COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 25
(By Senators Chafin and Anderson)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported February 25, 1999.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section nineteen, article one,
chapter three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; to amend and reenact
sections one and seven, article five of said chapter; and to
amend and reenact section five, article eight of said
chapter, all relating to changing the time of holding
primary elections from May to March; changing dates for the
selection of ballot commissioners; changing dates for the
filing of certificates of announcement for candidates;
changing dates for the filing of financial statements; and
requiring the filing of an additional financial statement
prior to general elections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section nineteen, article one, chapter three of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; that sections one and seven,
article five of said chapter be amended and reenacted; and that
section five, article eight of said chapter be amended and
reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS.
§3-1-19. Ballot commissioners; selection; duties generally;
vacancies.
In each county in the state, the clerk of the circuit court
while holding such office, and two persons by him appointed, one
from each of the two political parties which cast the largest and
second largest number of votes in the state at the last preceding
general election, shall constitute a board of ballot
commissioners, of which board the said clerk shall be chairman.
It shall be the duty of the clerk of said court to notify the
chairman of the respective county executive committees of such
two parties, at least five days before making such appointments, of the time and place of making the same, and if at any time
after such notice is given, and before or on the day so fixed for
making such appointments, the chairman of either of said
committees shall designate, in writing, a member of such party as
ballot commissioner having the qualifications of a voter, he
shall be appointed. Ballot commissioners shall be appointed
between the fifteenth and thirtieth days of January October in
each year in which before a general election is to be held, for
a term of two years beginning on the first day of February
November next ensuing: Provided, That in the year one thousand
nine hundred sixty-eight, such ballot commissioners shall be
appointed between the first and the tenth days of February, for
a term beginning on the eleventh day of February of said year and
ending on the thirty-first day of January, one thousand nine
hundred seventy. They shall perform the duties of such
commissioners at all general, special and primary elections held
in the county or any magisterial district thereof during their
term of office. A vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as
an original appointment, but immediate notice of a vacancy shall,
where necessary, be deemed in compliance with the five-day notice
provision.
ARTICLE 5. PRIMARY ELECTIONS AND NOMINATING PROCEDURES.
§3-5-1. Time and place of holding primary elections in the year
two thousand and thereafter; hours polls open.
Primary elections shall be held at the voting place in each
of the voting precincts in the state, for the purposes set forth
in this article, on the second Tuesday in May March in the year
one thousand nine hundred eighty-six two thousand and in each
second year thereafter.
At such a primary election, the polls shall be opened and
closed open and close at the hours provided for opening and
closing the polls in a general election.
§3-5-7. Filing announcements of candidacies; requirements;
withdrawal of candidates when section applicable.
Any person who is eligible and seeks to hold an office or
political party position to be filled by election in any primary
or general election held under the provisions of this chapter
shall file a certificate of announcement declaring as a candidate
for the nomination or election to the office.
(a) The certificate of announcement shall be filed as
follows:
(1) With the secretary of state, if it be an office or political position to be filled by the voters of more than one
county;
(2) With the clerk of the circuit court, if it be for an
office to be filled by the voters of a single county or of a
subdivision less than a county;
(3) With the recorder or city clerk if it be for an office
to be filled by the voters of a municipality.
The certificate of announcement shall be filed with the
proper officer not earlier than the second Monday in January
November next preceding the primary election day, and not later
than the last first Saturday in January December next preceding
the primary election day, and must be received before midnight,
eastern standard time, of that day or, if mailed, shall be
postmarked by the United States postal service before that hour.
