This article by Jess Mancini was published December 16, 2017 by The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.

Beginning Jan. 1, voters will have to show an identification proving who they are before they vote in West Virginia.

The new voter identification law, passed by the Legislature in 2016 and signed by former Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, will require a voter to provide identification before casting a ballot during early voting or on election day and changes the types of identification that would be accepted, according to Wood County Clerk Mark Rhodes…. Among the changes is voters will be allowed to use their voters registration card, Rhodes said. Previously, the voters registration card, which does not include a photo, was not among the allowable forms, he said….

The aim of the legislation is to further eliminate chances for voter fraud, he said. If a person doesn’t have the correct form of identification, they can still vote a provisional ballot and then produce a valid identification before the official canvassing of the returns by the county commission, Rhodes said….

The Elections Division of the Secretary of State is working with county clerks to provide free photo IDs to registered voters who do not have an acceptable type of ID, Warner said. The Secretary of State’s office also is working with groups to distribute information about the law change, including distributing 40,000 rack cards detailing the changes, he said.

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