CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The city of Charleston will be getting two additional community voting sites following a recent decision by the Kanawha County Commission.
Commissioners last week approved adding sites on the city’s West Side and eastern neighborhoods. The Kanawha County Clerk’s Office will be responsible for assisting county staff with picking a location.
Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper said the decision stems from the belief voters will likely not have as many options to vote remotely as they did during the 2020 presidential election. State officials allowed mail-in voting because of coronavirus-related concerns.
“We’re not going to have the ballot access in this next election, and certainly not in the next presidential election,” he said. “The mail-in ballots that, frankly, saved the day in the last election have been bogged down … and the line here for early voting at the courthouse is just too long.”
Carper said the main issue regards the city of Charleston.
County employees identified seven locations as possible community voting locations:
— The Roosevelt Center, the Kanawha Mall and the Kanawha City Recreational Center in the eastern parts of Charleston.
— The Salvation Army Office, Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, Emmanuel Baptist Church and the Girl Scouts of Black Diamond Council office on Charleston’s West Side.
“We want to get something that is going to be convenient for everybody, handicapped accessible,” County Clerk Vera McCormick said.
McCormick said one Charleston official opposed naming the Roosevelt Center as a community voting location because of limited parking options.