(b) The certificate of announcement shall be in a form
prescribed by the secretary of state on which the candidate shall
make a sworn statement before a notary public or other officer
authorized to give oaths, containing the following information:
(1) The date of the election in which the candidate seeks to
appear on the ballot;
(2) The name of the office sought; the district, if any; and the division, if any;
(3) The legal name of the candidate, and the exact name the
candidate desires to appear on the ballot, subject to limitations
prescribed in section thirteen, article five of this chapter;
(4) The county of residence and a statement that the
candidate is a legally qualified voter of that county; and the
magisterial district of residence for candidates elected from
magisterial districts or under magisterial district limitations;
(5) The specific address designating the location at which
the candidate resides at the time of filing, including number and
street or rural route and box number, and city, state and zip
code;
(6) For partisan elections, the name of the candidate's
political party, and a statement that the candidate is a member
of and affiliated with that political party as is evidenced by
the candidate's current registration as a voter affiliated with
that party, and that the candidate has not been registered as a
voter affiliated with any other political party for a period of
sixty days before the date of filing the announcement;
(7) For candidates for delegate to national convention, the
name of the presidential candidate to be listed on the ballot as the preference of the candidate on the first convention ballot;
or, a statement that the candidate prefers to remain
"uncommitted";
(8) A statement that the person filing the certificate of
announcement is a candidate for the office in good faith;
(9) The words "subscribed and sworn to before me this ______
day of _____________, 19____," and a space for the signature of
the officer giving the oath.
The secretary of state or the board of ballot commissioners,
as the case may be, may refuse to certify the candidacy or remove
the certification of the candidacy upon receipt of a certified
copy of the voter's registration record of the candidate
evidencing that the candidate was registered as a voter in a
party other than the one named in the certificate of announcement
during the sixty days immediately preceding the filing of the
certificate: Provided, That unless a signed formal complaint of
violation of this section and the certified copy of the voter's
registration record of the candidate be filed with the officer
receiving that candidate's certificate of announcement no later
than ten days following the close of the filing period, the
candidate shall not be refused certification for this reason.
(c) The certificate of announcement shall be subscribed and
sworn to by the candidate before some officer qualified to
administer oaths, who shall certify the same. Any person who
knowingly provides false information on the certificate is guilty
of false swearing and shall be punished as set forth in section
three, article nine of this chapter.
(d) Any candidate for delegate to a national convention may
change his or her statement of presidential preference by
notifying the secretary of state by letter received by the
secretary of state no later than the third Tuesday following the
close of candidate filing. When the rules of the political party
allow each presidential candidate to approve or reject candidates
for delegate to convention who may appear on the ballot as
committed to that presidential candidate, the presidential
candidate or the candidate's committee on his or her behalf may
file a list of approved or rejected candidates for delegate, and
the secretary of state shall list as "uncommitted" any candidate
for delegate who is disapproved by the presidential candidate.
(e) No person shall be a candidate for more than one office
or office division at any election: Provided, That a candidate
for an office may also be a candidate for president of the United States, for membership on a political party executive committee
or for delegate to a political party national convention.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, nothing shall
prohibit a candidate from jointly running for or holding the
offices of county clerk and circuit clerk in those counties which
operate a joint clerkship system.
(f) Any candidate who files a certificate of announcement
for more than one office or division and does not withdraw, as
provided by section eleven, article five of this chapter, from
all but one office prior to the close of the filing period shall
not be certified by the secretary of state or placed on the
ballot for any office by the board of ballot commissioners.
The provisions of this section enacted during the regular
session of the Legislature in the year one thousand nine hundred
ninety-one shall apply to the primary election held in the year
one thousand nine hundred ninety-two and every primary election
held thereafter. The provisions of this section enacted during
the regular session of the Legislature in the year one thousand
nine hundred ninety-eight shall apply to the primary election
held in the year two thousand and every primary election held
thereafter.
ARTICLE 8. REGULATION AND CONTROL OF ELECTIONS.
§3-8-5. Detailed accounts and verified financial statements
required.
(a) Every candidate, financial agent, person and association
of persons, organization of any kind, including every
corporation, directly or indirectly, supporting a political
committee established pursuant to paragraph (C), subdivision (1),
subsection (b), section eight of this article or engaging in
other activities permitted by said section and also including the
treasurer or equivalent officer of such association or
organization, advocating or opposing the nomination, election or
defeat of any candidate or the passage or defeat of any issue,
thing or item to be voted upon, and the treasurer of every
political party committee shall keep detailed accounts of every
sum of money or other thing of value received by him, including
all loans of money or things of value, and of all expenditures
and disbursements made, liabilities incurred, by such candidate,
financial agent, person, association or organization or
committee, for political purposes, or by any of the officers or
members of such committee, or any person acting under its
authority or on its behalf.
