Clerks report ‘large’ turnout for early voting | News, sports, jobs

ELKINS – Randolph, Tucker, Barbour, Pocahontas and Upshur counties are all reporting strong turnout and little to no issues during early voting as Election Day approaches.

Randolph County Clerk Brenda Wiseman told The Inter-Mountain that about 4,701 people voted early Thursday afternoon. Wiseman said turnout has declined since the first days of early voting and she doesn’t expect today, the last day of early voting in the state, to be busy, but added that “You just never know.”

When asked if there had been any problems, Wiseman said no.

“We had no problems at all” Wijsman said. “The E-Poll Books work well. Everyone seems to like it more. It’s a quicker check-in for people.”

In Tucker County, about 1,117 people had voted via early voting as of Thursday afternoon.

“As the second smallest province, I think we did very well,” Tucker County Clerk Sherry Simmons told The Inter-Mountain.

Simmons said despite the lines, everything went well “very smooth” with a stable number of voters every day. She expects turnout to remain stable today.

Barbour County Clerk Laurie Austin reported that people have been lining up to vote early almost every day, with about 1,427 people having voted as of Wednesday morning. Austin said the number of early voters this time is higher than during the May primary, where there were only about 699.

When asked if there have been any problems, Austin said the only problem has been the lines.

“Especially the lines, you know, waiting,” Austin told The Inter-Mountain. ‘They had to wait. It only happens so fast that you can get people through the lines to vote, and if we try to accommodate more voters with more machines, we have to move our location somewhere else.”

Pocahontas County Clerk Melissa Bennett told The Inter-Mountain that about 15% of their voters had voted as of Wednesday morning.

“It’s going well,” said Bennett. “We had a record turnout.”

Upshur County also reported a high percentage of voters: About 2,118, or about 20%, of voters had voted by the end of the day Tuesday. Upshur County Clerk Carol Smith said yes “very busy.”

“I mean, we’ve had lines, but they’ve gone through, processed,” Smith told The Inter-Mountain. “They move relatively quickly.”

Smith expects today to be busy.

In Randolph County, early voting is offered at two locations: at the Wees Annex at 32 Randolph Avenue in Elkins and at the Russell Memorial Public Library at 10038 Seneca Trail in Mill Creek today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In Barbour County, voters can vote early today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the second floor of the Barbour County Courthouse at 26 North Main Street in Philippi.

In Upshur County, early voting is being offered today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Upshur County Courthouse at 40 W. Main Street in Buckhannon.

In Tucker County, voters can vote early today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Tucker County Courthouse Annex at 211 1st Street in Parsons.

In Pocahontas County, early voting is being offered today at the Pocahontas County Courthouse in Marlinton from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Voting on Election Day Tuesday, November 5 will last from 6:30 AM to 7:30 PM