WEST virginia legislature

2019 regular session

Introduced

House Bill 2456

By Delegates Kump, McGeehan and Wilson

[Introduced January 16, 2019; Referred
to the Committee on the Judiciary.]

A BILL to amend and reenact §3-1-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the definition of a political party for all state and local elections; providing official ballot status to a political party that has received at least one percent of the votes in the preceding general election for a statewide office or has at least 5,000 voters registered as members of that party; and making the definition applicable to municipalities.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS.

§3-1-8. Political party defined; parties or groups that may participate in municipal primary all state and local elections.

Any affiliation of voters representing any principle or organization which, at the last preceding general election, polled for its candidate for Governor at least one per cent of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for that office in the state, shall be or which has a minimum of 5,000 voters registered in it, statewide, is a political party, within the meaning and for the purpose of this chapter. Provided, That notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, the governing body of any municipality may, by ordinance adopted by the affirmative vote of at least three fourths of the members of such governing body by recorded vote, provide that municipal political parties or groups within such municipality that do not meet the requirements of this section for classification as a political party may participate in the primary elections of any such municipality. Any such ordinance shall contain provisions implementing the foregoing proviso, which implementing provisions shall conform as nearly as practicable to any general provisions of law relating to municipal primary elections

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to change the definition of a political party for all state and local elections by providing official ballot status to a political party that has received at least one percent of the votes in the preceding general election for a statewide office or has at least 5,000 voters registered as members. The bill also makes the definition applicable to municipalities.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.