(b) Every person or association of persons required to keep
detailed accounts under this section shall file with the officers
hereinafter prescribed a detailed itemized statement, subscribed
and sworn to before an officer authorized to administer oaths,
according to the following provisions and times:
(1) On the last Saturday in March or within fifteen first
day Saturday in December or within ten days thereafter next
preceding the primary election day whenever the total of all
financial transactions relating to an election exceed five
hundred dollars a statement which shall include all financial
transactions which have taken place by the date of that
statement, subsequent to any previous statement filed within the
previous five years under this section, or if no previous
statement was filed, all financial transactions made within the
preceding five years; and
(2) Not less than seven nor more than ten days preceding
each primary or other election, a statement which shall include
all financial transactions which have taken place by the date of
such statement, subsequent to the previous statement, if any; and
(3) Not less than twenty-five nor more than thirty days
after each primary or other election, a statement which shall include all financial transactions which have taken place by the
date of such statement, subsequent to the previous statement; and
(4) On the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
eighty-five, and thereafter on the last Saturday in March or
within fifteen days thereafter annually No earlier than the
twenty-fourth day of June and not later than the thirtieth day of
June, whenever contributions or expenditures relating to an
election exceed five hundred dollars or whenever any loans are
outstanding, a statement which shall include all financial
transactions which have taken place by the date of such report,
subsequent to any previous report.: Provided, That candidates and
committees which have filed a pre-primary and post-primary report
within the same calendar year shall be exempt from filing this
report; and
(5) On the last Saturday in September or within fifteen days
thereafter next preceding the general election day whenever the
total of all financial transactions relating to an election
exceed five hundred dollars or whenever any loans are
outstanding, a statement which shall include all financial
transactions which have taken place by the date of such
statement, subsequent to the previous statement.
(c) Every person who shall announce as a write-in candidate
for any elective office and his financial agent or election
organization of any kind shall comply with all of the
requirements of this section after public announcement of such
person's candidacy has been made.
(d) For purposes of this section, the term "financial
transactions" includes all contributions or loans received and
all repayments of loans or expenditures made to promote the
candidacy of any person by any candidate or any organization
advocating or opposing the nomination, election or defeat of any
candidate or to promote the passage or defeat of any issue, thing
or item to be voted on.
(e) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this
subsection, any person, association, organization, corporation or
other legal entity who publishes, distributes or disseminates any
scorecard, voter guide or other written analysis of a candidate's
position or votes on specific issues within sixty days of an
election is presumed to be engaging in such activity for the
purpose of advocating or opposing the nomination, election or
defeat of any candidate.
(2) The provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection shall not apply to:
(A) The publication, distribution or dissemination of such
materials in the form of a news release to broadcast or print
media;
(B) Persons who engage in news or feature reporting
activities and editorial comment as working members of the press,
radio, or television, and persons who publish, distribute or
disseminate such news, features or editorial comment through a
newspaper, book, regularly published periodical, radio station,
or television station;
(C) The members of a nonprofit corporation or other
organization who have such membership in accordance with the
provisions of the articles of incorporation, bylaws or other
instruments creating its form of organization and who have bona
fide rights and privileges in the organization such as the right
to vote, to elect officers, directors and issues, to hold office
or otherwise as ordinarily conferred on members of such
organizations who publish, distribute or disseminate materials
described in subdivision (1) of this subsection to other such
members; or
(D) The employees of a church or synagogue which currently holds or is eligible to hold an exemption as a church issued by
the internal revenue service under the provisions of §26 U.S.C.
501(c)(3) who publish, distribute or disseminate materials
described in subdivision (1) of this subsection within the
membership of the church or synagogue or upon the premises of any
facility owned or controlled by the church or synagogue:
Provided, That the exemption from the presumption provided by
this subparagraph shall not apply to such employees of a church
when the church or synagogue otherwise advocates or opposes the
nomination, election or defeat of any candidate, or the passage
of any issue, thing or item to be voted upon.
(f) No scorecard, voter guide or other written analysis of
a candidate's position or votes on specific issues shall be
published, distributed or disseminated within sixty days of an
election unless it shall state thereon the name of the person,
association, organization, corporation or other legal entity
authorizing its publication, distribution or dissemination.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to change the time at
which primary elections are held from May to March. Changes are
also made to other sections to conform to the date changes and to
conform with the provisions of a bill which previously passed the
Senate addressing the filing of financial statements.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.)