Introduced Version
House Bill 3012 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 3012
(By Delegates Frich, Lane, Shott, Rowan,
Householder, Sobonya, McCuskey,
Border, Gearheart and Pasdon)
[Introduced March 20, 2013; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §3-1-16 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §3-4A-11a of said code;
to amend and reenact §3-5-4 and §3-5-13a of said code; and to
amend and reenact §51-1-1 of said code, all relating to the
nonpartisan election of justices to the Supreme Court of
Appeals beginning in 2014; providing for a nonpartisan
judicial office on the voting ballot; and setting forth how
the justices are to be selected in the primary and general
elections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §3-1-16 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; that §3-4A-11a of said code be amended
and reenacted; that §3-5-4 and §3-5-13a of said code be amended and
reenacted; and that §51-1-1 of said code be amended and reenacted,
all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 3. ELECTIONS.
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS.
§3-1-16. Election of state officers.
At the general election to be held in the year 1968, and in
every fourth year thereafter, there shall be elected a Governor,
Secretary of State, Treasurer, Auditor, Attorney General and
Commissioner of Agriculture. At the general election in the year
1968, and in every second year thereafter, there shall be elected
a member of the State Senate for each senatorial district, and a
member or members of the House of Delegates of the state from each
county or each delegate district. At the general election to be
held in the year 1968, and in every twelfth year thereafter, there
shall be elected one judge justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals,
and at the general election to be held in the year 1972, and in
every twelfth year thereafter, two judges justices of the Supreme
Court of Appeals, and at the general election to be held in the
year 1976, and in every twelfth year thereafter, two judges
justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals. Beginning with the
primary election held in the year 2014, the election of justices of
the Supreme Court of Appeals shall be on a nonpartisan basis.
ARTICLE 4A. ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS.
§3-4A-11a. Ballots tabulated electronically; arrangement, quantity
to be printed, ballot stub numbers.
(a) The board of ballot commissioners in counties using ballots upon which votes may be recorded by means of marking with
electronically sensible ink or pencil and which marks are tabulated
electronically shall cause the ballots to be printed or displayed
upon the screens of the electronic voting system for use in
elections.
(b)(1) For the primary election, the heading of the ballot,
the type faces, the names and arrangement of offices and the
printing of names and arrangement of candidates within each office
are to conform as nearly as possible to the provisions of sections
thirteen and thirteen-a, article five of this chapter.
(2) For the general election, the heading of the ballot, the
straight ticket positions, the instructions to straight ticket
voters, the type faces, the names and arrangement of offices and
the printing of names and the arrangement of candidates within each
office are to conform as nearly as possible to the provisions of
section two, article six of this chapter, except as otherwise
provided in this article.
(3) Nonpartisan elections for Board of Education, and
effective with the primary election held in the year 2014 and
thereafter, the nonpartisan offices of Justice of the Supreme Court
of Appeals, and any question to be voted upon are to be separated
from the partisan ballot and separately headed in display type with
a title clearly identifying the purpose of the election and
constituting a separate ballot wherever a separate ballot is required under the provisions of this chapter.
(4) Both the face and the reverse side of the ballot may
contain the names of candidates only if means to ensure the secrecy
of the ballot are provided and lines for the signatures of the poll
clerks on the ballot are printed on a portion of the ballot which
is deposited in the ballot box and upon which marks do not
interfere with the proper tabulation of the votes.
(5) The arrangement of candidates within each office is to be
determined in the same manner as for other electronic voting
systems, as prescribed in this chapter. On the general election
ballot for all offices, and on the primary election ballot only for
those offices to be filled by election, except delegate to national
convention, lines for entering write-in votes are to be provided
below the names of candidates for each office, and the number of
lines provided for any office shall equal the number of persons to
be elected, or three, whichever is fewer. The words "WRITE-IN, IF
ANY" are to be printed, where applicable, directly under each line
for write-ins. The lines are to be opposite a position to mark the
vote.
(c) Except for electronic voting systems that utilize screens
upon which votes may be recorded by means of a stylus or by means
of touch, the primary election ballots are to be printed in the
color of ink specified by the Secretary of State for the various
political parties, and the general election ballot is to be printed in black ink. For electronic voting systems that utilize screens
upon which votes may be recorded by means of a stylus or by means
of touch, the primary ballots and the general election ballot are
to be printed in black ink. All ballots are to be printed, where
applicable, on white paper suitable for automatic tabulation and
are to contain a perforated stub at the top or bottom of the
ballot, which is to be numbered sequentially in the same manner as
provided in section thirteen, article five of this chapter, or are
to be displayed on the screens of the electronic voting system upon
which votes are recorded by means of a stylus or touch. The number
of ballots printed and the packaging of ballots for the precincts
are to conform to the requirements for paper ballots provided in
this chapter.
(d) In addition to the official ballots, the ballot
commissioners shall provide all other materials and equipment
necessary to the proper conduct of the election.
ARTICLE 5. PRIMARY ELECTIONS AND NOMINATING PROCEDURES.
§3-5-4. Nomination of candidates in primary elections.
