HUNTINGTON -- Just more than 11 percent of voters in Cabell County cast a vote during Saturday's special primary election to fill the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Robert C. Byrd.

Out of 59,064 registered voters in Cabell County approximately 6,820 voted to help provide a John Raese versus Joe Manchin senate ticket for the general election in November.

"Historically, special election races don't draw out a lot of voters. When you factor in the fact that it's on a Saturday, we anticipated a low turnout," Karen Cole, county clerk, said. "It was a very slow day for all of our precincts."

Even though Cole anticipated the low numbers, she said she couldn't have anticipated two months ago that she would be having a special election.

"The fact that we put together a state-wide special election really is a testament to the state of West Virginia," she said.

The voters who came out on Saturday said they were also impressed with how quickly this all came together, but also said the quickness of the election also was it's weakest point.

"It should have been further down," Clint Terry of Ona said. "I didn't see much coverage of any of the candidates. If I hadn't looked up information about the candidates on my own I wouldn't have known anything coming into today."

Clint Terry brought his children along and voted with his father, David Terry, also from Ona, who said even if he doesn't approve of how things are done, he knows the best way to change them is to vote.

"A vote not cast is a vote cast for the winner, " David Terry said. "These kids are going to be responsible for paying for what's going on right now, so you have to take care to make sure you're providing them with a good future."

Several voters, like Sally Eckhart of Ona, said no matter your political preference, you make an impact when you vote.

"When someone tells me they don't vote I think, 'What if everyone did that?'" Eckhart said. "It's what I'm supposed to do."

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