The early voting sign outside the Kanawha County Courthouse at 409 Virginia St E in Charleston, West Virginia, on Friday, May 8, 2026. (Photo by Lori Kersey/West Virginia Watch)
In total According to Secretary of State Kris Warner’s office, 67,356 voters in West Virginia cast their primary ballots during early voting this year, up 8% from the 2022 primary.
As of Thursday, 48,233 ballots were cast. On Friday and Saturday – the final two days of early voting before Tuesday’s primary election – an “increase” of 19,123 West Virginia voters cast ballots, according to Warner’s office.
According to the Secretary of State’s preliminary data, 24,767 West Virginia residents have voted so far in the Democratic primary, 32,539 in the Republican primary and 7,710 in the independent election.
Early voting began April 29 and ended Saturday. Warner said county officials across the state reported a surge in early voters on Friday and Saturday.
“This shows me that West Virginia voters have confidence in our election process,” Warner said in a news release. “Despite the large volume of campaign materials we have seen this cycle, voters still want to participate in electing state, county and local leaders.”
In 2022, 62,283 voters participated in early voting, Warner’s office said.
The 2026 election is the first in which West Virginia voters were required to present a photo ID. Warner said the early voter turnout is evidence that the up-to-date photo ID law is not having a negative impact on voter turnout. He said he was confident it would stay that way in Tuesday’s election.
He attributed the success to a “comprehensive and coordinated public education campaign” by county officials, political parties, candidates and media about the photo ID law.
This election is also the first in years in which the state GOP required voters to be registered Republicans to participate in its primary.
“The closed Republican primary does not appear to have had a negative impact on voter turnout,” Warner said in the release. “We assume that this will also be the case with voter turnout on election day.”
Election day is Tuesday. Polling stations open at 6:30 p.m. and close at 7:30 p.m
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