By Savannah Jones

MORGANTOWN W.Va — At the conclusion of the 10-day period for early voting on Saturday, 6,244 voters had cast their votes for the presidential primary election, according to Monongalia County Clerk Carye Blaney.

This count doubled that of 2020 when 3,057 participated in early voting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Compared to the last presidential primary election that took place under normal circumstances in 2016 however, this year’s early voting count fell short by over a thousand, according to election results posted to the Monongalia County Clerk’s Office website.

Blaney said she does not anticipate participation in early voting to reflect the overall voter count in this year’s election.

“The same people who were voting choose to vote during the early voting period instead of waiting until Tuesday and voting on Election Day, but I would like to think that we may see a greater turnout than we were expecting for Election Day,” she said.

With regard to previous voter counts in Monongalia County, Blaney said she anticipates around 24,000 voters in this year’s election.

“I think that we had approximately 22,000 to 23,000 voters who have come out historically in a presidential primary, so I’m guessing we will have right around that, 23,000 24,000,” she said.

Blaney said the Clerk’s Office hopes to see increased voter turnout in coming years.

“I wish that I knew what the magic recipe is to increase turnout because you know we work 365 days a year to put on an election and we would love to see 75 percent, 80 percent turnout,” she said.

Those planning to vote on Election Day should bring some form of voter ID and know their assigned voting location, Blaney said.

Additionally, voters will only vote for the party they are registered with. Non-party affiliate voters will choose between ballots for the three major political parties.

“You are only going to be receiving the ballot of that political party and that has confused some voters who may only vote in the general election when all of the political party candidates are all on the same ballot,” she said.

To confirm voter registration and assigned voting locations call the Mon County Clerk’s office at 304-291-7230 or visit govotewv.com.