Although some county clerks in the state have yet to be reimbursed for the cost of the last election in May, they already are gearing up for the return of voters to the polls.
Kanawha County Clerk Vera McCormick said the state has not yet paid the county the approximately $314,000 it cost to hold the special primary election in May. And now that her employees are preparing for the upcoming special gubernatorial general election on Oct. 4, the county will soon be racking up more bills. “We’d like to have our money,” McCormick said.
Secretary of State Natalie Tennant said Kanawha County’s reimbursement check would be ready for pickup or to be mailed today. Wayne, Marshall, Logan, Lincoln, Taylor and Ohio counties would also have checks ready to be picked up or mailed today, she said.
The county billed the state in June, McCormick said. She believes the upcoming election will cost about the same amount as the special primary.
Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper said he was happy the Legislature voted to appropriate the money to the counties to cover the special primary and general elections.
“The Legislature didn’t have to do that,” Carper said. “They could have said it was the county’s responsibility to pay for the elections.”
Still, he said he would be more pleased once he has the check in hand.
Tennant said it took awhile for the counties’ requests for reimbursements to work their way through the process, which meant it was taking longer to issue checks.
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