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SB76 SUB1 Senate Bill 76 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

Senate Bill No. 76

(By Senator Facemire)

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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;

reported February 21, 2013.]                           

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A BILL to amend and reenact §3-1-3a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §3-3-1 of said code, all relating to voting for President and Vice President; permitting voters who have moved from the state to vote for President and Vice President in certain circumstances; requiring voters who move from the state and vote for President and Vice President in the state to be removed from the voter rolls thereafter; allowing persons who move to the state to vote for President and Vice President in certain circumstances; and permitting voters to obtain an absentee ballot for President and Vice President only in certain circumstances.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

     That §3-1-3a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that §3-3-1 of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS.
§3-1-3a. Persons entitled to vote under federal Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970; authority of Secretary of State.
     
(1) (a) Any citizen of the United States who is a resident of the state and who applies, not later than thirty twenty-one days immediately prior to any presidential election for registration or qualification to vote for the choice of electors for President and Vice President, or for President and Vice President, in such election, and who is otherwise qualified to vote may register to vote, and vote, for the choice of electors for President and Vice President, or for President and Vice President, in such election, as provided by the federal Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970.
     (2) (b) Any citizen of the United States who has moved his or her residence from this state within thirty days next preceding any election for President and Vice President, and who was otherwise qualified to vote in this state as of the date of his or her change of residence and who has not satisfied the registration requirements of the state to which he or she has moved, may vote for the choice of electors for president and vice-president, or for president and vice-president, in such election, as provided by the federal Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970. cast a vote for the offices of President and Vice President: (1) In person at the primary early-voting location serving the county from which the voter has moved; or (2) by absentee ballot. The request for the ballot must be on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State and, in the case of an absentee ballot, must be received by the clerk of the county commission of the last county of residence no later than the sixth day prior to the general election. The voter's request for a ballot due to a move out of state after the thirtieth day preceding the election shall serve as authorization for removal from the West Virginia voter rolls as provided in the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, 42 U. S. C. §1973gg-6.
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(c) Any citizen of the United States who is otherwise qualified to vote in any election for President and Vice President shall not be denied the right to vote for those offices due to the failure to comply with any durational residency requirement of the state or political subdivision.
_____(d) No citizen of the United States may be denied the right to vote for electors for President and Vice President, or for President and Vice President, in any election because of failure of the citizen to be physically present in the state or political subdivision at the time of the election, if the citizen has complied with the requirements prescribed by the laws of this state for the casting of an absentee ballot in the election.
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(3) (e) Any citizen of the United States who has attained the age of eighteen years but who has not attained the age of twenty- one years by the time of the next ensuing primary or election in which he may vote under section 302 of the federal Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970, as interpreted and limited by the United States Supreme Court, and who is otherwise qualified to vote, may vote in any primary or election for those candidates for whom he or she is entitled to vote under said section 302 of the federal Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970, as interpreted and limited by the United States Supreme Court.
     (4) (f) The Secretary of State shall have authority to make, amend and rescind such rules, regulations, orders and instructions, and prescribe such registration and voting procedures, forms (including registration, ballot and ballot label forms), lists and records, as may be necessary in order for this state to fully implement, and comply with, the federal voting laws Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970, as interpreted and limited by the United States Supreme Court, and it shall be the duty of all public officers, election officers, boards and commissioners having any authority or responsibility in connection with any election to comply with all such rules, regulations, orders and instructions, and use, make, follow or comply with all such registration and voting procedures, forms (including registration, ballot and ballot label forms), lists and records as have been prescribed by the Secretary of State under the foregoing authority vested in that office.
ARTICLE 3. VOTING BY ABSENTEES.
§3-3-1. Persons eligible to vote absentee ballots.
     (a) All registered and other qualified voters of the county may vote an absentee ballot during the period of early voting in person.
     (b) Registered voters and other qualified voters in the county are authorized to vote an absentee ballot by mail in the following circumstances:
     (1) Any voter who is confined to a specific location and prevented from voting in person throughout the period of voting in person because of:
     (A) Illness, injury or other medical reason;
     (B) Physical disability or immobility due to extreme advanced age; or
     (C) Incarceration or home detention: Provided, That the underlying conviction is not for a crime which is a felony or a violation of section twelve, thirteen or sixteen, article nine of this chapter involving bribery in an election;
     (2) Any voter who is absent from the county throughout the period and available hours for voting in person because of:
     (A) Personal or business travel;
     (B) Attendance at a college, university or other place of education or training; or
     (C) Employment which because of hours worked and distance from the county seat make voting in person impossible;
     (3) Any voter absent from the county throughout the period and available hours for voting in person and who is an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter, as defined by 42 U. S. C. §1973, et seq., the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986, including members of the uniformed services on active duty, members of the merchant marine, spouses and dependents of those members on active duty and persons who reside outside the United States and are qualified to vote in the last place in which the person was domiciled before leaving the United States;
     (4) Any voter who is required to dwell temporarily outside the county and is absent from the county throughout the time for voting in person because of:
     (A) Serving as an elected or appointed federal or state officer; or
     (B) Serving in any other documented employment assignment of specific duration of four years or less;
     (5) Any voter for whom the designated area for absentee voting within the county courthouse or annex of the courthouse and the voter's assigned polling place are inaccessible because of his or her physical disability; and
     (6) Any voter who is participating in the Address Confidentiality Program as established by section one hundred three, article twenty-eight-a, chapter forty-eight of this code.
     (c) Registered voters and other qualified voters in the county may, in the following circumstances, vote an emergency absentee ballot, subject to the availability of the services as provided in this article:
     (1) Any voter who is confined or expects to be confined in a hospital or other duly licensed health care facility within the county of residence or other authorized area, as provided in this article, on the day of the election;
     (2) Any voter who resides in a nursing home within the county of residence and would be otherwise unable to vote in person, providing the county commission has authorized the services if the voter has resided in the nursing home for a period of less than thirty days; and
     (3) Any voter who is working as a replacement poll worker and is assigned to a precinct out of his or her voting district, if the assignment was made after the period for voting an absentee ballot in person has expired.
     (d) Registered voters and other qualified voters in the county may vote a special absentee ballot for President and Vice President only if they qualify for such a ballot under the provisions of section three-a, article one of this chapter.


     
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     (NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to conform the Code of West Virginia to federal requirements for presidential office ballots for registered voters moving from the state.

     Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language.)
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