Introduced Version
House Bill 2857 History
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H. B. 2857
(By Delegates Miley, Manchin, Ferro, Moore
and Manypenny)
(By request of the Secretary of State)
[Introduced March 7, 2013; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §3-10-1, §3-10-2, §3-10-3, §3-10-4,
§3-10-4a and §3-10-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, all relating to vacancies for elected officials; and
clarifying how vacancies are to be filled in the offices of
Governor, state officials and judges, representatives in the
House of Representatives and United States Senate and State
Legislature.
Be it enacted by the legislature of West Virginia:
That §3-10-1, §3-10-2, §3-10-3, §3-10-4, §3-10-4a and §3-10-5
of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended be amended and
reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. FILLING VACANCIES.
§3-10-1. Elections to fill vacancies.
Except as otherwise provided in sections three and four 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 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. 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. For purposes of this section,
"time of such election" is defined as the close of polls on the day
designated as election day.
§3-10-2. Vacancy in office of Governor.
(a) In case of the death, conviction on impeachment, failure
to qualify, resignation or other disability of the Governor, the
President of the Senate shall act as Governor until the vacancy is
filled or the disability removed; and if the President of the
Senate, for any of the above-named causes, shall be or become
incapable of performing the duties of Governor, the same shall
devolve upon the Speaker of the House of Delegates; and in all
other cases where there is no one to act as Governor, one shall be
chosen by the joint vote of the Legislature. Whenever a vacancy
shall occur in the office of Governor before the first three years of the term shall have expired, a new election for Governor shall
take place to fill the vacancy.
(b) The new election shall consist of a special primary
election and a special general election, and shall occur at such
time as will permit the person elected as Governor in the new
election to assume office within one year of the date the vacancy
occurred: Provided, That the special general election provided in
this section may not apply to section eight, article one of this
chapter. Within thirty days from the date the vacancy occurs, the
person acting as Governor pursuant to the State Constitution shall
issue a proclamation fixing the time for a new statewide election
to fill the vacancy in the office of Governor, which shall be
published prior to such election as a Class II-O legal
advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three,
chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such
publication shall be each county of the state. The proclamation
issued by the person acting as Governor pursuant to the State
Constitution shall provide for a special primary election to
nominate candidates for the special general election. The special
primary election shall take place no less than ninety days after
the proclamation and no later than one hundred forty days from the
date that the vacancy in the office occurs.
(c) The proclamation issued by the person acting as Governor
pursuant to the State Constitution shall also provide for a special candidate filing period and a special general election to take
place no sooner than ninety days after the special primary election
and no later than two hundred eighty days from the date that the
vacancy in the office occurs.
(d) The special candidate filing period shall begin no sooner
than the day after the proclamation and shall close no earlier than
close of business on the second Friday following the proclamation.
A notarized declaration of candidacy and filing fee provided by
section seven, article five of this chapter, shall be filed and
received by the Secretary of State. The declaration of candidacy
may be filed in person, by United States mail, electronic means or
any other means authorized by the Secretary of State, but the
declaration and the filing fee must be received by the Secretary of
State by the close of the filing period. For petition in lieu of
payment of filing fees, a candidate seeking nomination for the
vacancy in the office of Governor may utilize the process set forth
in section eight-a, article five of this chapter: Provided, That
the minimum number of signatures required is one thousand five
hundred.
_____(e) Drawing for special primary election ballot position will
take place at the Secretary of State's office twenty-four hours
after the end of the filing period. For each major political party
on the ballot, a single drawing by lot shall determine the
candidate ballot position for ballots statewide. This drawing shall be witnessed by four clerks of the county commission chosen
by the West Virginia Association of County Clerks, with no more
than two clerks representing a single political party. Ballot
position for the special general election shall be determined
pursuant to subdivision (3), subsection (c), section two, article
six of this chapter.
_____(f) Citizens having no party organization or affiliation may
nominate candidates as provided by sections twenty-three and
twenty-four, article five of this chapter: Provided, That the
number of signatures required to be submitted shall be equal to not
less than one-quarter of one percent of the entire vote cast at the
last preceding general election for Governor. Notwithstanding the
provisions of sections twenty three and twenty four, article five
of this chapter, the signatures, notarized declaration of candidacy
and filing fee must be submitted no later than seven calendar days
following the special primary election.
