H. B. 2928
(By Delegates Compton, Hubbard
and Fleischauer)
[Introduced March 21, 2001; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section eight, article one, chapter
three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, relating to elections and nominating
procedures.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eight, article one, 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 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS.
§3-1-8. Political party defined; parties or groups that may
participate in municipal primary elections.
Any affiliation of voters representing any principle or
organization which, at the last preceding general election, polled for its candidate for governor, secretary of state, treasurer,
auditor, attorney general, state supreme court or commissioner of
agriculture, at least one per cent of the total number of votes
cast for all candidates for that office any one of those state
public offices in the state, or any affiliation of voters that
register under article two, chapter three of this code at least one
percent of the total number of voters voting in the last election
for any one of such state public offices, shall be a political
party, within the meaning and for the purpose of this chapter:
Provided, That notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this
section, the governing body of any municipality may, by ordinance
adopted by the affirmative vote of at least three fourths of the
members of such governing body by recorded vote, provide that
municipal political parties or groups within such municipality that
do not meet the requirements of this section for classification as
a political party may participate in the primary elections of any
such municipality. Any such ordinance shall contain provisions
implementing the foregoing proviso, which implementing provisions
shall conform as nearly as practicable to any general provisions of
law relating to municipal primary elections.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the ability of
political parties to obtain ballot access by expanding the scope of
the definition of political party.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.