Senate Bill No. 170
(By Senators Bailey and Foster)
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[Introduced January 10, 2008; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §3-3-3 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to early voting in elections as
authorized by the county clerk.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §3-3-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be
amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. VOTING BY ABSENTEES.
§3-3-3. Early voting in person.
(a) The voting period for early in-person voting is to be
conducted during regular business hours beginning on the twentieth
day before the election and continuing through the third day before
the election.
The voting locations in addition to the county
courthouse will be as authorized by the clerk to provide convenient
access for all voters, including, but not limited to, volunteer
fire departments, public schools, or any location necessary for the
convenience of early voters and deemed appropriate by the county clerk. The county clerk will insure that proper advertising and
notice of additional early voting locations is accessible to the
general voting population prior to the commencement of the early
voting period. All satellite locations will be required to meet
all of the standards and conditions set forth in this section. The
county clerk shall designate one additional voting location in each
magisterial district and each location will be available an equal
amount of days and hours at each satellite location. For any
election held on a Tuesday, the early voting period for in-person
voting is to be available from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the two
Saturdays prior to the election.
(b) Any person desiring to vote during the period of early
in-person voting shall, upon entering the election room, clearly
state his or her name and residence to the official or
representative designated to supervise and conduct absentee voting.
If that person is found to be duly registered as a voter in the
precinct of his or her residence, he or she shall be required to
sign his or her name in the space marked "signature of voter" on
the pollbook. If the voter is unable to sign his or her name due
to illiteracy or physical disability, the person assisting the
voter and witnessing the mark of the voter shall sign his or her
name in the space provided. No ballot may be given to the person
until he or she signs his or her name on the pollbook.
(c) When the voter's signature or mark is properly on the
pollbook, two qualified representatives of the official designated
to supervise and conduct absentee voting shall sign their names in the places indicated on the back of the official ballot.
(d) If the official designated to supervise and conduct
absentee voting determines that the voter is not properly
registered in the precinct where he or she resides, the clerk or
his or her representative shall challenge the voter's absentee
ballot as provided in this article.
(e) The official designated to supervise and conduct absentee
voting shall provide each person voting an absentee ballot in
person the following items to be printed as prescribed by the
Secretary of State:
(1) In counties using paper ballots, one of each type of
official absentee ballot the voter is eligible to vote, prepared
according to law;
(2) In counties using punch card systems, one of each type of
official absentee ballot the voter is eligible to vote, prepared
according to law, and a gray secrecy envelope;
(3) In counties using optical scan systems, one of each type
of official absentee ballot the voter is eligible to vote, prepared
according to law, and a secrecy sleeve; or
(4) For direct recording election systems, access to the
voting equipment in the voting booth.
(f) The voter shall enter the voting booth alone and there
mark the ballot:
Provided, That the voter may have assistance in
voting according to the provisions of section four of this article.
After the voter has voted the ballot or ballots, the absentee voter
shall: Place the ballot or ballots in the gray secrecy envelope and return the ballot or ballots to the official designated to
supervise and conduct the absentee voting:
Provided, however, That
in direct recording election systems, once the voter has cast his
or her ballot, the voter shall exit the polling place.
(g) Upon receipt of the voted ballot, representatives of the
official designated to supervise and conduct the absentee voting
shall:
(1) Remove the ballot stub;
(2) Place punch card ballots and paper ballots into one
envelope which shall not have any marks except the precinct number
and seal the envelope;
(3) Place ballots for all voting systems into a ballot box
that is secured by two locks with a key to one lock kept by the
president of the county commission and a key to the other lock kept
by the county clerk;
(4) Due to the reenactment of this section by the Legislature
in the two thousand three regular session removing authorization
for early in-person voting on the Monday prior to a Tuesday
election, to assure notice to all persons that voted on the Monday
before the Tuesday election day of the two thousand two general
election are made aware of this change, the clerk of each county
shall, for the primary election of the year two thousand four,
include along with the sample ballots published in local newspapers
as required by this chapter a notice to voters that Monday
in-person voting will no longer be available.
NOTE: The purpose of this section is to enable the county
clerk to create additional early election voting locations for the
convenience of the citizens and to advertise such locations
adequately to all voters.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.