_____(b) (g) The compensation of election officers, cost of
printing ballots and all other reasonable and necessary expenses in
holding and making the return of the new election provided in this
section to fill a vacancy in the office of Governor are obligations
of the state incurred by the ballot commissioners, clerks of the
county commissions and county commissions of the various counties
as agents of the state. All expenses of the new election 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 the new election
provided in this section 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 new election services,
supplies and facilities.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this
section to the contrary, for purposes of filling the vacancy that
occurred in the office of Governor on November 15, 2010, a new
election shall occur as follows:
(1) Upon the effective date of this subsection, the person
acting as Governor pursuant to the state constitution shall
immediately issue a proclamation calling for a special primary and
general election as provided for in this subsection. For purposes
of this subsection, the new elections so provided in the
proclamation mean the special primary and general elections as set
forth in this subsection.
(2) The special primary election shall be held on May 14, 2011
and the special general election shall be held on October 4, 2011.
(3) The proclamation for the special primary election and
special general election shall be published prior to the special primary election and special general elections, respectively, 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 notice shall be filed
with the Secretary of State who shall cause the document to be
published within each county in accordance with this section.
(4) The provisions of this chapter apply to the special
primary election and special general election to the extent that
those provisions are consistent with the provisions of this
section. Statutory time deadlines for the purpose of the new
election provided in this subsection are modified as follows:
(A) A notarized declaration of candidacy and filing fee shall
be filed and received in hand by the Secretary of State by 5:00
p.m. on the fifth calendar day following the proclamation of the
special primary election. The declaration of candidacy may be filed
in person, by United States mail, electronic means or any other
means authorized by the Secretary of State;
(B) The Secretary of State may issue emergency administrative
orders to undertake other ministerial actions that are otherwise
authorized pursuant to this code when necessary to assure the
preservation of the voting rights of the citizens of this state and
avoid fraudulent voting and election activities and otherwise
assure the orderly and efficient conduct of the new election
provided in this subsection: Provided, That emergency administrative orders may not contravene the provisions of this
section;
(C) For petition in lieu of payment of filing fees, a
candidate seeking nomination for the vacancy in the office of
Governor may utilize the process set forth in section eight-a,
article five of this chapter: Provided, That the minimum number of
signatures required is one thousand five hundred;
(D) Drawing for special primary election ballot position will
take place at the Secretary of State's office twenty-four hours
after the end of the filing period. For each major political party
on the ballot, a single drawing by lot shall determine the
candidate ballot position for ballots statewide. This drawing shall
be witnessed by four clerks of the county commission chosen by the
West Virginia Association of County Clerks, with no more than two
clerks representing a single political party. Ballot position for
the special general election shall be determined pursuant to
subdivision (3), subsection (c), section two, article six of this
chapter;
(E) A registered voter who has not reached eighteen years of
age may vote in the May 14, 2011 special primary election:
Provided, That the voter will attain eighteen years of age at the
time of the special general election provided in this subsection;
(F) When paper or optical scan ballots are the primary voting
method used at any county, the total number of regular official ballots printed shall equal at a minimum fifty percent of the
number of registered voters eligible to vote that ballot;
(G) When paper ballots are used in conjunction with a direct
recording electronic voting system, the total number of regular
official ballots printed shall equal at a minimum thirty percent of
the registered voters eligible to vote that ballot;
(H) Regularly scheduled locations of polling places may not be
changed, except for situations as provided in sections seven-e and
seven-f, article one of this chapter: Provided, That if multiple
precincts voted in one polling location for the November 2, 2010,
regularly scheduled general election, these precincts may be
consolidated into a single precinct. Locations for consolidated
precincts shall provide Internet access, insofar as possible, for
the sole purpose of utilizing the statewide Voter Registration
System (SVRS) as an electronic poll book. However, constitutionally
mandated redistricting may not take effect until the special
primary election and special general election provided in this
subsection are complete; and
(I) Citizens having no party organization or affiliation may
nominate candidates as provided by sections twenty-three and
twenty-four of article five of this chapter: Provided, That the
number of signatures required to be submitted shall be equal to not
less than one-quarter of one percent of the entire vote cast at the
last preceding general election for governor. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections twenty three and twenty four of article five
of this chapter, the signatures, notarized declaration of
candidacy, and filing fee must be submitted no later than seven
calendar days following the special primary election provided in
this subsection.
