Upcoming Elections
2010 Primary Election: 05/11/10
2010 General Election: 11/2/10
Polling Place Hours: 6:30 AM to 7:30 PM
Click here to download a West Virginia Frequently Asked Questions document created by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and its pro bono law firm partners.
Voter Registration Information
Click here for a West Virginia Voter Registration Guide created by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and its pro bono law firm partners.
Registration Deadlines
You must register to vote at least three weeks before the election. If you are registering in person, either at your town clerk's office or at another agency that does voter registration, you must do it by this day. If you are mailing in your application, you must postmark it by this day. (Mail in application.)
2010 General Election: October 12, 2010
Identification Required for Registration
If you register in person you should have a driver's license or other photo ID with proof of name, age and address with you. If you register by mail, you'll need this ID at your polling place on Election Day.
How to Check Registration
Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE
Contact your County Clerk
Voting Information
Identification Required to Vote
If you registered to vote by mail, you'll need a photo ID with proof of your name, age, and address.
How to Find Your Polling Place
Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE
Use online Poll Locator
Absentee Voting
Click here to visit GoVoteAbsentee.org, a resource for absentee voters.
You may vote by absentee ballot if:
- You will be out of your county on Election Day AND for the entire period of early voting beforehand.
- Your hours of employment make it impossible to vote on Election Day or on any of the days during the early voting period.
- You are ill or disabled and cannot get to the polls.
- You are in the military or live overseas.
- You are a student attending school outside of West Virginia.
- You are incarcerated or under house arrest, but have not been convicted of a felony, treason, or bribery in an election.
Emergency absentee voting is available if a voter becomes seriously ill and is hospitalized in the seven days before an election.
- A family member may request the emergency absentee voting service by telephone. The County Clerk will schedule a team of emergency absentee voting commissioners to go to the voter at the hospital. The team takes the application and the ballot and returns the voted ballot to the County Clerk.
Rules and Deadlines:
- Your request for an absentee ballot must be received by the clerk by October 27th in order to vote in the 2010 General Election.
- Your ballot must be hand delivered to the clerk by November 1st or postmarked by November 2nd in order to be counted.
Early Voting
Early voting starts 20 days before the election and ends 3 days before the election. In 2010 General Election early voting days are October 13th to October 30th.
You may vote in person at your county clerk's office during early voting if:
- You will be travelling or at work on Election Day, but will be in your home county at some point during the early voting period
- It is inconvenient for you to vote on Election Day.
Information For People who have Moved or Changed Addresses
If you have moved to a new county, you must register there by the regular registration methods.
If you have moved within your county, you can update your information using a voter registration form, by going to your county clerk, or by updating it at your polling place. If you have stayed within the same precinct you will be able to vote as usual. If you have moved precincts you will have to vote a provisional ballot if you update your information at your polling place.
Information for People with Felony Convictions
Voting rights are restored when the term of your conviction ends. You must fill out a voter registration application by mail or at your county clerk's office in order to be eligible to vote again.
For more information, go to the Secretary of State's website, or click here to download a West Virginia Election Protection Manual created by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and its pro bono law firm partners. You can also ask questions online.
