Charleston, W.Va. – Voter list maintenance has been a priority for the WV Secretary of State’s Office since Secretary Mac Warner first took office in 2017. Warner is asking voters who may need to update their current voter registration or who haven’t voted recently to check their status.
Working closely with all 55 county clerks, Warner says that his office provides the tools necessary to operate a uniform, non-partisan voter registration list maintenance process. Since 2017, Warner reports that over 400,000 deceased, duplicate, out-of-state, outdated, convicted felons, or otherwise ineligible registration files have been removed from the Statewide Voter Registration System. At the same time, more than 333,000 new voters have been registered to vote, which includes more than 100,000 high school students.
Over 109,000 instances of possible abandoned voter registrations in West Virginia have been identified recently by an updated address comparison with the United States Postal Service (USPS), the WV Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), or by official election mail that was returned as undeliverable. Of those, 88,000 addresses will soon, or already have, received an important confirmation postcard from their county clerk’s office.
“West Virginia State Code and federal laws require election officials to send a postcard to each address of a voter who is identified as possibly abandoning their registration.,” Warner said.
“These voters were identified when they provided a newer address to the USPS, DMV, or when official election mail was returned which indicated a voter may have moved. If the voter moved to another West Virginia county, we can help them update their registration. If they moved out of state, they are no longer eligible to vote and we encourage them to cancel their voter registration,” Warner said.
County clerks have been sending postcard notifications to citizens identified as potentially abandoning their voter registration over the last several weeks. The postcard asks the voter to confirm that they are still a resident of the state and county at the address on their voter registration record.
Secretary Warner encourages every voter who receives the confirmation postcard to confirm that they still reside at the address on file or to update the address to keep their registration in “active” status. Voters can check and update their registration information online at ovr.sos.wv.gov, or by returning the pre-paid postage postcard to their county clerk.
Regular maintenance on voter registration lists is mandated by the National Voter Registration Act and West Virginia law. Voters who confirm their address by returning a postcard will remain “active.”
Voters whose postcards are not returned, or are returned by the USPS as “undeliverable,” will be categorized as “inactive.” Voters who are “inactive” still remain eligible to vote in the next two federal election cycles. However, if a voter’s registration address remains unconfirmed for the next two federal general elections after receipt of the confirmation notice, and the voter fails to vote in any state or local election during that time period, state law mandates that the registration be canceled.
“The law is in place to make sure voters on West Virginia’s voter registration rolls are still residents of West Virginia at the address on file with their county clerk,” Warner said. “Many times, we find that these voters moved and simply forgot to cancel or update their registration,” Warner said.
For more information, please contact your county clerk or the WV Secretary of State’s Office at (304) 558-6000.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — West Virginians who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits can once again use them to purchase soda after a federal judge blocked the state’s restriction, though the ruling could still face an appeal.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture exceeded its authority and failed to follow required public notice procedures before approving waivers allowing five states, including West Virginia, to restrict certain SNAP purchases. The ruling vacates those waivers, effectively restoring previous purchasing rules unless a higher court intervenes.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey said the state is consulting with the U.S. Department of Justice and the other states involved in the lawsuit before deciding whether to appeal the decision.
“We do think it’s lawful,” Morrisey said. “We think that the way that SNAP was designed, it’s trying to focus on nutrition, and I think our decisions are consistent with that. We want nutritious foods for people.”
Morrisey said discussions are ongoing about the state’s legal strategy.
“We’re conferring with the other states. We’re conferring with the Department of Justice on that, and we’re going to be developing our litigation plan,” he said.
The lawsuit was filed by the National Center for Law and Economic Justice on behalf of plaintiffs challenging the USDA’s approval of the restrictions.
Katherine Deabler-Meadows, an attorney with NCLEJ, said the ruling provides immediate relief for SNAP recipients and retailers.
“For our clients it means a lot that they’re going to be able to buy the food products that they need to buy to manage their lives and their health conditions,” she said.
Deabler-Meadows said the restrictions created confusion for grocery stores and made it more difficult for recipients to use their benefits.
“Legally, this is very clear,” she said. “The district court vacated the five waivers. USDA’s approval of those restrictions has been vacated. Legally, people should be able to just walk in and use their SNAP benefits the exact same way they could before the restrictions went into effect.”
Supporters of the restrictions argued they would encourage healthier food choices. However, Deabler-Meadows said the limits placed an unnecessary burden on families relying on SNAP benefits.
“It might seem like a small thing to not be able to drink a soda,” she said. “If your day is that long and you have that many things to juggle, sometimes that is something that you need in order to meet all of those responsibilities.”
Although the restriction has been struck down, it may take time for retailers across West Virginia to update their systems. The federal government may also appeal the ruling, but unless a court issues a stay, attorneys say the restrictions are no longer legally in effect.
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They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
At this point, Paul Hardesty, President of the West Virginia Board of Education, must be on the precipice of losing his mind. During a recent call with reporters, Hardesty again emphasized the dire financial outlook for the state’s public schools. Enrollment continues to decline, and more school closures and consolidations may be coming next year.
It’s not the first time Hardesty has sounded the alarm.
Hardesty has repeatedly pointed out that public schools are withering under the current school-aid formula and burdensome regulations.
Some state lawmakers have received the message but during the 2026 60-day legislative session, while there was more discussion that legislative action is needed to address growing financial strains, ultimately, there was not enough political will for state lawmakers to take any action.
Senator Amy Nicole Grady, R-Mason, chairs the Senate Education Committee and is a public school teacher. She has spent the last three years trying to educate her fellow legislators about the frustrations teachers and school officials deal with on a daily basis.
“We know it’s nothing new. It’s something we have discussed for at least three years now, knowing that we need to move forward and change that formula in some way. But how we change it, that’s the challenge,” Grady said during an appearance on Metronews Talkline.
Grady recognizes the “how” is the major stumbling block for legislators who must make difficult decisions and must then face unhappy constituents.
“It’s very, very difficult, and this is something that’s big that really takes a lot of thinking, and it can require a lot of hard, difficult decisions, and you also have that model of self-preservation.
“A lot of people are thinking, this is hard for me to make this decision. I don’t want to make this decision because it could mean my seat. But when it’s the right thing, it’s the right thing regardless.”
House Education Committee Chairman Joe Statler, R-Monongalia, has also been on the front line trying to build a case for legislators to support major changes. Statler has repeatedly emphasized the gap in special education funding, where costs continue to outpace revenues.
The number of special education students continues to grow, now making up nearly 21 percent of the student population.
It is not only the legislature that has not found the political fortitude to address public education. It has not been a priority for the executive branch either.
Gov. Morrisey focused his political capital on accelerating the elimination of the personal income tax and preventing changes to the Hope Scholarship.
You can’t help but question whether the lack of action is due to a lack of political will or indifference to public schools’ failure. There’s no doubt that outside interest groups, many of which have supported legislative campaigns, have indicated a preference for alternative education choices.
Either way, if lawmakers continue to ignore the tidal wave of financial failures in the public education system, they will have abdicated their constitutional duty to provide West Virginia students with a “free and efficient” education system.
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