H. B. 2172
(By Delegates Morgan and Caputo)
[Introduced January 9, 2008; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §3-1-21 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to providing that candidates for
statewide political office belonging to the party with the
most registered voters in the state, or in the case of
congressional elections, then belonging to the political party
with the most registered voters in the congressional district,
be placed in a preeminent position on the election ballot;
charging the Secretary of State with the duty of determining
officially which party has the most registered voters.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §3-1-21 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS.
§3-1-21. Printing of official and sample ballots; number;
packaging and delivery, correction of ballots.
(a) The board of ballot commissioners for each county shall
provide the ballots and sample ballots necessary for conducting
every election for public officers in which the voters of the
county participate.
(b) The persons required to provide the ballots necessary for
conducting all other elections are:
(1) The Secretary of State, for any statewide special election
ordered by the Legislature;
(2) The board of ballot commissioners, for any countywide
special election ordered by the county commission;
(3) The board of education, for any special levy or bond
election ordered by the board of education; or
(4) The municipal board of ballot commissioners, for any
election conducted for or within a municipality except an election
in which the matter affecting the municipality is placed on the
county ballot at a county election. Ballots other than those
printed by the proper authorities as specified in this section
shall not be cast, received or counted in any election.
(c) When paper ballots are used, the total number of regular
official ballots printed shall equal one and one-twentieth times
the number of registered voters eligible to vote that ballot. The
clerk of the county commission shall determine the number of
absentee official ballots.
(d) The number of regular official ballots packaged for each precinct shall equal the number of registered voters of the
precinct. The remaining regular official ballots shall be packaged
and delivered to the clerk of the county commission who shall
retain them unopened until they are required for an emergency.
Each package of ballots shall be wrapped and sealed in a manner
which will immediately make apparent any attempt to open, alter or
tamper with the ballots. Each package of ballots for a precinct
shall be clearly labeled in a manner which cannot be altered, with
the county name, the precinct number and the number of ballots
contained in each package. If the packaging material conceals the
face of the ballot, a sample ballot identical to the official
ballots contained therein shall be securely attached to the outside
of the package or, in the case of ballot cards, the type of ballot
shall be included in the label.
(e) All absentee ballots necessary for conducting absentee
voting in all voting systems shall be delivered to the clerk of the
county commission of the appropriate county not later than the
forty-second day before the election. All official ballots in
paper ballot systems shall be delivered to the clerk of the county
commission of the appropriate county not later than twenty-eight
days before the election.
(f) All ballots in any statewide or congressional election
shall place the names of the political candidates whose party has
the largest number of registered voters in the state, or in the case of a congressional race, then in the congressional district,
at the first or priority position on the ballot than those
candidates whose party has the second highest number of registered
voters: Provided, That the Secretary of State shall officially
determine which party has the highest number of registered voters
in the state or in the congressional district.
(f) (g) Upon a finding of the board of ballot commissioners
that an official ballot contains an error which, in the opinion of
the board, is of sufficient magnitude as to confuse or mislead the
voters, the board shall cause the error to be corrected either by
the reprinting of the ballots or by the use of stickers printed
with the correction and of suitable size to be placed over the
error without covering any other portion of the ballot.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that candidates
for statewide political office belonging to the party with the most
registered voters in the state, or in the case of congressional
elections, then belonging to the political party with the most
registered voters in the congressional district, be placed in a
preeminent position on the election ballot. The bill also charges
the Secretary of State with the duty of determining officially
which party has the most registered voters.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.