FAYETTEVILLE, WV (WOAY) – As Fayette County continues the certification process for the 2026 Primary Election, the county circuit clerk is providing more background information about an operational issue that allowed roughly 90 independent and Democratic voters to mistakenly cast votes on the Republican ballot.
The Fayette County Commission moved to certify the results of the primary election last week, even though they publicly notified candidates in county executive races of voting irregularities.
That isn’t a misstep by the county commission, however. According to Secretary of State Kris Warner, there was nothing else the commission could legally do.
“The law and decades of Supreme Court precedent make it clear that during the canvass process itself, the canvassers have no authority to look behind the face of the returns,” Warner said in an interview last week.
In a press release, Circuit Clerk Michelle Holly says roughly 90 non-partisan or Democratic voters were able to vote a Republican ballot over the course of election day.
“Around 5 PM on Election Day, with over 80% of Election Day voting completed, we received a report through social media of a non-partisan voter being allowed to vote a Republican ballot at the polls. My office contacted the location and reminded them that only voters that were registered with the Republican Party could vote a Republican ballot. Out of an abundance of caution, during the week between the election and canvass, my staff and I worked overtime to enter voter history,” Holly said.
Holly said she immediately contacted the County Commission after completing her investigation, which allowed candidates to pursue legal alternatives if they so choose. One candidate has already indicated that he will.
The West Virginia Republican Party voted to close its primary election last year, which no longer allows independents to request a Republican ballot. The primary election this May was the first election following the change.
The West Virginia County Clerks Association asked Republicans to reconsider the change before the election. However, the primary remained closed, essentially requiring two separate voting procedures.
“We trained all the workers on the updated procedures during our normal poll worker training this year. Our manual for poll workers as well as signage for the polling place was updated to reflect these changes. I was concerned about the new procedure, so we even included an extra, separate sheet to highlight this change. Our poll workers try very hard to get things right, but this has created confusion for voters. The poll workers are putting in
14-hour days, for very little pay – it is a long, hard day. We tried to raise this as a concern in 2024, before the vote to close the primary was made, but it still moved forward.”
Even with extensive training, Holly said that this will be a recurring issue around West Virginia unless the state improves its voting infrastructure.
“The only way to absolutely guarantee that West Virginia has safe, secure, and accessible primary elections and this issue doesn’t happen again will be to incorporate new procedures and equipment such as electronic pollbooks,” Holly said. “The state of Ohio has a program in place where the state supports counties with funding for updated election equipment. I am calling on our partners in the state legislature to consider something similar, so that we can permanently fix this problem.”
You can read the full letter sent to the Republican Party by county clerks here:
