MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The City of Morgantown is accepting candidate nominations for the upcoming 2023 Municipal Election.
Candidates have until February 16 to complete the candidate petition process in order to run for a spot on Morgantown City Council. Seventy-five verified signatures are required to secure a nomination and each signature received must be from a separate individual in the candidate’s respective ward.
“On that form, the person that is signing, they can only sign for one candidate in that ward,” said City Clerk Christine Wade.
Early voting will also be implemented for the first time in the 2023 Morgantown Municipal Election in an effort to improve voter participation numbers. Voter notifications will be sent out with Morgantown Utility Board bills to give a heads-up on early voting locations and voter registration efforts will take place ahead of election day.
“Another thing that we’ll be doing this year is that we’ll be having a City of Morgantown Registration Day,” Wade said. “We’ll do it like we did two years ago, under the (Morgantown) Farmer’s Market, folks can drive through, we’ll help them get registered to vote,” she said.
Information on polling locations, candidate petitions, and voter information will be available on the City of Morgantown’s website. Voters are also expected to be notified of precinct changes affected by the 2022 census so they’ll be prepared if they choose to vote on election day.
“Maybe your polling place might change. so we don’t have them on the website yet, we’re still working on one other location, but we’re trying to make sure that they’re a convenient place for those to go,” said Wade.
The election is the first in which part of council is on the ballot.
“Something new this election is that not all council seats are up for election,” said Morgantown City Clerk Christine Wade. “They are only wards one, three, five, and seven,” she said.
Candidates will be elected to four-year terms. Council seats representing wards two, four, and six will be up for election in 2025.
Early voting will be hosted in a single location with dates and times expected to be announced in the next month. Election Day is April 25.