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.