(J) For the special primary election to be held pursuant to
this subsection, early voting will also be conducted from 9 a.m. to
5 p.m. on the Saturday immediately prior to the end of early
voting.
(5) The provisions of this subsection shall expire upon the
election and qualification of the Governor following the October 4,
2011 special general election.
(d) The Secretary of State shall by January 10, 2012 report to
the Joint Committee on Government and Finance findings regarding of
the operation of the new election undertaken pursuant to subsection
(c) of this section. This report shall provide analysis of the
direct and indirect costs to the state associated with the conduct
of the new election.
§3-10-3. Vacancies in offices of state officials, United States
senators 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 any office 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 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 publication is each county in the judicial or family court circuit.
§3-10-4. Vacancies in representation in Congress.
(a) If there be When a vacancy in the representation from this
state in the House of Representatives in the Congress of the United
States occurs, the Governor shall, within ten days after the fact
comes to his or her knowledge, give notice thereof by within thirty
days from the date the vacancy occurs, shall issue a proclamation
fixing the time for a new statewide election to fill the vacancy in
the office;
_____(b) The proclamation to shall be published prior to such
election as a Class II-O legal advertisement in compliance with the
provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and
the publication area for such publication shall be each county in
the congressional district. In such proclamation he the Governor
shall appoint some day, not less than thirty nor more than
seventy-five days from the date thereof, for holding the election
to fill such vacancy. Nominations to fill such vacancy shall be
made in the manner prescribed for nominating a candidate to fill a
vacancy in the office of Governor, to be voted for at a special
election. The congressional district executive committee of a
party shall perform the duties devolving upon the state executive
committee in filling a state office.
(c) The proclamation shall provide for a special candidate
filing period and a special primary election to nominate candidates for the special general election. The special primary election
shall take place no less than ninety days after the proclamation
and no later than one hundred forty days from the date that the
vacancy in the office occurs. The proclamation shall also provide
for a special general election to take place no sooner than ninety
days after the special primary election and no later than two
hundred eighty days from the date that the vacancy in the office
occurs.
_____(d) The special candidate filing period shall begin no sooner
than the day after the proclamation and shall close no earlier than
close of business on the second Friday following the proclamation.
A notarized declaration of candidacy and filing fee provided by
section seven, article five of this chapter, shall be filed and
received by the Secretary of State. The declaration of candidacy
may be filed in person, by United States mail, electronic means or
any other means authorized by the Secretary of State, but the
declaration and the filing fee must be received by the Secretary of
State by the close of the filing period. For petition in lieu of
payment of filing fees, a candidate seeking nomination for the
vacancy in the office of Governor may utilize the process set forth
in section eight-a, article five of this chapter: Provided, That
the minimum number of signatures required is one thousand five
hundred.
_____(e) Drawing for special primary election ballot position shall take place at the Secretary of State's office twenty-four hours
after the end of the filing period. For each major political party
on the ballot, a single drawing by lot shall determine the
candidate ballot position for ballots statewide. This drawing
shall be witnessed by four clerks of the county commission chosen
by the West Virginia Association of County Clerks, with no more
than two clerks representing a single political party. Ballot
position for the special general election shall be determined
pursuant to subdivision (3), subsection (c), section two, article
six of this chapter.
_____(f) Citizens having no party organization or affiliation may
nominate candidates as provided by sections twenty-three and
twenty-four, article five of this chapter: Provided, That the
number of signatures required to be submitted shall be equal to not
less than one-quarter of one percent of the entire vote cast at the
last preceding general election for Governor. Notwithstanding the
provisions of sections twenty-three and twenty-four, article five
of this chapter, the signatures, notarized declaration of candidacy
and filing fee must be submitted no later than seven calendar days
following the special primary election.
_____(g) The compensation of election officers, cost of printing
ballots and all other reasonable and necessary expenses in holding
and making the return of the new election provided in this section
to fill a vacancy in the office of Governor are obligations of the state incurred by the ballot commissioners, clerks of the county
commissions and county commissions of the various counties as
agents of the state. All expenses of the new election 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 the new election
provided in this section 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 new election services,
supplies and facilities.
§3-10-4a. Special Senate vacancy election Vacancy in United States
Senator.
