Introduced Version
Senate Bill 17 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
Senate Bill No. 17
(By Senator Wooton)
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[Introduced January 14, 1998;
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact sections seven, twenty-three and
twenty-four, article five, chapter three of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
all relating to primary elections and nominating procedures
of third-party candidates; removing reference to general
election in provision governing declaration of candidacy for
primary election; eliminating the reference to the filing of
a declaration of candidacy in provision establishing
certificate nomination procedures; extending the filing
deadline for the nomination of certain candidates;
eliminating requirement that persons signing nomination
certificate state a desire to vote for nominated candidate;
permitting duly registered voters who sign nomination
certificates to vote in the corresponding primary election;
requiring persons soliciting signatures to provide circulation dates and a signature as to each certificate
page; extending the deadline for the filing of nomination
certificates for candidates; and establishing the date by
which the filing fee must be paid.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections seven, twenty-three and twenty-four, article
five, chapter three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted,
all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. PRIMARY ELECTIONS AND NOMINATING PROCEDURES.
§3-5-7. Filing announcements of candidacies; requirements; withdrawal of candidates when section applicable.
Any person who is eligible to hold and seeks to hold an
office or political party position to be filled by election in
any primary or general election held under the provisions of
this chapter shall file a certificate of announcement declaring
as a candidate his or her candidacy for the nomination or
election to such office.
(a) The certificate of announcement shall be filed as
follows:
(1) With the secretary of state, if it be an office or
political position to be filled by the voters of more than one
county;
(2) With the clerk of the circuit court, if it be for an
office to be filled by the voters of a single county or of a subdivision less than a county;
(3) With the recorder or city clerk if it be for an office
to be filled by the voters of a municipality.
The certificate of announcement shall be filed with the
proper officer not earlier than the second Monday in January next
preceding the primary election day, and not later than the first
Saturday of February next preceding the primary election day, and
must be received before midnight, eastern standard time, of that
day or, if mailed, shall be postmarked by the United States
postal service before that hour.
(b) The certificate of announcement shall be in a form
prescribed by the secretary of state on which the candidate shall
make a sworn statement before a notary public or other officer
authorized to give oaths, containing the following information:
(1) The date of the election in which the candidate seeks to
appear on the ballot;
(2) The name of the office sought; the district, if any; and
the division, if any;
(3) The legal name of the candidate, and the exact name the
candidate desires to appear on the ballot, subject to limitations
prescribed in section thirteen, article five of this chapter;
(4) The county of residence and a statement that the
candidate is a legally qualified voter of that county; and the
magisterial district of residence for candidates elected from
magisterial districts or under magisterial district limitations;
(5) The specific address designating the location at which
the candidate resides at the time of filing, including number and
street or rural route and box number, and city, state and zip
code;
(6) For partisan elections, the name of the candidate's
political party, and a statement that the candidate is a member
of and affiliated with that political party as is evidenced by
the candidate's current registration as a voter affiliated with
that party, and that the candidate has not been registered as a
voter affiliated with any other political party for a period of
sixty days before the date of filing the announcement;
(7) For candidates for delegate to national convention, the
name of the presidential candidate to be listed on the ballot as
the preference of the candidate on the first convention ballot;
or, a statement that the candidate prefers to remain
"uncommitted";
(8) A statement that the person filing the certificate of
announcement is a candidate for the office in good faith;
(9) The words "subscribed and sworn to before me this ______
day of __________, 19____," and a space for the signature of the
officer giving the oath.
The secretary of state or the board of ballot commissioners,
as the case may be, may refuse to certify the candidacy or remove
the certification of the candidacy upon receipt of a certified
copy of the voter's registration record of the candidate evidencing that the candidate was registered as a voter in a
party other than the one named in the certificate of announcement
during the sixty days immediately preceding the filing of the
certificate: Provided, That unless a signed formal complaint of
violation of this section and the certified copy of the voter's
registration record of the candidate be filed with the officer
receiving that candidate's certificate of announcement no later
than ten days following the close of the filing period, the
candidate shall not be refused certification for this reason.
