CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — Monday marks 50 days until Election Day. That means voting officials are trying to increase registration. This is a very concerted and organized effort to get out the vote.
Tuesday is National Voter Registration Day, and Secretaries of State in every state are working to get more people registered in the next month. In West Virginia, 350,000 new voters have been registered in the two terms of Secretary of State Mac Warner, and 100,000 of them were high school students voting for the first time.
Also, anyone whose name or address has changed must update their registration. All of this can be done online.
“That’s the big thing that sets America apart from all the other countries in the world. We have the most open elections across the country. Every state has its own nuances and deadlines and procedures, but ultimately the only way to participate is to be on the rolls,” said Deak Kersey, Chief Counsel for the WV Secretary of State.
Absentee ballots are being mailed out Monday in Kentucky and this Friday in West Virginia.
Ohio will mail out its absentee ballots on Oct. 8. Applications for an absentee ballot are still being accepted in all states.