ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 473
(By Senators Wooton, Ball, Bowman, Dittmar, Hunter, Ross,
Schoonover, Snyder, White, Buckalew and Scott)
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[Passed March 10, 1998; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact section eleven, article six, chapter
three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, relating to the disposition of
certificates of election; requiring candidates to request
copies of such certificates; providing for the filing of
certificates with county clerks; and requiring county clerks
to preserve and make certificates available to the general
public and the media.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eleven, article six, chapter three of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. CONDUCT AND ADMINISTRATION OF ELECTIONS.
§3-6-11. Disposition of certificates.
The separate certificates of the board of canvassers, made
pursuant to section ten of this article, shall be disposed of by the board of canvassers as follows: Of the certificates respecting
the election for delegate or delegates in the Legislature, they
shall, upon request of the candidate, transmit a copy to any
candidate, and shall file a copy in the office of the clerk of the
county commission to be preserved and made available to the general
public and to the media. The clerk shall transmit a copy to the
secretary of state within thirty days from the date of the
election, except that in the case of a recount, within thirty days
from the date of the completion of the recount, who shall submit
the same to the House of Delegates, on the first day of the next
ensuing session, together with a list of the persons appearing
thereby to be elected. Of the certificates respecting the election
of state senator, they shall, upon request of the candidate,
transmit a copy to any candidate, and shall file a copy in the
office of the clerk of the county commission to be preserved and
made available to the general public and to the media. The clerk
shall transmit a copy to the secretary of state within thirty days
from the date of the election, except that in the case of a
recount, within thirty days from the date of the completion of the
recount, to be submitted by the secretary of state to the Senate,
on the first day of the next ensuing session, together with a list
of persons appearing thereby to be elected. Of the certificates
respecting the election of state officers, a copy for each officer,
except justice of the supreme court of appeals, shall be sealed and
transmitted by the commissioners to the secretary of state within thirty days from the date of the election endorsed on the envelope
as follows: "Returns of the election for state officers." Except
in the case of a recount, the certificates shall be transmitted
within thirty days from the date of the completion of the recount.
The secretary of state shall deliver the certificates to the
speaker of the House of Delegates on the first day of the next
session of the Legislature; and the speaker shall, immediately
after the organization of the House of Delegates and before
proceeding to other business, open and publish the certificates in
the presence of a majority of each house of the Legislature, which
bodies shall, for that purpose, assemble in the hall of the House
of Delegates. The person having the highest number of votes for
any one of such offices shall be declared duly elected thereto; but
if two or more persons have the same and the highest number of
votes for the same office, the Legislature shall, by a joint vote
of the two houses, choose one of said persons for the office; and
one of each of the last-mentioned certificates shall also be
transmitted, under seal, to the governor, who shall immediately
tabulate the vote in all the counties, for each office, and cause
the results to be printed in a newspaper published at the seat of
government. Of the certificates respecting the election for United
States senator, member of the House of Representatives in the
Congress of the United States, justice of the supreme court of
appeals, judge of a circuit court, and president and vice president
of the United States, respectively, the commissioners shall, upon request of the candidate, transmit a copy to any candidate, and a
copy to the governor within thirty days from the date of the
election; except that in the case of a recount, within thirty days
from the date of the completion of the recount; and the governor
shall ascertain who are elected and make proclamation thereof. The
commissioners shall also file a copy of the certificates in the
office of the clerk of the county commission to be preserved and
made available to the general public and to the media. Of the
certificates respecting the election of all county and district
officers, the commissioners shall, upon request of the candidate,
transmit a copy to any candidate, and shall file a copy in the
office of the clerk of the county commission to be preserved and
made available to the general public and to the media.
No county may be charged for the publication of any
certificates of election.