COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR

H. B. 2646

(By Delegates Kuhn, Collins and Hutchins)
(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)

[April 1, 1997]

A BILL to amend article nine, chapter three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section twenty-five, relating to providing that no elected official, except the clerk of the county commission, may be situated within fifteen feet of any location where votes are being counted in a primary or general election in which that elected official is a candidate; penalties.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article nine, chapter three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section twenty-five, to read as follows:

ARTICLE 9. OFFENSES AND PENALTIES.

§3-9-25. Elected official who is candidate in primary or general election not allowed within fifteen feet of vote counting.
Notwithstanding any provision in this chapter to the contrary, no elected official, except the clerk of the county commission, may be situated within fifteen feet of any location where votes are being counted on election night in a primary or general election in which that elected official is a candidate. Any person violating this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than three thousand dollars nor more than five thousand dollars, or confined in the county or regional jail not more than six months, or both fined and imprisoned.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that an elected official who is a candidate in a primary or general election, except the clerk of the county commission, may not be situated within fifteen feet of the counting of votes on election night.

This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.