FAYETTEVILLE, WV (WOAY) – As the upcoming primary election continues to unfold, voters can expect to see some changes along the way.
These voting changes come after the statewide redistricting process following the 2020 census.
Voter precinct statuses have been one such major change. In Fayette County, there are now 39 precincts. Fayette County Clerk Michelle Holly guesses that nearly half of her voters are seeing some kind of a change.
“Probably about half of the voters will have seen some change in either their polling place or their precinct,” Holly says. “So, there’s a good bit of change in that way, and also the house of delegates races, in particular, going from a three-person multi-race into a single-person district, that’s a pretty big change at the polls for voters, as well.”
The changes mean ensuring the process is running as smoothly as possible.
Holly’s office has been mailing letters out to voters updating them on their new precincts. In addition, they have been sending out lists of those precincts to the voters. She says that making sure people show up at their new voting location is very important.
They want to do everything they can to help get the public to the right place to vote.
“It’s really important that people know exactly where they’re supposed to go to vote come election day, so we’re working really hard to get that information out to people,” she says. “There are several ways they can check that. The state actually has a website, which is mapwv.gov/vote. They can go there, put their address in, and it will show them their precinct number and which races they are going to vote for in the house of delegates and state senate.”
Holly’s office will also be working with poll workers to make sure voters get to where they need to go when May 10 arrives.
She says most people should have been informed about their precinct status change. If it did change, the office is still in the process of sending out new voter registration cards.
The last day to register to vote is April 19.
Early voting in Fayette County will start on April 27 and will last through May 7.
The early voting will be available at three locations: The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building in Fayetteville, Green Valley United Methodist Church in Danese, and the Montgomery Community Center in Montgomery.
