WV Secretary of State Kris Warner announces canvassing will start on Monday, November 9
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (The Hinton News) — All 55 counties will begin canvassing the 2026 general election Monday, Nov. 9, or as soon after as a quorum of members is present. State law requires canvassing to begin five days after the election, not counting Sunday. County commissioners serve as the board of canvassers. Each board reviews the election night returns, absentee ballots and provisional ballots cast in all precincts. According to Secretary of State Kris Warner, canvassing statewide will include a manual audit of the unofficial results. Each county will use teams of opposite parties to hand count every paper ballot from at least 3% of the county’s precincts. This year, the count must also include at least 5% of the total ballots cast in each county. The audit results are then compared with the electronic results to confirm totals. If a comparison shows a difference of 1% or more, or if the outcome of any race changes, the electronic results are disregarded and the entire county must be counted by hand. “I want to express my sincere appreciation to the county clerks and more than 8,200 Election Day workers who helped our general election run smoothly,” Warner said. Preliminary turnout
