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House Bill 201 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 201
(By Mr. Speaker, (Mr. Thompson) and Delegate Armstead)
[By Request of the Executive]
[Introduced July 15, 2010; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary .]
A BILL to amend and reenact §3-1-44 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §3-10-1 and §3-10-3
of
said code; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new
section, designated §3-10-4a, all
relating to vacancies in the
office of United States Senator; requiring the state to pay
costs incurred in connection with a special election to fill
a vacancy in the office of United States Senator; making
technical amendments; clarifying the procedure for filling
vacancies in the office of United States Senator; providing
that any vacancy occurring in the office of United States
Senator is filled by the Governor by appointment
; specifying
when an election is required to fill the unexpired term of a
United States Senator; setting forth procedures for the
nomination of candidates for an election to fill the unexpired
term of a United States Senator; requiring a special primary election for the nomination of political party candidates
under certain circumstances; setting forth requirements for a
Governor's proclamation; providing that the Secretary of State
may modify dates, deadlines or procedures in connection with
an election to fill a vacancy in the office of United States
Senator; and providing an effective date
.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §3-1-44
of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; that §3-10-1 and §3-10-3
of said code be
amended and reenacted; and that said code
be amended by adding
thereto a new section, designated §3-10-4a
, all
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS.
§3-1-44. Compensation of election officials; expenses.
(a) Each ballot commissioner is to be paid a sum, to be fixed
by the county commission, not exceeding $125 for each day he or she
serves as ballot commissioner, but in no case may a ballot
commissioner receive allowance for more than ten days' services for
any one primary, general or special election.
(b) Each commissioner of election and poll clerk is to be paid
a sum, to be fixed by the county commission, not exceeding $125 for
one day's services for attending the school of instruction for
election officials if the commissioner or poll clerk provides at
least one day's service during an election and a sum not exceeding $175 for his or her services at any one election: Provided, That
each commissioner of election and poll clerk is to be paid a sum
not exceeding $175 for his or her services at any of the three
special elections described in subsection (f) of this section.
© Each alternate commissioner of election and poll clerk may
be paid a sum, to be fixed by the county commission, not exceeding
$50 for one day's services for attending the school of instruction
for election officials: Provided, That no alternate may be is
eligible for compensation for election training unless the
alternate is subsequently appointed as an election official or is
instructed to attend and actually attends training as an alternate
and is available to serve on election day.
(d) The commissioners of election or poll clerks obtaining and
delivering the election supplies, as provided in section twenty-
four of this article, and returning them, as provided in articles
five and six of this chapter, are to be paid an additional sum,
fixed by the county commission, not exceeding $125 for his or her
services pursuant to this subsection at any one election. In
addition, he or she is to be paid mileage up to the rate of
reimbursement authorized by the Travel Management Rule of the
Department of Administration for each mile necessarily traveled in
the performance of his or her services.
(e) The compensation of election officers, cost of printing
ballots and all other expenses incurred in holding and making the return of elections, other than the three special elections
described in subsection (f) of this section, are to be audited by
the county commission and paid out of the county treasury.
(f) The compensation of election officers, cost of printing
ballots and all other reasonable and necessary expenses in holding
and making the return of a special election to fill a vacancy in
the office of United States Senator,
of a special election for the
purpose of taking the sense of the voters on the question of
calling a constitutional convention, of a special election to elect
members of a constitutional convention and of a special election to
ratify or reject the proposals, acts and ordinances of a
constitutional convention are obligations of the state incurred by
the ballot commissioners, clerks of the circuit courts, clerks of
the county commissions and county commissions of the various
counties as agents of the state. All expenses of these special
elections are to be audited by the Secretary of State. The
Secretary of State shall prepare and transmit to the county
commissions forms on which the county commissions shall certify all
expenses of these special elections to the Secretary of State. If
satisfied that the expenses as certified by the county commissions
are reasonable and were necessarily incurred, the Secretary of
State shall requisition the necessary warrants from the Auditor of
the state to be drawn on the State Treasurer and shall mail the
warrants directly to the vendors of the special election services, supplies and facilities.
ARTICLE 10. FILLING VACANCIES.
§3-10-1. Elections to fill vacancies.
(a) Except as provided in sections three, and four and four-a
of this article, elections to fill vacancies shall be conducted to
fill any unexpired term when more than one year of the term of
office remains at the time of such the election. When less than
one year of the term of office remains at the time of the election,
the person appointed to fill the vacancy shall continue in office
until the completion of the term.
