14,109 Votes Already Cast In Northern Panhandle
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WHEELING -- The Nov. 3 general election is more than a week away, and already in excess of 14,000 people have voted in the Northern Panhandle.
Strong in-person early voting turnout continued on Friday, with a cumulative 5,133 voters in the Northern Panhandle coming out on the first three days of early voting season. Early voting continues on Saturday, and Monday through Saturday next week at local courthouses.
The West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office also released figures Friday morning detailing the number of persons in the state by county that have submitted absentee ballots for the election. These numbers indicate 8,976 absentee ballots have been returned so far to county election offices in the Northern Panhandle.
There are 112,437 registered voters in the six counties that comprise the Northern Panhandle, and when added to early voting totals that means 14,109 already have voted. This makes for an overall turnout rate so far of 12.5 percent.
— On Friday, 501 people early voted in Ohio County, bringing that county’s total to 1,475 since in-person early voting began Wednesday.
Also, 3,304 absentee ballots had been received there as of Friday morning.
In total, 4,779 ballots have been submitted in Ohio County so far from the county's 30,994 registered voters. This is a turnout rate of 15.4 percent.
Poll workers said they were surprised by the totals, but even more surprised by the calm, respectful behavior of each of the nearly 1,500 voters coming to the polls.
“They have been so super nice — so polite,” said poll worker Kim Gibbons. “Usually you have at least one person who wants to give you a hard time, but we haven’t had that this time — even with nearly 1,500 people.”
— Marshall County has had 1,168 in-person voters near the end of the first three days of early voting, and 1,610 mail-in absentee ballots had been returned there as of Friday morning.
The county has had 2,778 ballots cast, and has 21,417 registered voters. Turnout so far is at 13 percent.
— Hancock County numbers show at least 673 voting early since Wednesday, and 1,685 returning absentee ballots.
There have been 2,358 votes cast so far in Hancock County, where there are 23,998 registered voters. This is a turnout rate of just under 10 percent.
— Brooke County reports 877 voting near the end of the day Friday, and 1,287 absentee ballots received.
When added together, 2,164 residents have voted in Brooke County. The county has 19,164 registered voters, and a turnout rate so far of slightly more than 11 percent.
— Wetzel County has seen 573 vote early, and 706 return absentee ballots.
A total of 1,279 ballots have been cast so far in Wetzel County, where there are 10,221 registered voters. Turnout so far is 12.5 percent.
— Tyler County’s early vote total was at 367 near the end of the day Friday. The county also has received 384 absentee ballots, for a total of 751 ballots cast.
There are 6,643 registered voters in Tyler County, resulting in a turnout rate so far of 11.3 percent.
Statewide, the Secretary of State’s Office reports 44,935 in-person early votes during the first two days of early voting, while 103,601 absentee ballots had been cast as of Friday morning.
There are now 148,536 confirmed votes cast in West Virginia, equaling 11.7 percent of the state’s 1.26 million voters.