(c) The certificate of announcement shall be subscribed to
and sworn to by the candidate before some officer qualified to
administer oaths, who shall certify the same. Any person who
knowingly provides false information on said certificate is
guilty of false swearing and shall be punished as set forth in
section three, article nine of this chapter.
(d) Any candidate for delegate to a national convention may
change his or her statement of presidential preference by
notifying the secretary of state by letter received by the
secretary of state no later than the third Tuesday following the
close of candidate filing. When the rules of the political party
allow each presidential candidate to approve or reject candidates
for delegate to convention who may appear on the ballot as
committed to that presidential candidate, the presidential
candidate or the candidate's committee on his or her behalf may
file a list of approved or rejected candidates for delegate, and the secretary of state shall list as "uncommitted" any candidate
for delegate who is disapproved by the presidential candidate.
(e) No person shall be a candidate for more than one office
or office division at any election: Provided, That a candidate
for an office may also be a candidate for president of the United
States, for membership on a political party executive committee
or for delegate to a political party national convention.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, nothing shall
prohibit a candidate from jointly running for or jointly holding
the offices of county clerk and circuit clerk in those counties
which operate a joint clerkship system.
(f) Any candidate who files a certificate of announcement
for more than one office or division and does not withdraw, as
provided by section eleven, article five of this chapter, from
all but one office prior to the close of the filing period shall
not be certified by the secretary of state or placed on the
ballot for any office by the board of ballot commissioners.
The provisions of this section shall apply to the primary
election held in the year one thousand nine hundred ninety-two
and every primary election held thereafter.
§3-5-23. Certificate nominations; requirements and control;
penalties.
(a) Groups of citizens having no party organization may
nominate candidates for public office who are not already
candidates in the primary election otherwise than by conventions or primary elections. In such case, the candidate or candidates,
jointly or severally, shall file a declaration with the secretary
of state if the office is to be filled by the voters of more than
one county, or with the clerk of the circuit court of the county
if the office is to be filled by the voters of one county or
political subdivision thereof; such declaration to be filed at
least thirty days prior to the time of filing the certificate
provided by section twenty-four of this article:
Provided,
That
the deadline for filing the certificate for persons seeking
ballot access as a candidate for the office of president or vice
president shall be filed not later than the first day of August
preceding the general election. At the time of filing of such
declaration each candidate shall pay the filing fee required by
law, and if such declaration is not so filed or the filing fee so
paid, the certificate shall not be received by the secretary of
state, or clerk of the circuit court, as the case may be
nomination certificate in accordance with the provisions of this
section and the provisions of section twenty-four of this
article.
(b) The person or persons soliciting or canvassing
signatures of duly qualified voters on such certificate or
certificates, may solicit or canvass duly registered voters
residing within the county, district, or other political division
represented by the office sought, but must first obtain from the
clerk of the county commission credentials which must be exhibited to each voter canvassed or solicited, which credentials
may be in the following form or effect:
State of West Virginia, County of ................, ss:
This certifies that ............................., a duly
registered voter of this State; whose post-office address is
............................., is hereby authorized to solicit
and canvass duly registered voters residing in
........................... (here place the county, district or
other political division represented by the office sought) to
sign a certificate purporting to nominate ...................
(here place name of candidate heading list on certificate)
for the office of ............................ and others, at the
general election to be held on .................., 19......
Given under my hand and the seal of my office this
.............. day of ....................., 19......
...............................................
Clerk, County Commission of ................... County.
The clerk of each county commission, upon proper application
made as herein provided, shall issue such credentials and shall
keep a record thereof.