(b) Elections to fill vacancies shall be held at the same
places, and superintended, conducted and returned, and the result
ascertained, certified and declared, in the same manner, and by the
same officers, as in general elections
© The persons elected, having first duly qualified, shall
enter upon the duties of their respective offices.
§3-10-3. Vacancies in offices of state officials and judges.
Any vacancy occurring in the office of Secretary of State,
Auditor, Treasurer, Attorney General, Commissioner of Agriculture,
United States Senator, Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals or in
any office created or made elective to be filled by the voters of the entire state, judge of a circuit court or judge of a family
court is filled by the Governor of the state by appointment. If
the unexpired term of a Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals, a
judge of the circuit court or judge of a family court is for less
than two years or if the unexpired term of any other office named
in this section is for a period of less than two years and six
months, the appointment to fill the vacancy is for the unexpired
term. If the unexpired term of any office is for a longer period
than above specified, the appointment is until a successor to the
office has timely filed a certificate of candidacy, has been
nominated at the primary election next following such the timely
filing and has thereafter been elected and qualified to fill the
unexpired term. Proclamation of any election to fill an unexpired
term is made by the Governor of the state and, in the case of an
office to be filled by the voters of the entire state, must be
published prior to the election as a Class II-0 legal advertisement
in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-
nine of this code and the publication area for the publication is
each county of the state. If the election is to fill a vacancy in
the office of judge of a circuit court or judge of a family court,
the proclamation must be published prior to the election as a Class
II-0 legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of
article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code and the publication
area for such the publication is each county in the judicial or family court circuit.
§3-10-4a. Vacancies in the office of United States Senator.
(a) Any vacancy occurring in the office of United States
Senator shall be filled by the Governor by appointment. If the
unexpired term is for a period of less than two years and six
months, the appointment to fill the vacancy is for the unexpired
term. If the unexpired term is for a period of two years and six
months or longer, the appointment is until a successor to the
unexpired term has been elected and qualified in accordance with
this section.
(b) An election to fill an unexpired term in accordance with
this section shall be conducted as follows:
(1) If the vacancy occurs one hundred twenty days or more
before the next regularly scheduled general election, the Governor
shall proclaim an election to fill the vacancy to be held
concurrently with the next regularly scheduled general election.
(2) If the vacancy occurs less than one hundred twenty days
before the next regularly scheduled general election, the Governor
shall proclaim an election to fill the vacancy to be held
concurrently with the next succeeding regularly scheduled general
election.
© The procedure for nominating candidates to appear on a
ballot for an election to fill a vacancy in accordance with this
section shall be as follows:
(1) If the vacancy occurs at least ten days prior to the last
day for filing a certificate of announcement in accordance with
section seven, article five of this chapter, political party
candidates shall be nominated at the next regularly scheduled
primary election in accordance with the provisions of article five
of this chapter. If the vacancy occurs at any other time where the
election to fill the vacancy is required to be held concurrently
with the next regularly scheduled general election, a special
primary election for the purpose of nominating a candidate for each
political party shall be held no sooner than sixty days after the
occurrence of the vacancy and no later than sixty days before the
next regularly scheduled general election. The period for
political party candidates to file a certificate of announcement
for a special primary election held in accordance with this section
shall be established by order of the Secretary of State and the
length of the filing period shall be no more than ten days and no
less than three days.
(2) Any political party that is not qualified to nominate
candidates at a primary election may nominate candidates in
accordance with section twenty-two, article five of this chapter.
(3) Groups of citizens having no party organization may
nominate candidates in accordance with section twenty-three,
article five of this chapter.
(d) A proclamation of the Governor issued in accordance with this section shall be published prior to the election as a Class
II-0 legal advertisement in accordance with article three, chapter
fifty-nine of this code and the publication area for the
publication is each county of the state. The proclamation shall be
filed with the Secretary of State who shall immediately transmit
the document to the clerk of the county commission of each county
in which the election is to be held. The clerk of the county
commission of each county in which the election is to be held shall
cause the document to be published within the county in accordance
with this section.
(e) Where an election to fill a vacancy in accordance with
this section would require the modification of any dates, deadlines
or procedures set forth in this chapter, the Secretary of State
shall issue an order or orders to modify the dates, deadlines or
procedures.
(f) The provisions of this section apply to any vacancy in the
office of United States Senator occurring on or after June 1, 2010.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify when a special
election is required to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate, in light
of the Seventeenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which
requires the popular election of U.S. Senators. It authorizes the
Legislature to provide the Governor with the power to make
temporary appointments and authorizes the Governor to issue a writ
of election to fill any such vacancy as required by law.
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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