SB 615 Text

Senate Bill No. 615
(By Senators Unger, Hunter and McCabe)
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[Introduced February 17, 2003; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance

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A BILL to amend and reenact section thirty-one, article two, chapter three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to permitting independent voters to vote for the election of a candidate of any political party in a primary election.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That section thirty-one, article two, chapter three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 2. REGISTRATION OF VOTERS.

§3-2-31. Rules pertaining to voting after registration or change of address within the county.

(a) A voter who designates a political affiliation with a major party on a registration application filed at least thirty days before the primary may vote the ballot of that political party in the primary election. Political parties through the official action of their state executive committees, ~~shall~~ be are permitted to determine whether ~~unaffiliated voters or~~ voters of other parties ~~shall be~~ ~~allowed to~~ may vote that party's primary election ballot upon request. An unaffiliated or "independent" voter may vote for the election of a candidate of any political party participating in the primary election, but may not vote for the candidates of more than one political party on more than one ballot. Upon voting for a candidate or candidates of a political party in a primary election, the unaffiliated or "independent" voter shall be designated on his or her voter registration record as affiliated with that political party until such time that the voter changes party affiliation.

(b) A voter whose registration record lists one residence address but the voter has since moved to another residence address within the precinct shall be permitted to update the registration at the polling place and vote without challenge for that reason.

(c) A voter whose registration record lists one residence address but the voter has since moved to another residence address in a different precinct in the same county shall be permitted to update the registration at the polling place serving the new precinct and shall be permitted to vote a challenged or provisional ballot at the new polling place. If the voter's registration is found on the registration records within the county during the canvass and no other challenge of eligibility was entered on election day, the challenge shall be removed and the ballot shall be counted.

(d) A voter whose registration record has been placed on an inactive status or transferred to an inactive file and who has not responded to a confirmation notice sent pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-four, twenty-five or twenty-six of this article and who offers to vote at the polling place where he or she is registered to vote shall be required to affirm his or her present residence address under penalty of perjury, as provided in section thirty-six of this article.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit independent voters to vote for the election of a candidate of any political party in a primary election. The bill also provides that the voter may not vote for a candidate of more than one party, and then is subsequently registered as affiliated with that party until the voter changes that party affiliation.

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

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