BUCKHANNON – The last day of early voting for the school bond election is Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022.
Early voting kicked off Dec. 30, and Upshur County Clerk Carol Smith said as of the close of business Jan. 6, they have seen 1,065 people vote early.
“During the last school levy election, which was in January 2019, we voted just a little over 1,000 the entire 10 days of early voting,” Smith said.
The county clerk’s office has also mailed out 72 absentee ballots as of this morning, Friday, Jan. 7.
“It’s hard to put into context because, since the 2020 elections, we’ve mailed more absentee ballots than we’ve ever mailed,” Smith said. “In my mind, I would say for a special election, that’s probably at least double of what we would typically mail – if not triple.”
The last day to submit an absentee ballot application for the Saturday, Jan. 15 election is Monday, Jan. 10.
“January 8 is the last Saturday for early voting, but early voting will also take place Monday and Tuesday, and Wednesday, January 12th, is actually the last day,” Smith said. “The Saturday early voting hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.”
Smith said the process to participate in early voting is shorter than people may think.
“They did the math equation the other day and they said the number of voters that they processed in the four hours they were here, it was at least two minutes per voter from beginning to end,” Smith said. “They came in, checked in, filled out their ballot, dropped it off and then went out the door.”
There are extenuating circumstances, including shift changes and larger groups coming in at the same time.
“Obviously, if you have people waiting, it’s a little bit longer – everybody seems to want to come at the same time,” Smith said. “Ten minutes would probably be the longest time anybody had to wait when we were switching tables and the new team had to come in.”
More information about the bond election is listed below:
Location: Upshur County Courthouse – 40 West Main Street, Buckhannon WV 26201
Election Day: Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022; Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Voter Registration: Applications may be obtained at upshurcounty.org or govotewv.com. However, Dec. 27, 2021, was the last day to register or update voter information.
Absentee Voting: Applications may be obtained at upshurcounty.org or govotewv.com. The last day applications to request an absentee ballot by mail may be accepted/received is Monday, Jan. 10, 2022.
Sample Ballot: www.upshurcounty.org – Department tab – County Clerk
Precinct Locations: www.upshurcounty.org – Department tab – County Clerk
A Reminder to Voters in Precinct 9: Voters registered in Precinct 9 should note that the location has moved to City Hall, 70 East Main Street Buckhannon, WV 26201. Entrance and parking are behind the building.