(c) The certificate shall be personally signed by duly
registered voters, in their own proper handwriting or by their
marks duly witnessed, who must be residents within the county,
district or other political division represented by the office
sought wherein such canvass or solicitation is made by the person or persons duly authorized. Such signatures need not all be on
one certificate. The number of such signatures shall be equal to
not less than one percent of the entire vote cast at the last
preceding general election for the office in the state, district,
county or other political division for which the nomination is to
be made, but in no event shall the number be less than twenty- five. Where two or more nominations may be made for the same
office, the total of the votes cast at the last preceding general
election for the candidates receiving the highest number of votes
on each ticket for such office shall constitute the entire vote.
No signature on such certificate shall be counted unless it be
that of a duly registered voter of the county, district or other
political division represented by the office sought wherein such
certificate was presented. It shall be the duty of those
soliciting signatures to read to each voter whose signature is
solicited the statement written on the certificate which gives
notice that no person signing such certificate shall vote at any
primary election to be held to nominate candidates for office to
be voted for at the election to be held next after the date of
signing such certificate provide a statement upon the face of
each and every individual certificate page as to the dates of
circulation thereof, along with the signature of the person
soliciting signatures upon each such certificate.
(d) Such certificates shall state the name and residence of
each of such candidates; that he is legally qualified to hold such office; that the subscribers are legally qualified and duly
registered as voters and desire to vote for such candidates have
the candidates placed on the official general election ballot;
and may designate, by not more than five words, a brief name of
the party which such candidates represent and may adopt a device
or emblem to be printed on the official ballot. All candidates
nominated by the signing of such certificates shall have their
names placed on the official ballot as candidates, as if
otherwise nominated under the provisions of this chapter.
The secretary of state shall prescribe the form and content
of the nomination certificates to be used for soliciting
signatures. The content shall include the language to be used in
giving written and oral notice to each voter that signing of the
nominating certificate forfeits that voter's right to vote in the
corresponding primary election. Notwithstanding any other
provision of this code to the contrary, a duly registered voter
may sign the certificate provided for in this section and may
vote for candidates of his or her choosing in the corresponding
primary election.
Offices to be filled by the voters of more than one county
shall use separate petition forms for the signatures of qualified
voters for each county.
(e) The secretary of state, or the clerk of the circuit
court, as the case may be, may investigate the validity of such
certificates and the signatures thereon, and if upon such investigation there may be doubt as to the legitimacy and the
validity of such certificate, he may request the attorney general
of the state, or the prosecuting attorney of the county, to
institute a quo warranto proceeding against the nominee or
nominees by certificate to determine his or their right to such
nomination to public office, and upon request being made, the
attorney general or prosecuting attorney shall institute such quo
warranto proceeding.
(f) Any person violating the provisions hereof, in addition
to penalties prescribed elsewhere for violation of this chapter,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be
fined not more than one thousand dollars, or confined in the
county jail for not more than one year, or both, in the
discretion of the court.
§3-5-24. Filing of nomination certificates; deadlines for
filing; payment of filing fee.
(a) All certificates nominating candidates for office under
the preceding section, including other than certificates
nominating a candidate for the office of presidential elector
president or vice president, shall be filed, in the case of a
candidate to be voted for by the voters of the entire state or by
any subdivision thereof other than a single county, with the
secretary of state, and in the case of all candidates for county
and magisterial district offices, including all offices to be
filled by the voters of a single county, with the clerk of the circuit court of the county, not later than the day preceding the
date on which the primary election is held. After such date no
such certificate shall be received by such officers.
(b) All certificates nominating candidates for the office of
president or vice president shall be filed with the secretary of
state not later than the first day of August preceding the
general election.
(c) At the time of the filing of the nomination
certificates, each candidate shall pay the filing fee required by
section eight of this article. If any nomination certificate is
not timely filed or if the filing fee is not timely paid, the
certificate shall not be received by the secretary of state, or
by the clerk of the circuit court, as the case may be.
NOTE: This bill changes certain nominating procedures
relating to primary elections.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language.