By Stephen Smoot, The Pendleton Times
FRANKLIN, W.Va. — Last session, the West Virginia State Legislature passed Senate Bill 50. This act had required all of West Virginia’s incorporated municipal governments to pass ordinances to synchronize elections with county governments by July 1, 2032.
The House of Delegates wished to roll the deadline back to 2028, but the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office, as well as other legislators, wished to accommodate the different ways in which various municipal governments would have to change their laws
One of the key issues pushing the move lay in low turnout for city and town polling. Delegate Larry Kump (R-Berkley) told a statewide online media outlet at the time that “by mandating that all West Virginia elections are held on normal election dates, Senate Bill 50 will eliminate the taxpayer burden of holding these special elections.”
He added that “importantly, will also increase voter awareness and election turnout.”
The Town of Franklin has seen fairly low voter participation in recent elections.
Not willing to let the grass grow under the Town of Franklin’s feet on the issue, town administrator Frank Wehrle initiated the process to fulfill that mandate.