West Virginia polls close at 7:30 p.m. ET Tuesday as voters decide federal and state races

More than half the state’s counties expect to report advance votes first

West Virginia voters will elect leaders for federal, state and other offices on Tuesday, when polls close at 7:30 p.m. ET, according to an Associated Press election guide.

The guide compiles the key facts about the election and the data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied. The Associated Press said it will provide vote results and declare winners in races for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, mayor of Charleston, a statewide ballot measure, state Senate and state House of Delegates.

The guide lays out the mechanics that will shape election night: how much of the vote is cast early or by absentee ballot, how quickly the state’s 55 counties expect to report results, and what happens if a margin is close enough for a candidate to request a recount.

About 762,000 votes were cast in West Virginia’s last statewide general election, the 2024 race for president, according to the guide.

About 44% of all ballots cast in the state’s 2024 election were cast early or by absentee ballot, the AP reported. The latest advance vote totals for West Virginia are available in the AP’s advance vote tracker.

More than half of West Virginia’s 55 counties expect to report all or nearly all of their early and absentee vote results in the first vote report of the night, according to the guide. Four in five counties expect to release at least some in-person Election Day results at the start of the night.

In 2024, the first results were reported starting at 7:41 p.m. ET on Nov. 5, 11 minutes after polls closed, according to the AP. West Virginia reached 50% of votes reporting at 8:53 p.m. ET and 90% at 11 p.m. ET.

The Associated Press does not make projections, the guide notes. The organization said it declares a winner only when it determines there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap.

If a race has not been called, the AP said it will continue to cover newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory, while making clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explaining why.

West Virginia has no automatic recounts. A candidate may request and pay for one regardless of the margin of victory, and the cost is refunded if the recount changes the outcome, according to the guide. The AP said it may declare a winner in a race subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.