WHEELING – The 2026 primary election in West Virginia is rapidly approaching, and so are upcoming election dates and deadlines voters need to know.

Primary Election Day is set for May 12, with polls opening at 6:30 a.m. and closing at 7:30 p.m.

– Those needing to register to vote in time for the election or amend their current registration have until April 21 to make changes. This includes anyone wanting to change party affiliation.

Those registered as non-party this year will not be able to request a Republican ballot in the primary election. However, they are still eligible to request a Democratic ballot or a Mountain Party ballot where available.

Registrations and changes to registration may be done at local courthouses during business hours on weekdays through April 21, or done online at the West Virginia Secretary of State’s website at ovr.sos.wv.gov/Register/Landing.

– Early voting in West Virginia is set to take place at local courthouses from April 29 through May 9. Early polls will be open during regular business hours on weekdays during that time, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m Saturday, May 2, and Saturday, May 9. Voting does not take place on Sundays in West Virginia.

– Absentee ballot applications are now available from county officials, who must mail a ballot to the voter within one business day of receiving the completed application. The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot is May 6.

After this, emergency absentee ballots also may be requested from the county no earlier than seven days before the election and no later than noon on Election Day.

A voter may be eligible to receive an emergency absentee ballot if the voter is in the hospital or in a licensed health care facility within an adjacent county within 35 miles of the county seat. They may also request an emergency ballot issued if the voter is in a nursing home within the county and has been there for less than 30 days, or if the voter becomes confined on or after the seventh day preceding an election due to illness or disability.

The last day for county officials to accept hand delivered absentee ballots by mail is no later than the day prior to the election

– Voters now will be required to show identification when they go to the polls. Eligible forms of identification include a West Virginia drivers license or state issued identification; a drivers license from another state; U.S. passport or passport card; employee identification with photo issued by local, state or federal government; school identification with photo from a West Virginia institution of higher learning or high school; U.S. military identification with photo; voter registration card with photo issued by a West Virginia county clerk or the Secretary of State’s Office; identification issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles for voters who swear and affirm they belong to religious communities that prohibit them from being photographed.

If the identification used above does not contain the voter’s current address, they also will be required to show one of the following to prove identification – current valid photo identification; current utility bill; a government check; a paycheck; a bank statement or an official government document showing identification.