Senate Bill No. 49
(By Senator Schoonover)
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[Introduced January 13, 1999;
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article one, chapter
fifty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to election of
magistrates.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article one, chapter fifty of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. COURTS AND OFFICERS.
§50-1-1. Magistrate court created; election of magistrates in divisions.
There is hereby created in each county of this state a
magistrate court with such numbers of magistrates for each court
as are hereafter provided. There shall be elected by the voters of each county, at the general election to be held in the year
one thousand nine hundred seventy-six, and in every fourth year
thereafter, such number of magistrates as is provided in section
two of this article. The filing fee for the office of magistrate
shall be one percent of the annual salary. The term of
magistrates shall be for four years and shall begin on the first
day of January of the year following the year of election.
In counties where voting machines or electronic voting
systems are used, the procedures of section eleven, article four,
chapter three and section twelve, article four-a of said chapter
three of this code shall apply respectively to the election of
magistrates in the same manner as they apply to the election of
members of the House of Delegates.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section seven, article
five, chapter three of this code, for purposes of the primary
election to be held in the year one thousand nine hundred
seventy- six, the last day for filing certificates of candidacy
for the office of magistrate shall be extended to the twenty- seventh day of February of that year.
Beginning with the primary and general elections to be
conducted in the year two thousand, there shall be in each
county, for election purposes, numbered divisions corresponding
to the number of magistrates in each county. Each magistrate
shall be elected at large from the entire county. In each
numbered division of a county, the candidates for nomination or
election shall be voted upon and the votes cast for the
candidates in each division shall be tallied separately from the
votes cast for candidates in other numbered divisions within the
county. The candidate receiving the highest number of the votes
cast within a numbered division shall be nominated or elected, as
the case may be.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require magistrates to
run for office in divisions like circuit court judges.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.