photo by: Photo by Joselyn King

Voters line up to cast ballots at the opening of early voting April 27 in Ohio County.

WHEELING – West Virginia voters going to the polls Tuesday may bring with them a list of candidates to help them remember who to vote for, so long as they don’t share it with others or leave that list in the voting booth, according to the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office.

Electioneering laws prohibit voters from bringing election-related materials with them in polling locations, but having a marked sample ballot is not the same thing, according to West Virginia Deputy Secretary of State Chuck Flanery.

He reviewed state code and discussed the matters with legal advisors before issuing an opinion.

“The sample ballot in itself is not electioneering,” he explained. “It’s what you do with it. You can’t show it to other people or leave it in the ballot booth.”

Some Ohio County voters taking with them a marked sample ballot to early vote were told they could not bring it with them when they went to the voting devices.

“I was always told for the past 20 years they couldn’t,” explained Toni Chieffalo, coordinator of elections in Ohio County. “I guess I was wrong. I don’t even remember who told me it was that way. It’s just the way I thought it was.

“Now I feel bad and so do our workers. It was our fault.”

Electioneering laws do prohibit voters from bringing with them campaign literature, or wearing clothing or pins noting their support for a candidate currently on the ballot, according to Chieffalo.

But if the voter is wearing an item supporting a past elected official or candidate, the voter won’t be told to remove it, she continued.

Voters do need to bring with them to the polls some type of identification. Acceptable forms include a voters registration card; drivers license; Medicare card; Social Security card; birth certificate; West Virginia hunting or fishing license; WV SNAP ID card;, the WV TANF program ID card; WV Medicaid ID card; bank or debit card; utility bill or bank statement issued within six months of the date of the election; health insurance card; any state or federal document issued to the voter that displays their name; a military ID or concealed carry (pistol/revolver) permit .

Wetzel County Clerk Carol Haught said voters there are stopped from bringing in a sample ballot with them to the polls.

“Technically, they are not supposed to have election materials with them,” she said. “But I suppose if they keep it to themselves, it is not a problem. But it is not something they should share or leave in the booth.”

Across the river in Ohio laws pertaining to bringing a candidate reminder list to the polls remain the same.

“(It is permitted) as long as it is kept private and out of site,” said Frankie Carnes, chairwoman of the Belmont County Board of Elections. “It is the same as if they wrote names on a piece of paper inside their pocket. Lots of people may need the help.”