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section three of this
article establishing processes for the appointment and election to
fill a vacancy in the office of United States Senator, for purposes
of filling the vacant seat in the office of United States Senator
existing on July 1, 2010, a special election shall be held to fill
the unexpired term concurrent with the general election of November
2, 2010. A special primary election shall be held to nominate
party candidates for the November election.
(b) For the special primary election required to be held prior to the November 2, 2010, election by operation of this section upon
its enactment during the second extraordinary session of the
Legislature, 2010, the Governor shall immediately issue a
proclamation calling for a special primary election and general
election. The special general election shall be held on November
2, 2010. The following provisions apply to these special
elections:
(1) The proclamation for the special election shall be
published prior to the special 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 notice shall be filed with the Secretary
of State who shall immediately transmit the document to the clerk
of the county commission of each county. The clerk of the county
commission of each county shall cause the document to be published
within the county in accordance with this section.
(2) The provisions of this chapter shall apply to this special
primary election to the extent that those provisions are consistent
with the provisions of this section. Statutory time deadlines
relating to availability of absentee ballots, certification,
canvassing and related election procedures that cannot be met in a
timely fashion, for the purpose of this special election, are
modified as follows:
(A) The special primary election is to be held August 28, 2010;
(B) A notarized declaration of candidacy and filing fee shall
be filed and received in hand by the Secretary of State by 5:00
p.m. on the fourth calendar day following the proclamation of the
special primary election. The declaration of candidacy may be
filed in person, by United States mail, electronic means or any
other means authorized by the Secretary of State;
(C) Early-in-person voting shall be conducted during regular
business hours beginning on Friday, August 20, 2010, and continuing
through close of business Wednesday, August 25, 2010. In addition,
early-in-person voting shall be conducted from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00
p.m. on Saturday, August 21, 2010. No satellite polling locations
will be utilized for the August 28, 2010, special primary election;
(D) The Secretary of State may issue emergency administrative
orders to undertake other ministerial actions that are otherwise
authorized pursuant to this code when necessary to assure the
preservation of the voting rights of the citizens of this state and
avoid fraudulent voting and election activities and otherwise
assure the orderly and efficient conduct of the election:
Provided, That such emergency administrative orders may not
contravene the provisions of this section;
(E) The compensation of election officers, cost of printing
ballots and all other reasonable and necessary expenses in holding
and making the return of the special election to fill a vacancy in the office of United States Senator 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 the
special election 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;
(F) For petition in lieu of payment of filing fees, a
candidate seeking nomination for the vacant seat in the U.S. Senate
may utilize the process set forth in section eight-a, article five
of this chapter: Provided, That the minimum number of signatures
required is one thousand seven hundred and forty;
(G) Drawing for ballot position will take place at the
Secretary of State's office 24 hours after the end of the filing
period. For each major political party on the ballot, a single
drawing by lot shall determine the candidate ballot position for
ballots statewide. This drawing shall be witnessed by four clerks of the county commission chosen by the West Virginia Association of
County Clerks, with no more than two clerks representing a single
political party;
(H) The clerks of the county commission shall submit the list
of persons who worked in the May 11, 2010, primary election to the
county commission for appointment as election officials;
(I) Election officials shall be appointed by Tuesday, August
3, 2010;
(J) The clerks of the county commission shall provide notice
to all election officials of the fact of their appointment by
Wednesday, August 4, 2010. Included with the notice shall be a
response notice form for the appointed person to return indicating
if he or she agrees to serve in the specified capacity in the
August 28, 2010, special primary election;
(K) The position of any election official notified of
appointment who fails to return the response notice or otherwise
confirm to the clerk of the county commission his or her agreement
to serve by Tuesday, August 10, 2010, is considered vacant and the
clerk of the county commission shall proceed to fill the vacancies;
(L) Election officials shall be trained by Thursday, August
19, 2010: Provided, That election officials who attended training
for the May 11, 2010, primary election are exempt from additional
training for the August 28, 2010, special primary election;
(M) A registered voter who has not reached eighteen years of age may vote in the August 28, 2010, special primary election:
Provided, That the voter will attain eighteen years of age at the
time of the special general election;
(N) When paper or optical scan ballots are the primary voting
method used at any county, the total number of regular official
