Voter Registration

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- The last day to register to vote or to make any registration changes for the upcoming primary election is April 20, according to an announcement this week from Berkeley County Clerk John W. Small Jr.'s office. As of March 22, there were more than 60,000 Berkeley County residents registered to vote -- 22,363 Republicans, 22,231 Democrats and 15,462 unaffiliated registered voters, according to a report generated by Small's office. Early and absentee voting begins April 21 at the Berkeley County voter registration office at 110 W. King St. and continues through May 8, according to Small's office.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- Tuesday is the last day for West Virginia residents to register to vote or change their political party affiliation before the May 11 primary election. Berkeley County's voter registration office at 110 W. King St. in Martinsburg is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. As of April 9, Berkeley County had 60,549 registered voters, including 22,401 Republicans, 22,245 Democrats, 135 Mountain Party members and 223 members of other parties. There were 15,545 people who were not affiliated with a political party, according to Berkeley County Clerk John W. Small Jr.'s office.

Turnout for a Saturday morning voter registration drive in Hagerstown might have been low, but organizers said that will not deter them from holding similar events in the coming months. After all, every vote counts. “We feel it's our civic duty to get out in the community,” said Russell Daiello, one of the organizers. Hagerstown Professional Firefighters Local 1605, which is an International Association of Fire Fighters chapter, decided to increase its focus on politics and voting this year, Daiello said.

Q: When is the deadline to register to vote? A: The deadline to register or change voter information for the Nov. 4 general election is Tuesday. (Oct. 14) Voter registration applications can be dropped off until 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Washington County Board of Elections, 35 W. Washington St., room 101, Hagerstown. If mailed, voter registration applications must be postmarked by Tuesday. Q: Can I fax my application? A: No. Voter registration applications must contain original signatures, and therefore must be submitted in person or mailed.

Maryland residents who want to vote in the Sept. 10 primary election must register by 9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 20. Applications must be received in the Washington County Election Board office at Room 101, 35 W. Washington St. before then, Election Director Dorothy Kaetzel said. Applications are available at the Election Board office and at many state offices including the Motor Vehicle Administration, Health Department, Department of Social Services, Office of Aging or Division of Rehabilitation Services, marriage license bureaus, public higher education institutions, post offices and public libraries.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Berkeley County residents interested in registering to vote are being encouraged by Berkeley County Clerk John W. Small to visit the county's new voter registration office at 110 W. King St. The voter registration division of Small's office now occupies what had been used by the circuit clerk and other state court offices that relocated to the Berkeley County Judicial Center late last year. With the move completed last week from the courthouse, Small said Tuesday that plans are under way to stage a grand opening celebration for the new voter registration office, but he did not have a date set. Small reiterated plans to make use of the bank building's drive-through service window and eventually offer registration services to residents from their vehicles.

A Washington County District Court hearing for Roger Dean Weber, who was charged with misrepresenting his voter registration nearly a year after he ran for Hagerstown mayor under a false name, was delayed Wednesday until the first week of April because there wasn't enough time to try the case. Frederick County District Judge Janice Rodnick Ambrose, sitting in Washington County District Court, made the decision to continue the case that had been scheduled for Wednesday morning because good cause was shown.

TRI-STATE -- Area residents streamed into voter registration offices in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia on Tuesday afternoon as the 5 p.m. deadline to register for the Nov. 4 general election approached. "They've been coming in like crazy," said Berkeley County deputy county clerk Bonnie Woodfall, who said the voter registration staff processed 813 new registrations in the last seven days and 4,000 from January to September. In Washington County, Election Director Dorothy Kaetzel said her office has been flooded with first-time voters.

It's not too late. Voter registration in Maryland reopens Sept. 27 and closes Oct. 12. The general election is Nov. 2.

Strong voter turnout coupled with confusion at polling places kept phones ringing non-stop throughout the day Tuesday for the Franklin County (Pa.) Board of Elections. In Waynesboro, police responded to the Waynesboro Church of the Brethren polling place at about 1:15 p.m. Poll workers said two people wanted to hang around inside and did not leave when asked, Police Chief James Sourbier said. No arrests were made, and officers checked other polls to ensure the individuals did not cause problems there, he said.

Polls in Franklin County are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. In West Virginia, polls open Tuesday at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. People can still vote if they are in line at a polling location by closing time, according to the Secretary of State's office. On Monday, Franklin County's elections board and voter registration office got a number of calls from people checking their registration status and polling place information. Byers said other calls came from emergency responders deployed to New York and New Jersey for the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

The Obama and Romney campaigns turned their attention to Pennsylvania and its 20 electoral votes this weekend as polls showed the president holding only a slight lead in the state coming into Tuesday's election. In Franklin County, Pa., registered Republican voters outnumber Democrats nearly 2-to-1. Still, county political watchers say turnout will be key when polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voter turnout was 72 percent in Franklin County in November 2008, according to published reports.

Have you voted yet? Why wait until election day? Early voting is all the rage lately. Some 20 states have already allowed citizens to cast ballots. The old joke about “vote early and vote often” has new possibilities these days.  In a story that received little attention in the media, the Democratic candidate for Maryland's 1st District against incumbent Andy Harris was forced to quit the race a few weeks ago. Wendy Rosen was the challenger against Harris but after it was revealed that she had voted in both Florida and Maryland in 2006 and 2008, she had to step aside.

Tuesday is the last day to register to vote in the 2012 general election in West Virginia. The League of Women Voters will be conducting voter registration at Scarborough Library at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, W.Va., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Citizens can download the state voter registration form or check their registration status on the West Virginia Secretary of State's website at www.sos.wv.gov . Citizens need to register by...

Turnout for a Saturday morning voter registration drive in Hagerstown might have been low, but organizers said that will not deter them from holding similar events in the coming months. After all, every vote counts. “We feel it's our civic duty to get out in the community,” said Russell Daiello, one of the organizers. Hagerstown Professional Firefighters Local 1605, which is an International Association of Fire Fighters chapter, decided to increase its focus on politics and voting this year, Daiello said.

Hagerstown Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 1605 will host a voter-registration drive to assist registering voters for the upcoming general election. The event will be Saturday, Sept. 8, from 8 to 10 a.m. at Potomac Towers, 11 W. Baltimore St. in Hagerstown. The event is open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

If Larry W. Faircloth wins a seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates in November he'll follow a path set by his father, Larry V. Faircloth, who served in the House for nearly a quarter of a century. The son, Larry W. Faircloth, 41, of Inwood, W.Va., won the Republican primary for the 60th District Tuesday by beating Gary W. Kelly, 682 votes to 582. Meanwhile, Larry V. Faircloth, 63, also of Inwood, was unopposed in his bid for the office of state auditor in Tuesday's Republican primary.

The latest local and state elections results suggest that voters have second thoughts about the tea party's political agenda. Consider the following: • In Ohio, unions scored a victory. Voters elected tea party-backed John Kasich as their Republican governor last year. One of his most prominent initiatives was legislation limiting public employees' collective bargaining rights. Opponents collected 1.3 million signatures to subject his anti-bargaining bill to a referendum. On Nov. 8, Ohioans overwhelmingly voted to repeal Kasich's bill, which they rejected by 61 percent to 39 percent.

An environmental group wants Washington County's Ethics Commission to consider whether a conflict-of- interest policy should keep a developer off the planning commission. In a June 30 letter to County Attorney John Martirano, members of Citizens for the Protection of Washington County allege that Sassan Shaool's development ties could give him a motive to approve or reject certain projects. CPWC also accused Shaool of living outside Washington County, which would disqualify him from serving on the planning commission - but at least one of the group's main supporting claims is untrue.