John Marshall High School students fill out voter registration paperwork on the stage floor following a presentation by West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner on Friday. Overseeing them is government teacher Joshua Gary, left.

WHEELING — West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner is on a mission to register high school students to vote, and he has noticed something while on the road.

He says students seem to be more politically aware and engaged now than in past years.

Warner is on the road visiting high schools as part of National Voter Registration Month. On Friday, he made visits to both John Marshall and Wheeling Park high schools.

In Wheeling, members of his staff and Ohio County elections officials distributed voting applications to juniors and seniors. They are eligible to register to vote now if they turn 18 years old prior to the Nov. 3, 2026 general election.

Many of the students are returning their applications. He reported that at St. Marys High School this week, 100% of students present registered to vote. That was also the case at Tyler Consolidated High School.

In the past, members of his staff would make up to four visits a year to a school to get the maximum number of registrations.

“There is a larger percentage of the class registering to vote the first time they get to do it,” Warner explained.

He noted that his office isn’t able to get into every school to register the students.

“It takes an engaged principal or a social studies teacher who understands the value,” Warner continued. “Everywhere we’ve gone where they’ve had at least 85% sign up to vote is where they have had the most active and engaging principles and civics teachers.”

He indicated the students are also asking thoughtful questions.

At one recent school visit, Warner said a student asked if it were true that to vote a Republican ballot in next year’s primary election the voter has to be registered as a Republican.

Warner said that is true. While in recent elections non-party voters could request a Republican ballot, the West Virginia GOP has opted to close their primary election to just registered Republicans.

At WPHS on Friday, a student asked how someone could go about starting their own political party. Warner and Erin Allietta, coordinator of elections in Ohio County, explained the process is complicated but possible. Allietta added she could provide additional information such as the number of petition signatures needed back at her office.

Warner and Allietta told the students on Friday they actually didn’t need to pick a party when they first registered to vote, and they encouraged them to research and do some thinking before selecting a political affiliation.

Dozens of John Marshall High School students registered to vote following their visit with Warner and Marshall County elections officials. During his talk, Warner encouraged the 11th and 12th-grade students to register, explaining it was their right to vote during local, state and federal elections. He said that, during National Voter Registration Month, his office has helped more than 1,000 students register to vote across the state.

He said if a school registers at least 85% of its eligible students it has a chance to win the Jennings Randolph Award. The award includes a visit by two student representatives to the state capitol in Charleston during the legislative session.

“Our job is to make sure they register to vote and that they have the opportunity. We want to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat,” he said.

JMHS Government teacher Joshua Gary said the day’s goal was to register as many students as possible to vote.

“We always teach the importance of being involved and doing your civic duty and voting,” Gary said. “Most students are aware and engaged and we do discuss some subjects, although I always remind them that we need to be very respectful of others’ opinions.

“We can always discuss things, but it’s very important to have a free and fair society to make sure everybody is aware of what is going on around them and understand why things are happening around them the way they are happening.”

Toni Chieffalo, deputy elections clerk for Marshall County, also encouraged the students to register to vote. She also encouraged the students to sign up to become poll workers on election day. She noted the training lasts for about 90 minutes. On election day, poll workers work all day and into the evening. The current pay is $300 for the day, but may be increased in the future.