By JOSELYN KING

Staff Writer

WHEELING — West Virginia voters can start casting ballots Wednesday for the Nov. 6 general election.

Early voting in Ohio already is underway, having begun on Oct. 10.

As Mountain State residents head to the polls, there are still more registered Democrats in the state, but the numbers of Republicans and independents have continued to rise since 2016.

Early voting starts Wednesday across West Virginia and continues through Nov. 3 at local courthouses.

Voters in Brooke and Ohio counties can cast ballots from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

In Marshall County, polls are open from 8:30 a.m to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. On Fridays, voters get an extra hour to vote as the County Clerk’s Office remains open until 5:30 p.m.

Polls in Wetzel County open at 9 a.m. and close at 4:30 p.m. on weekdays except for Thursday, when the clerk’s office closes at 4 p.m.

Tyler County voters may cast ballots from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, while Hancock County is open for voting from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each weekday.

All counties in West Virginia will have early voting from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27, and on Saturday, Nov. 3.

There are presently 1,243,468 registered voters in West Virginia, according to October data from the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office. In 2016, there were 1,274,887 registered voters in the state, representing a decrease of 31,419 registered voters over the past two years.

There are also 51,371 fewer Democrats today than there were in November 2016. That year there were 572,467 registered Democrats in West Virginia, and today there are 521,096 .

The number of Republicans, meanwhile, has jumped from 396,600 to 402,995 in the past two years. And independents have increased in numbers from 266,093 to 275,283 since 2016, the data indicates.

All local counties have fewer registered voters than they did two years ago.

∫ Brooke County has 18,505 registered voters today and had 19,070 in 2016.

Democrat numbers have fallen from 10,196 in 2016 to 9,332 today. Republican numbers have risen from 4,712 to 4,848; and independents, 3,692 to 3,778.

∫ There were 25,010 voters in Hancock County two years ago, and current data sets that number at 23,306.

The number of registered Democrats has dropped from 12,646 two years ago, to 11,017 as of this month. Republican numbers also have dropped from 7,129 in 2016 to 7,094 today. Independent registrations were 4,805 in 2016 and decreased to 4,687 over the past two years.

∫ In Marshall County, there are 21,056 registered voters — representing a slight decrease from 21,078 in 2016.

The number of Democrats has decreased from 9,407 that year to 8,875 today. Republicans have jumped from 6,526 to 6,760; and independents from 4,496 to 4,743.

∫ Ohio County has 29,139 voters, down from 30,114 in 2016.

Democrat registrations have dropped from 12,659 to 11,694 and Republican registrations from 9,751 to 9,684. Independent numbers, though, increased from 5,593 to 5,703.

∫ Tyler County registrations are down from 6,628 in 2016 to 6,401 in October. Democrat registrations dropped from 1,963 two years ago to 1,726 and Republican registrations from 3,121 to 3,068. Independent registrations are up slightly, rising from 1,415 in 2016 to 1,468.

∫ There were 11,968 registered voters in Wetzel County in 2016, and this has dropped to 11,782 for the upcoming election.

Democrat registrations are down from 6,770 to 6,266. Republican ranks jumped from 2,784 to 2,951 and independents, from 1,796 to 1,874.