You are eligible to register to vote in Preston County if you are:

You may register at any time. To be eligible to vote in a specific election, you must register at least 30 days before that election.

Request an application from your County Clerk, or the WV Secretary of State, or download a mail-in registration form.

If you register by mail, remember to take your driver's license or other photo ID and proof of age to the polls the first time you vote.

If the party you prefer is Democrat, Republican, or Libertarian, you may check the box beside that name and you will registered in that party. If the party your prefer is not listed, you may enter another party name on the line next to "Other Party." It is permissible to enter the name of any political party, regardless of whether the party is active in West Virginia. If you do not want to be associated with any political party, checking "No Party Choice" will make your registration independent of all parties. 

The 2 important things to remember are:

1. Your party choice will affect your options for voting for partisan candidates in the Primary Election, when parties make their nominations; and

2. If you ever decide to run for office, you may only file for nomination in a party in which you are registered.

If you register with "No Party Choice", you will be given a non-partisan ballot (for Board of Education and any issues on the ballot) in the Primary Election. Also, you may request and receive a Republican ballot, but not a Democratic ballot. The political parties have the right to decide who may participate in their nominating processes. The West Virginia Republican Party voted to allow unaffiliated voters to participate in their nominations, but the Democratic Party allows only registered Democrats to vote the Democratic ballot in the Primary Election.

Party affiliation makes no difference at all to voters in the General Election. Every registered voter receives the same ballot, and they may vote for any candidate they choose of any party for each office on the ballot.

When Travel or Work Takes You Away

Will you be traveling where you can't receive a mail ballot during the period leading up to and including election day, but are at home sometime during the six weeks before the election? If your job or travel plans keep you away longer than the fifteen days of in-person voting, but you are unable to receive a ballot by mail while you are away, extended services are available at the clerk's office during regular business hours for voting in person. This service begins 42 days before the election.

Have you been given a job assignment which requires you to live outside your county or West Virginia for a definite time? If you have job assignment which requires you to live outside the county for an extended period of time (up to four years) and your employer can document that the assignment is temporary, you may maintain your voting residence in West Virginia and vote absentee by mail. Please do not attempt to use this provision if you have moved from your previous residence and taken a normal job in another county or state. In that case, you need to move your voter registration to your new residence.

When You Have Health Problems or Physical Disability

Has a family member been hospitalized because of an emergency during the last seven days before the election and will still be in the hospital or nursing facility on election day? Emergency absentee voting is available when a person is suddenly hospitalized or unexpectedly admitted to a nursing home within the county, or in some cases, in an adjacent county. The provisions only apply when it is too late to get a ballot by mail.

When You are a Military or Overseas Voter

Are you in the military or other uniformed services, or the spouse of someone in the service? If you are stationed outside your home county, you may apply for an absentee ballot by mail. Military voters may apply anytime after January 1 of an election year up to the deadline, and may apply for all ballots in an election year on just one application.

If you are in a very remote area where a ballot mailed to you might not reach you in time to vote, you may vote a write-in ballot. However, this ballot is only acceptable if you have applied for a by-mail ballot and not received it.

Do you reside outside the United States now, and when you last lived in the United States were you a resident of West Virginia? West Virginia residents who move outside the country continue to be eligible to vote at their last residence in the United States and may vote an absentee ballot by mail. You may apply anytime after January 1 of an election year up to the deadline, and may apply for all ballots in an election year on just one application.

If you are in a very remote area where a ballot mailed to you might not reach you in time to vote, you may vote a write-in ballot. However, this ballot is only acceptable if you have applied for a by-mail ballot and not received it.

When You Attend School Away From Home

Are you a college student who will be at school out of the county on election day? If you are a college student living at school, you have two choices. You may become a resident for voting purposes where you live at college, register and vote there, or you may maintain your residence at home and vote an absentee ballot by mail. If you are a college student living at home but commuting to college in another county, you should vote in person at the polls. If your schedule requires you to be away the entire time the polls are open (6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.), you may vote absentee in person at the clerk's office.

When Voting on Election Day is Inconvenient

Is getting to the polls on election day inconvenient because of work, transportation or other reasons? A new provision of law allows anyone to vote in person at the clerk's office during business hours beginning fifteen days before the election up to the day before the election.