ballots printed shall equal at a minimum fifty percent of the
number of registered voters eligible to vote that ballot;
(O) When paper ballots are used in conjunction with a direct
recording electronic voting system, the total number of regular
official ballots printed shall equal at a minimum thirty percent of
the registered voters eligible to vote that ballot;
(P) For counties in which two or more qualified newspapers
publish a daily newspaper, the clerk of the county commission shall
publish at least once each sample official August 28, 2010, primary
ballot, on the last day on which a newspaper is published
immediately preceding the August 28, 2010, special primary
election, as a Class I-0 legal advertisement in the two qualified
daily newspapers of different political parties within the county
having the largest circulation in compliance with the provisions of
article three, chapter fifty-nine of West Virginia Code;
(Q) For counties having no more than one daily newspaper or
having one or more qualified newspapers which publish weekly, the
clerk of the county commission shall publish each sample official
August 28, 2010, primary ballot, on the last day in which a newspaper is published immediately preceding the August 28, 2010,
special primary election, as a Class I-0 legal advertisement in the
qualified daily newspaper within the county having the largest
circulation in compliance with the provisions of article three,
chapter fifty-nine of West Virginia Code;
(R) Counties shall not be required to separately publish a
certified list of candidates;
(S) If only one notice of a sample ballot is published, it
shall include a statement notifying voters that this is the sole
publication of the sample ballot;
(T) Before voting machines are used, the clerks of the county
commission shall have the ballots, vote recording devices, and
electronic poll books inspected, and automatic tabulating equipment
tested to ascertain that it will accurately count the votes cast.
A single notice of the place and time of the inspection and testing
shall be published, no less than three days in advance, as a class
I-0 legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of
article three, chapter fifty-nine of West Virginia Code. The
publication area is the county involved;
(U) Applications for absentee ballots shall be accepted from
the date of proclamation, other than from voters eligible to vote
under the provisions of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens
Absentee Voting Act who may apply for an absentee ballot for all
elections within a calendar year as early as the first day of January of an election year;
(V) Regularly scheduled locations of polling places shall not
be changed, except for emergency situations as provided for in
§3-1-7(e) and (f): Provided, That if multiple precincts voted in
one polling location for the May 11, 2010, regularly scheduled
primary election, such precincts may be consolidated into a single
precinct. Locations for consolidated precincts shall provide
internet access, insofar as possible, for the sole purpose of
utilizing the Statewide Voter Registration System (SVRS) as an
electronic poll book; and
(W) Persons having no party affiliation may nominate
candidates for the U.S. Senate vacancy under the procedures set
forth in sections twenty-three and twenty-four, article five of
this chapter: Provided, That the number of signatures required to
be submitted shall be equal to not less than one-quarter of one
percent of the entire vote cast at the last preceding general
election for any statewide congressional or presidential candidate.
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections twenty-three and
twenty-four of article three of this section, the signatures,
notarized declaration of candidacy, and filing fee must be
submitted no later than August 23, 2010.
(c) The Secretary of State, shall by January 10, 2011, report
to the Joint Committee of Government and Finance findings regarding
of the operation of the special elections undertaken pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. This report shall provide analysis
of: direct and indirect costs to the state associated with the
conduct of the election; benefits and disadvantages of conducting
an election on a Saturday; the impact of compressed time periods on
efficient election administration; and whether this election
process impacted early voting and participation by military and
overseas voters.
(d) Any special election, which is held under the provisions
of this section and occurs concurrently with a general election,
shall be a separate election from the general election.
(e) Upon the election and qualification of a United States
Senator by the United States Senate following the November 2, 2010,
election, the provisions of this section will expire.
(a) When there is a vacancy in the United States Senate, the
Governor, within thirty days from the date the vacancy occurs,
shall issue a proclamation fixing the time for a new statewide
election to fill the vacancy in the office.
_____(b) The proclamation shall be published as a Class II-O legal
advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three,
chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for the
publication shall be each county in the state: Provided, That If
the vacancy occurs prior to the close of the filing period for a
regularly scheduled state-wide or federal election, then the
special filing period, primary and general election shall be held in conjunction with the regularly scheduled candidate filing
period, primary election and general election.
_____(c) Except as in subsection (b), the proclamation shall
provide for a special candidate filing period and a special primary
election to nominate candidates for the special general election.
