Voters in five West Virginia counties say ‘yes’ to Sunday hunting, two say ‘no’

Hunting on Sundays will soon be an option on private land in five West Virginia counties.

During Tuesday’s primary election, voters in Braxton, Webster, Wirt, Nicholas and Calhoun counties approved hunting on the seventh day –  while voters in both Lewis County and Gilmer County rejected the idea.  Unofficial vote totals indicated 30 votes made the difference in Gilmer County.

Tuesday marked the first time the question of Sunday hunting had gone to voters in West Virginia since 2002, the same year the Legislature authorized Sunday hunting on private land statewide if voters in each county approved.  In votes soon after the law was implemented, 41 counties eliminated the Sunday hunting option.

Cory Boothe was part of the grassroots effort to revisit the issue a decade later.  Five percent of voters in each county had to sign a petition for the matter to make it onto the ballot.  He said he may pursue similar actions in other counties.

The Virginia General Assembly recently lifted the longtime ban on Sunday hunting there.