Many people have been switching their party allegiance, in Kanawha County and across West Virginia, as the 2016 primaries have neared.
In Kanawha and in the rest of the state, the most people have switched from Democrat to Republican, which is a difference from 2012, when most people were going from Democrat to nonpartisan.
"You always have changes like that," said Vera McCormick, the Kanawha County Clerk. "It all depends on the candidates out there."
But the numbers aren't usually this high.
Kanawha County saw 784 people switch from Democrat to Republican, while 202 people switched from Republican to Democrat. Putnam County saw 236 people go from Democrat to Republican and 52 people go from Republican to Democrat. Statewide, 7,706 people switched from Democrat to Republican and 1,507 people went from Republican to Democrat.
All of those numbers increased when compared to the same time in 2012.
In Kanawha County, the number of voters switching from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party quintupled. In Putnam County and West Virginia as a whole, it quadrupled.
The number of voters switching parties is a small percentage of the total voters in Kanawha - a little less than 2 percent -- but it's still indicative of a trend that's sweeping through the county, and to a greater extent, the state.
Depending on who's asked, there are three major reasons for the increase in party changes - the ease of switching parties online, West Virginia's transition to a Republican state and the rise of presidential candidate Donald Trump.
As the voter registration deadline neared in West Virginia, Facebook reminded people of the deadline and even created a program that allowed people to either register to vote or change their party affiliation with a few clicks.
"I think it's a lot easier to do now," said Belinda Biafore, the chairwoman of the West Virginia Democratic Party. "Most people, when they go to register, they rarely change."
Biafore said that, for the casual voter who only votes in general elections, it doesn't really matter what party they're registered with, because both candidates are on the ballot.
"A lot of people didn't realize at one time what they are [registered as]," Biafore said.
But with the ease of changing party with a postcard or online, many people might have been inspired to switch, especially if they want to vote in the highly contested primary election.
The tight Republican primary race might just be serving as incentive for people who were already voting Republican to officially make the switch.
At least Lance Wheeler, the vice chairman of the Kanawha County Republican Executive Committee, thinks so.
"They're noticing that the conservative values they hold are being challenged by the national Democrats," Wheeler said.
Wheeler also pointed out that, even before Trump joined the campaign, voters had been switching over to the Republican Party.
Republicans won the state House and Senate in 2014, and the state has gone for Republican presidential candidates ever since Bill Clinton left office.
"West Virginia is kind of taking a slow march towards becoming a redder and redder state, and this is the result of that," said Josh Putnam, a political analyst and lecturer at the University of Georgia.
That slow march might have been accelerated by the national race - particularly, one candidate.
"It's the Trump factor," said Kent Carper, president of the Kanawha County Commission, basing his response on anecdotal evidence.
Biafore said some people might be switching parties to vote strategically against Trump, but he acknowledged that Trump might be contributing to the changing party affiliations.
Looking at similar shifts in other states, Trump himself has pushed forward the notion that he's the one causing this movement.
He's been calling people who are switching to his side "the silent majority" and the phrase, originated by President Richard Nixon, has been seen on signs in his campaign office and at rallies.
"There are a lot of people who want to vote for Donald Trump." Biafore said.
Reach Daniel Desrochers at dan.desrochers@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4886 or follow @drdesrochers on Twitter.