ENGROSSED

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

Senate Bill No. 25

(By Senators Chafin and Anderson)

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[Originating in the Committee on Judiciary;

reported February 25, 1999.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact section nineteen, article one, chapter three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; to amend and reenact sections one and seven, article five of said chapter; and to amend and reenact section five, article eight of said chapter, all relating to changing the time of holding primary elections from May to March; changing dates for the selection of ballot commissioners; changing dates for the filing of certificates of announcement for candidates; changing dates for the filing of financial statements; and requiring the filing of an additional financial statement prior to general elections.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section nineteen, article one, chapter three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; that sections one and seven, article five of said chapter be amended and reenacted; and that section five, article eight of said chapter be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS.
§3-1-19. Ballot commissioners; selection; duties generally; vacancies.

In each county in the state, the clerk of the circuit court while holding such office, and two persons by him appointed, one from each of the two political parties which cast the largest and second largest number of votes in the state at the last preceding general election, shall constitute a board of ballot commissioners, of which board the said clerk shall be chairman. It shall be the duty of the clerk of said court to notify the chairman of the respective county executive committees of such two parties, at least five days before making such appointments, of the time and place of making the same, and if at any time after such notice is given, and before or on the day so fixed for making such appointments, the chairman of either of said committees shall designate, in writing, a member of such party as ballot commissioner having the qualifications of a voter, he shall be appointed. Ballot commissioners shall be appointed between the fifteenth and thirtieth days of January October in each year in which before a general election is to be held, for a term of two years beginning on the first day of February November next ensuing: Provided, That in the year one thousand nine hundred sixty-eight, such ballot commissioners shall be appointed between the first and the tenth days of February, for a term beginning on the eleventh day of February of said year and ending on the thirty-first day of January, one thousand nine hundred seventy. They shall perform the duties of such commissioners at all general, special and primary elections held in the county or any magisterial district thereof during their term of office. A vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as an original appointment, but immediate notice of a vacancy shall, where necessary, be deemed in compliance with the five-day notice provision.
ARTICLE 5. PRIMARY ELECTIONS AND NOMINATING PROCEDURES.

§3-5-1. Time and place of holding primary elections in the year two thousand and thereafter; hours polls open.

Primary elections shall be held at the voting place in each of the voting precincts in the state, for the purposes set forth in this article, on the second Tuesday in May March in the year one thousand nine hundred eighty-six two thousand and in each second year thereafter.
At such a primary election, the polls shall be opened and closed open and close at the hours provided for opening and closing the polls in a general election.
§3-5-7. Filing announcements of candidacies; requirements; withdrawal of candidates when section applicable.

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.
(a) 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;
(2) With the clerk of the circuit court, if it be for an office to be filled by the voters of a single county or of a subdivision less than a county;
(3) With the recorder or city clerk if it be for an office to be filled by the voters of a municipality.
The certificate of announcement shall be filed with the proper officer not earlier than the second Monday in January November next preceding the primary election day, and not later than the last first Saturday in January December 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.
(b) The certificate of announcement shall be in 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 is a member of and affiliated with that political party as is evidenced by the candidate's current registration as a voter affiliated with that party, and that the candidate 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 _____________, 19____," and a space for the signature of the officer giving the oath.
The secretary of state or the board of ballot commissioners, as the case may be, may refuse to certify the candidacy or remove the certification of the candidacy upon receipt of a certified copy of the voter's registration record of the candidate evidencing 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 be 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.
(c) 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 as set forth in section three, article nine of this chapter.
(d) 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.
(e) 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 a political party executive committee or for delegate to a political party national convention. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, nothing shall prohibit a candidate from jointly running for or holding the offices of county clerk and circuit clerk in those counties which operate a joint clerkship system.
(f) 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.
The provisions of this section enacted during the regular session of the Legislature in the year one thousand nine hundred ninety-one shall apply to the primary election held in the year one thousand nine hundred ninety-two and every primary election held thereafter. The provisions of this section enacted during the regular session of the Legislature in the year one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight shall apply to the primary election held in the year two thousand and every primary election held thereafter.
ARTICLE 8. REGULATION AND CONTROL OF ELECTIONS.
§3-8-5. Detailed accounts and verified financial statements required.

