling barring nationwide injunctions, some lawyers challenging Trump’s power grabs are turning to class action suits, which are easier for defendants to delay and usually take longer to resolve. According to legal experts who spoke to Democracy Docket, defendants also have significant leverage to challenge classes and argue that the individuals seeking certification are too dissimilar to form a cohesive class.
A bill before Congress would upend most methods of voter registration while disenfranchising tens of millions of Americans.
The SAVE Act could prevent millions of American citizens from casting ballots by requiring them to produce a passport, birth certificate, or other proof of citizenship to vote. The Act would also effectively eliminate longstanding and popular methods of voter registration for all voters, including registration by mail, voter registration drives, and online voter registration, by requiring voters to produce citizenship documents “in person” to an election official before the registration deadline.
The House passed the SAVE Act on April 10. The Senate has not yet voted on the bill. If it becomes law, it would be the worst voting bill to ever pass Congress, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. An October 2023 survey by the Center found that over 21 million American citizens of voting age — more than 9 percent — lack easy access to these documents. What’s more, tens of millions of married women have changed their last names, so the names on their birth certificates don’t match their current legal names.
The SAVE Act and the new laws passed by the Legislature aren’t about protecting our elections. They’re about restricting access to the ballot box and disenfranchising eligible voters under the guise of election security. We must prevent the SAVE Act from becoming law, educate our communities and arm voters with information to help them overcome these unnecessary barriers to making their voices heard.
