H. B. 2965
(By Delegates Mahan, Webster, Doyle, Boggs,
Phillips, Lawrence and Campbell)
[Introduced March 5, 2009; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §3-5-7 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to requiring candidates for the
House of Delegates and the Senate to file their announcement
of candidacies with the Secretary of State.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §3-5-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be
amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. PRIMARY ELECTIONS AND NOMINATING PROCEDURES.
§3-5-7. Filing announcements of candidacies; requirements;
withdrawal of candidates when section applicable.
(a) 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.
(b) 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,
or if it be the political position of member of the House
of Delegates or State Senate;
(2) With the clerk of the county commission if it be for an
office to be filled by the voters of a single county or of a
subdivision less than a county,
unless the office sought is member
of the House of Delegates or State Senate in which case the
certificate of announcement is filed with the Secretary of State;
(3) With the recorder or city clerk if it be for an office to
be filled by the voters of a municipality.
(c) The certificate of announcement shall be filed with the
proper officer not earlier than the second Monday in January next
preceding the primary election day, and not later than the last
Saturday in January 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.
(d) The certificate of announcement shall be on 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: (A) Is a
member of and affiliated with that political party as evidenced by
the candidate's current registration as a voter affiliated with
that party; and (B) 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 _____________, 20____" and a space for the signature of the
officer giving the oath.
(e) The Secretary of State or the board of ballot
commissioners, as the case may be, may refuse to certify the candidacy or may remove the certification of the candidacy upon
receipt of a certified copy of the voter's registration record of
the candidate showing 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 are 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.
(f) 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 in accordance with section
three, article nine of this chapter.
(g) 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.
(h) 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 political party executive committees or for
delegate to a political party national convention.
(i) 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.
(j) The provisions of this section enacted during the regular
session of the Legislature in the year 1991 shall apply to the
primary election held in the year 1992 and every primary election
held thereafter. The provisions of this section enacted during the
regular session of the Legislature in the year 1998 shall apply to
the primary election held in the year 2000 and every primary
election held thereafter.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require candidates for
the House of Delegates and the State Senate to file their
announcement of candidacies with the Secretary of State.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.