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CHARLESTON - With early voting beginning Wednesday ahead of the Tuesday, Nov. 3, midterm general election, the West Virginia Secretary of State's Office released the final voter registration numbers Monday.
According to the Secretary of State's Office, 1,210,297 West Virginia residents are registered to vote for this year's midterms. The deadline to register to vote or update voter registration was Oct. 13. That's 17,872 more voters than the 1,198,036 residents who were registered to vote for the May primary and 2,177 more voters than the 1,208,120 who were registered as of the end of September.
“It’s encouraging to see West Virginians taking an active role in our constitutional republic," said Secretary of State Kris Warner in a statement Monday. "Whether registering to vote for the first time or keeping their voter registration information up to date, civic engagement is important. We all play a part in ensuring our elections are secure, transparent, and fair.”
The Republican Party continues to maintain a majority of voter registrations in the state with 527,532, an increase of 1,004 voters from the 526,528 registered Republicans as of the end of September. Republican voter registration first exceeded Democratic Party voter registration at the beginning of 2021, with 43.6% of voters registering with the GOP as of last Tuesday.
The Democratic Party, which was the dominate party in the state for nearly 90 years until 2021, picked up an additional 500 voters between the end of September and the Oct. 13 voter registration deadline, with 326,697 registered voters, or nearly 27% of registered voters. Voters registered as "no party" also increased by 627 voters in a two-week period to 307,373, or 25.4% of registered voters.
There are 48,695 voters registered with third parties, including 10,876 residents registered with the Libertarian Party, 2,810 registered with the Mountain Party, 289 registered with the Constitution Party, and 34,720 registered as "other."
Wednesday, Oct. 21, marks the beginning of early voting in West Virginia. Voters can go to their county courthouse, courthouse annex or designated early voting locations through Saturday, Oct. 31 excluding Sundays during business hours and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at designated voting precincts.
Voters still wishing to vote by absentee ballot have until Wednesday, Oct. 28, to send their application to their local county clerk in order for county election officials to mail their absentee ballot in time for the election. Absentee ballots can be hand-delivered to county clerks up to Monday, Nov. 2.
Absentee ballots submitted electronically can be received by county clerks up to the close of polls on Nov. 3. Absentee ballots without postmarks can be received no later than Wednesday, Nov. 4. Absentee ballots with postmarks or through the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act can be received up to Monday, Nov. 9, when county commissions begin canvassing the vote.
Early voting and the Nov. 3 general election will mark the first general election where a photo I.D. is required to vote. Previously, multiple forms of photo and non-photo I.D. were allowed, but the Legislature voted in 2025 to limit I.D. requirements to photo-only.
Allowable former of photo I.D. (with exceptions) include a West Virginia driver's license or I.D. card; a photo I.D. issued by another state; a U.S. passport or passport card; a local, state, or federal government I.D.; a student I.D. issued by a high school or college/university; a U.S. military I.D., a photo voter registration card issued by a county clerk; and a DMV-issued I.D. without a photo for residents who swear/affirm they are part of a religious community that prohibits them from being photographed.
Voter can visit GoVoteWV.com, the Secretary of State's voter information website, to find additional voter registration requirements and exceptions, locate early voting locations, review sample ballots, track absentee ballots, and see unofficial election results when polls close on Nov. 3.