The special primary election shall take place no less than ninety
days after the proclamation and no later than one hundred forty
days from the date that the vacancy in the office occurs. The
proclamation shall also provide for a special general election to
take place no sooner than ninety days after the special primary
election and no later than two hundred eighty days from the date
that the vacancy in the office occurs.
_____(d) The special candidate filing period shall begin no sooner
than the day after the proclamation and shall close no earlier than
close of business on the second Friday following the proclamation.
A notarized declaration of candidacy and filing fee provided by
section seven, article five of this chapter, shall be filed and
received by the Secretary of State. The declaration of candidacy
may be filed in person, by United States mail, electronic means or
any other means authorized by the Secretary of State, but the
declaration and the filing fee must be received by the Secretary of
State by the close of the filing period. For petition in lieu of
payment of filing fees, a candidate seeking nomination for the
vacancy in the office of Governor may utilize the process set forth in section eight-a, article five of this chapter: Provided, That
the minimum number of signatures required is one thousand five
hundred.
_____(e) Drawing for special primary election ballot position will
take place at the Secretary of State's office twenty-four hours
after the end of the filing period. For each major political party
on the ballot, a single drawing by lot shall determine the
candidate ballot position for ballots statewide. This drawing
shall be witnessed by four clerks of the county commission chosen
by the West Virginia Association of County Clerks, with no more
than two clerks representing a single political party. Ballot
position for the special general election shall be determined
pursuant to subdivision (3), subsection (c), section two, article
six of this chapter.
_____(f) Citizens having no party organization or affiliation may
nominate candidates as provided by sections twenty-three and
twenty-four, article five of this chapter: Provided, That the
number of signatures required to be submitted shall be equal to not
less than one-quarter of one percent of the entire vote cast at the
last preceding general election for Senator. Notwithstanding the
provisions of sections twenty three and twenty four, article five
of this chapter, the signatures, notarized declaration of candidacy
and filing fee must be submitted no later than seven calendar days
following the special primary election.
_____(g) The compensation of election officers, cost of printing
ballots and all other reasonable and necessary expenses in holding
and making the return of the new election provided in this section
to fill a vacancy in the office of Senator are obligations of the
state incurred by the ballot commissioners, clerks of the county
commissions and county commissions of the various counties as
agents of the state. All expenses of the new election 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 the new election
provided in this section 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 new election services,
supplies and facilities.
§3-10-5. Vacancies in State Legislature.
(a) Any vacancy in the office of State Senator or member of
the House of Delegates shall be filled by appointment by the
Governor, from a list of three legally qualified persons submitted
by the party executive committee of the party with which the person
holding the office immediately preceding the vacancy was
affiliated. Such The list of qualified persons to fill the vacancy shall be submitted to the Governor within fifteen days after the
vacancy occurs and the Governor shall duly make his or her
appointment to fill the vacancy from the list of legally qualified
person within five days after the list is received. If the list is
not submitted to the Governor within the fifteen day period, the
Governor shall appoint within five days thereafter a legally
qualified person of the same political party as the person vacating
the office.
(b) In the case of a member of the House of Delegates, the
list shall be submitted by the party executive committee of the
delegate district in which the vacating member resided at the time
of his or her election or appointment. The appointment to fill a
vacancy in the House of Delegates is for the unexpired term.
(c) In the case of a State Senator, the list shall be
submitted by the party executive committee of the state senatorial
district in which the vacating senator resided at the time of his
or her election or appointment. If the unexpired term in the
office of the State Senator will be for less than two years and two
six months, the appointment is for the unexpired term. If the
unexpired term will be for a period equal to or longer than two
years and two months, the appointment is until the next general
election and until the election and qualification of a successor to
the person appointed, at which general election the vacancy shall
be filled by election for the unexpired term. Notice of an election to fill a vacancy in the office of State Senator shall be
given by the Governor by proclamation and shall be published before
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 shall be each county
in the senatorial district. Nominations for candidates to fill a
vacancy shall be made in the manner prescribed for nominating a
candidate to fill a vacancy in the office of Governor to be voted
for at a general election. The state senatorial district executive
committee of the political party shall discharge the duties
incident to State Senator nominations devolving upon the party
state executive committee in nominating a candidate for a state
office.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify the procedure to
fill a vacancy in the offices of Governor, state officials and
judges, representatives in the House of Representatives and United
States Senate and State Legislature.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.