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Early voting begins October 21 at courthouse and across West Virginia

Registered voters in Morgan County and across West Virginia can begin casting ballots today, Wednesday, October 21, in the 2026 General Election.

Early voting begins at 9 a.m. on Wednesday at the Morgan County Clerk’s office and continues during regular business hours at the courthouse through the end of the day on Saturday, October 31. Voting can also be done on Saturday, October 24 during special hours at the courthouse.

On the ballot is one U.S. Senate seat, a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives representing this district, plus district races for the West Virginia Legislature, an Eastern Panhandle judicial race and in Morgan County, a contested race for the Morgan County Commission.

County voters will choose one person to fill a seat on the three-person Morgan County Commission. Commission terms are six years in length. This election season, Commission President Joel Tuttle’s seat is up for election. Tuttle, a Republican, is seeking another six years on the commission. He is being challenged in that race by political newcomer Democrat Judith Shumate.

At the district level, county voters will make a pick for a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates in either the 89th or 90th district, depending on where in Morgan County they live.

Central Morgan County voters will choose their delegate for the 90th district. Incumbent Republican George Miller is running for a third term in office. He’s being challenged by Democrat Ashley Braner, a Hedgesville hairdresser new to politics.

Residents in western Morgan County will choose a delegate for the 89th district. Appointee David Cannon, a Republican from Romney, is being challenged by trial lawyer JR Hepworth of Paw Paw, a Democrat, and Walter Long Sr., candidate for the Constitution Party from Slanesville.

Morgan County voters will also make their pick for a State Senator to represent the 15th district, which includes Morgan. Incumbent Republican Darren Thorne of Romney is being opposed by Democrat Elizabeth Ferris of Berkeley Springs. Ken Reed of Berkeley Springs also entered the State Senate race as a write-in candidate late in the season.

Voters in the county will also cast ballots in a non-partisan race for a seat on the Circuit Court in the 27th Judicial Circuit, which includes Morgan County. Filling a seat left empty by the retirement of Judge Steve Redding, the race includes Joe Kinser of Martinsburg and Richard Stephens of Falling Waters.

Local voters will be choosing a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the second congressional district. Republican Riley Moore of Harper’s Ferry is running for re-election, challenged by Democrat Ace Parsi of Morgantown.

At the top of the ticket, voters will make their pick for U.S. Senator representing West Virginia. Longtime Republican senator Shelley Moore Capito is seeking re-election. Challenger Rachel Fetty Anderson, a Democrat of Morgantown, is seeking to unseat Capito. Constitution Party candidate S. Marshall Wilson of Hedgesville is also in the race for the Senate.

The ballot also includes the text of Amendment 1, which proposes to add additional language in the state constitution that only citizens of the U.S. who are residents of the state are qualified to vote in the state.

Voter trends

As of October 18, West Virginia Secretary of State’s office reported voter registration data for each of the 55 counties, encompassing 1.2 million registered West Virginia voters.

West Virginia’s party demographics break down this way:

326,697 voters (27%) are registered as Democrats

527,532 voters (43.59%) are registered as Republicans

307,373 voters (25.4%) are registered as No Party

34,720 voters are registered as Other

2,810 voters are registered as Mountain Party

10,876 voters are registered Libertarian

289 voters are registered with the Constitution party.

Morgan County voter rolls

Morgan County has 14,298 registered voters as of October 18. October 13 was the last day to register to vote or change parties.

Of all Morgan County registrations, here are the party numbers:

1,960 voters (13.7%) are registered as Democrat

7,728 voters (54%) are registered as Republican

4,206 voters (29.4%) are registered as No Party

54 voters are registered as Mountain Party

150 voters (1%) are registered as Libertarian

4 voters are registered as Constitution Party

196 voters (1.37%) are registered Other – members of another listed minor party.

 

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