(a) At each primary election, the candidate or candidates of
each political party for all offices to be filled at the ensuing
general election by the voters of the entire state, of each
congressional district, of each state senatorial district, of each
delegate district, of each judicial circuit of West Virginia, of
each county, and of each magisterial district in the state shall be nominated by the voters of the different political parties, except
that no presidential elector shall be nominated at a primary
election.
(b) In primary elections a plurality of the votes cast shall
be sufficient for the nomination of candidates for office. Where
only one candidate of a political party for any office in a
political division, including party committeemen and delegates to
national conventions, is to be chosen, or where a judicial circuit
has two or more circuit judges and one circuit judge is to be
chosen for each numbered division within the circuit, the candidate
receiving the highest number of votes therefor in the primary
election shall be declared the party nominee for such office.
Where two or more such candidates are to be chosen in the primary
election, the candidates constituting the proper number to be so
chosen who shall receive the highest number of votes cast in the
political division in which they are candidates shall be declared
the party nominees and choices for such offices, except that:
(1) Candidates for the office of commissioner of the county
commission shall be nominated and elected in accordance with the
provisions of section ten, article nine of the Constitution of the
State of West Virginia and the requirements of section one-b,
article one, chapter seven;
(2) Members of county boards of education shall be elected at
primary elections in accordance with the provisions of sections five and six of this article;
(3) Candidates for the House of Delegates shall be nominated
and elected in accordance with the residence restrictions provided
in section two, article two, chapter one of this code; and
(4) In judicial circuits having numbered divisions, each
numbered division shall be tallied separately and the candidate in
each division receiving a plurality of the votes cast shall be
declared the party nominee for the office in that numbered
division; and
_(5) Justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall be
nominated and elected on a nonpartisan basis in the following
manner: The election of Justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals
shall proceed at the primary election in which those receiving the
highest number of votes up to a number equaling two candidates for
each vacancy shall contest one another for the office or offices in
the general election.
(c) In case of tie votes between candidates for party
nominations or elections in primary elections, the choice of the
political party shall be determined by the executive committee of
the party for the political division in which such persons are
candidates.
§3-5-13a. Order of offices and candidates on the ballot; uniform
drawing date.
(a) The order of offices for state and county elections on all ballots within the state shall be as prescribed herein. When the
office does not appear on the ballot in an election, then it shall
be omitted from the sequence. When an unexpired term for an office
appears on the ballot along with a full term, the unexpired term
shall appear immediately below the full term.
NATIONAL TICKET: President (and Vice President in the general
election), United States Senator, member of the United States House
of Representatives
STATE TICKET: Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor,
Treasurer, Commissioner of Agriculture, Attorney General, Justice
of the Supreme Court of Appeals, State Senator, member of the House
of Delegates, circuit judge in multicounty districts, family court
judge in multicounty districts, any other multicounty office, state
executive committee
NONPARTISAN JUDICIAL OFFICES: Justice of the Supreme Court of
Appeals
COUNTY TICKET: Circuit judge in single-county districts,
family court judge in single-county districts, clerk of the circuit
court, county commissioner, clerk of the county commission,
prosecuting attorney, sheriff, assessor, magistrate, surveyor,
congressional district executive committee, senatorial district
executive committee in multicounty districts, delegate district
executive committee in multicounty districts
NATIONAL CONVENTION: Delegate to the national convention -- at-large, delegate to the national convention -- congressional
district
DISTRICT TICKET: County executive committee
(b) Except for office divisions in which no more than one
person has filed a certificate of announcement, the arrangement of
names for all offices shall be determined by lot according to the
following provisions:
(1) On the fourth Tuesday following the close of the candidate
filing, beginning at nine o'clock a. m., a drawing by lot shall be
conducted in the office of the clerk of the county commission in
each county. Notice of the drawing shall be given on the form for
the certificate of announcement and no further notice shall be
required. The clerk of the county commission shall superintend and
conduct the drawing and the method of conducting the drawing shall
be prescribed by the Secretary of State.
(2) Except as provided herein, the position of each candidate
within each office division shall be determined by the position
drawn for that candidate individually: Provided, That if fewer
candidates file for an office division than the total number to be
nominated or elected, the vacant positions shall appear following
the names of all candidates for the office.
(3) Candidates for delegate to national convention who have
filed a commitment to a candidate for president shall be listed
alphabetically within the group of candidates committed to the same candidate for president and uncommitted candidates shall be listed
alphabetically in an uncommitted category. The position of each
group of committed candidates and uncommitted candidates shall be
determined by lot by drawing the names of the presidential
candidates and for an uncommitted category.
(4) A candidate or the candidate's representative may attend
the drawings.
CHAPTER 51. COURTS AND THEIR OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 1. SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS.
§51-1-1. Justices.
The Supreme Court of Appeals shall consist of five justices,
elected and qualified according to the Constitution and the laws of
this state, any three of whom shall constitute a quorum. Beginning
with the primary election in 2014, justices shall be elected on a
nonpartisan basis.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to elect justices to the
Supreme Court of Appeals beginning on a nonpartisan basis beginning
in 2014. The bill provides for a nonpartisan judicial office on
the voting ballot. The bill sets forth how the justices are to be
selected in the primary and general elections.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.