FAYETTEVILLE, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Fayette County Clerk Michelle Holly is calling for changes to West Virginia’s election procedures and additional state funding for election equipment after voting issues were identified during the May 2026 Republican primary election.
According to Holly, her office became aware of a potential problem on Election Day involving voters receiving incorrect ballots.
“Around 5 PM on Election Day, with over 80% of Election Day voting completed, we received a report through social media of a non-partisan voter being allowed to vote a Republican ballot at the polls. My office contacted the location and reminded them that only voters that were registered with the Republican Party could vote a Republican ballot,” Holly said.
“Out of an abundance of caution, during the week between the election and canvass, my staff and I worked overtime to enter voter history. After this effort, I ran a report and discovered that approximately 90 non-partisan or Democratic voters had been allowed to vote a Republican ballot in a handful of precincts. I voluntarily reported this to the County Commission because I felt that Fayette County voters needed to know that a mistake with the poll workers had occurred.”
The May 2026 primary was the first election conducted under a new procedure after the West Virginia Republican Party voted to close its primary elections for the first time since the 1980s.
Under the change, voters were required to update their voter registration to affiliate with the Republican Party before April 21 in order to participate in the Republican primary.
Holly noted that concerns about the new process had been raised before it was implemented.
In January 2024, the West Virginia County Clerks Association sent a letter to the West Virginia Republican Party asking it to reconsider closing the primary, citing concerns that separate voting procedures for Republicans and for Democrats and non-partisan voters could create confusion.
Holly said election workers received training on the updated procedures and additional materials were provided to help reinforce the changes.
“We trained all the workers on the updated procedures during our normal poll worker training this year. Our manual for poll workers as well as signage for the polling place was updated to reflect these changes. I was concerned about the new procedure, so we even included an extra, separate sheet to highlight this change. Our poll workers try very hard to get things right, but this has created confusion for voters,” Holly stated.
“The poll workers are putting in 14-hour days, for very little pay – it is a long, hard day. We tried to raise this as a concern in 2024, before the vote to close the primary was made, but it still moved forward.”
Holly said that by identifying the issue, candidates were given the opportunity to pursue legal remedies if they believed it was necessary.
Similar concerns were reported in a 2024 race in Mingo County, and scattered reports of comparable issues surfaced on social media in other parts of the state during the 2026 election cycle.
Looking ahead, Holly is advocating for technological upgrades to reduce the likelihood of similar problems in future elections.
“The only way to absolutely guarantee that West Virginia has safe, secure, and accessible primary elections and this issue doesn’t happen again will be to incorporate new procedures and equipment such as electronic pollbooks. This problem will keep popping up around the state until we do so, even with the best efforts of our poll workers,” Holly explained.
“The state of Ohio has a program in place where the state supports counties with funding for updated election equipment. I am calling on our partners in the state legislature to consider something similar, so that we can permanently fix this problem.”
Holly was first elected Fayette County Clerk in 2020 to fill the unexpired term of Kelvin Holliday and was re-elected in 2022. She currently serves as president of the West Virginia Association of County Clerks and as a vice president of the West Virginia Association of Counties.
