W.Va. Early Voters Hit Record 153k

The Associated Press reports that "preliminary totals have 153,789 early votes cast" by Saturday's deadline. "surpassing the old record by nearly 22 percent. In addition, 13,412 absentee votes have been cast."

"All told, about 13 percent of West Virginia's registered voters have already cast their ballots," the AP article said, "with clerks reporting long lines on the last two days of early voting that ended Saturday."

County clerks across the state are reporting individual records for early balloting, with many citing Saturday as their one-day best.

But MetroNews reports that "only six percent of registered voters in southern coalfield counties cast ballots in the early voting period," with "Boone, Lincoln, Logan, Mingo, McDowell, Wyoming and Raleigh counties all below 10 percent."

Secretary of State Betty Ireland also spoke to MetroNews (with audio) about the overall election turnout, which she has projected as 70%.