(a) Every candidate, financial agent, person and association of persons, organization of any kind, including every corporation, directly or indirectly, supporting a political committee established pursuant to paragraph (C), subdivision (1), subsection (b), section eight of this article or engaging in other activities permitted by said section and also including the treasurer or equivalent officer of such association or organization, advocating or opposing the nomination, election or defeat of any candidate or the passage or defeat of any issue, thing or item to be voted upon, and the treasurer of every political party committee shall keep detailed accounts of every sum of money or other thing of value received by him, including all loans of money or things of value, and of all expenditures and disbursements made, liabilities incurred, by such candidate, financial agent, person, association or organization or committee, for political purposes, or by any of the officers or members of such committee, or any person acting under its authority or on its behalf.
(b) Every person or association of persons required to keep detailed accounts under this section shall file with the officers hereinafter prescribed a detailed itemized statement, subscribed and sworn to before an officer authorized to administer oaths, according to the following provisions and times:
(1) On the last Saturday in March or within fifteen first day Saturday in December or within ten days thereafter next preceding the primary election day whenever the total of all financial transactions relating to an election exceed five hundred dollars a statement which shall include all financial transactions which have taken place by the date of that statement, subsequent to any previous statement filed within the previous five years under this section, or if no previous statement was filed, all financial transactions made within the preceding five years; and
(2) Not less than seven nor more than ten days preceding each primary or other election, a statement which shall include all financial transactions which have taken place by the date of such statement, subsequent to the previous statement, if any; and
(3) Not less than twenty-five nor more than thirty days after each primary or other election, a statement which shall include all financial transactions which have taken place by the date of such statement, subsequent to the previous statement; and
(4) On the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-five, and thereafter on the last Saturday in March or within fifteen days thereafter annually No earlier than the twenty-fourth day of June and not later than the thirtieth day of June, whenever contributions or expenditures relating to an election exceed five hundred dollars or whenever any loans are outstanding, a statement which shall include all financial transactions which have taken place by the date of such report, subsequent to any previous report.: Provided, That candidates and committees which have filed a pre-primary and post-primary report within the same calendar year shall be exempt from filing this report; and
(5) On the last Saturday in September or within fifteen days thereafter next preceding the general election day whenever the total of all financial transactions relating to an election exceed five hundred dollars or whenever any loans are outstanding, a statement which shall include all financial transactions which have taken place by the date of such statement, subsequent to the previous statement.
(c) Every person who shall announce as a write-in candidate for any elective office and his financial agent or election organization of any kind shall comply with all of the requirements of this section after public announcement of such person's candidacy has been made.
(d) For purposes of this section, the term "financial transactions" includes all contributions or loans received and all repayments of loans or expenditures made to promote the candidacy of any person by any candidate or any organization advocating or opposing the nomination, election or defeat of any candidate or to promote the passage or defeat of any issue, thing or item to be voted on.
(e) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, any person, association, organization, corporation or other legal entity who publishes, distributes or disseminates any scorecard, voter guide or other written analysis of a candidate's position or votes on specific issues within sixty days of an election is presumed to be engaging in such activity for the purpose of advocating or opposing the nomination, election or defeat of any candidate.
(2) The provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection shall not apply to:
(A) The publication, distribution or dissemination of such materials in the form of a news release to broadcast or print media;
(B) Persons who engage in news or feature reporting activities and editorial comment as working members of the press, radio, or television, and persons who publish, distribute or disseminate such news, features or editorial comment through a newspaper, book, regularly published periodical, radio station, or television station;
(C) The members of a nonprofit corporation or other organization who have such membership in accordance with the provisions of the articles of incorporation, bylaws or other instruments creating its form of organization and who have bona fide rights and privileges in the organization such as the right to vote, to elect officers, directors and issues, to hold office or otherwise as ordinarily conferred on members of such organizations who publish, distribute or disseminate materials described in subdivision (1) of this subsection to other such members; or
(D) The employees of a church or synagogue which currently holds or is eligible to hold an exemption as a church issued by the internal revenue service under the provisions of §26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) who publish, distribute or disseminate materials described in subdivision (1) of this subsection within the membership of the church or synagogue or upon the premises of any facility owned or controlled by the church or synagogue: Provided, That the exemption from the presumption provided by this subparagraph shall not apply to such employees of a church when the church or synagogue otherwise advocates or opposes the nomination, election or defeat of any candidate, or the passage of any issue, thing or item to be voted upon.
(f) No scorecard, voter guide or other written analysis of a candidate's position or votes on specific issues shall be published, distributed or disseminated within sixty days of an election unless it shall state thereon the name of the person, association, organization, corporation or other legal entity authorizing its publication, distribution or dissemination.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to change the time at which primary elections are held from May to March. Changes are also made to other sections to conform to the date changes and to conform with the provisions of a bill which previously passed the Senate addressing the filing of financial statements.

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