Federal grant helps upgrade West Virginia voting systems

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Many voters casting ballots in West Virginia in 2020 will do so on new voting machines.

Secretary of State Mac Warner announced Wednesday that the state has used a $6.5 million federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) grant to help upgrade voting systems.

The state spent about $13 million on the upgrades, including more than $11 million for touchscreen voting systems, Warner said.

The state is also preparing to get a new round of $4 million of HAVA matching grants, and county commissions and county clerks will be able to decide how to use that funding, Warner said.

He added that 64% of voters will cast a 2020 ballot on a new voting machine. That would be an increase from 16% of voters in 2016.

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Kassie Simmons
Kassie Simmons joined the team in January 2019 as a weekend journalist. She graduated from Virginia Tech in just two and a half years with a BA in multimedia journalism. During her short time at Virginia Tech, she served as the editor for the university’s chapter of The Tab. Kassie was named the top reporter for The Tab at Virginia Tech on multiple occasions and made the list for the top 30 reporters for The Tab in the U.S. She also studied theater performance and minored in creative writing. Before coming to WOAY, Kassie interned at WSLS in Roanoke and the Tidewater Review in her hometown of West Point, Va. She has loved following breaking news since her childhood and has a passion for delivering the stories people care most about. Kassie is excited to be working in Southern West Virginia and looks forward to all the adventures ahead of her. You can follow her on Twitter at @KassieLSimmons and like her page on Facebook. If you have a story you think she should check out, send her an email at ksimmons@woay.com.