Secretary of State Betty Ireland cautions West Virginia voters about potentially misleading registration effort

CHARLESTON — West Virginia Secretary of State Betty Ireland is cautioning voters not to be misled by a mailing sent to thousands of West Virginians asking them to register to vote.

These mailings could cause confusion because the deadline to register to vote in Tuesday’s May 13, primary has already passed.

“Women’s Voices. Women Vote” (WVWV) said they sent the mailing to more than 16,000 unmarried women in the Mountain State as part of a larger nationwide mailing designed to get women registered to vote.

Secretary Ireland encourages citizens to still register to vote so that they will be eligible for the fall General Election, but wants to make sure it is understood that, for any new registrations received after April 22, those voters will not be able to vote in the May 13, primary.

“I appreciate that Women’s Voices Women Vote is trying to help get West Virginia citizens registered to vote,” said  Ireland, in a news release. “But it is important to stress that while citizens can still register to vote for the November General Election, they will not be eligible to vote in the upcoming primary if they did not register before the April 22, deadline.”

Anyone with questions about their voter registration can call Secretary Ireland’s office at 866-SOS-VOTE.