COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 615
(By Senators Unger, Hunter and McCabe)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported February 25, 2003.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section thirty-one, article two,
chapter three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to permitting
unaffiliated voters to vote for the election of a candidate of
any political party in a primary election; and requiring a
receiving clerk to advise unaffiliated voters of the effect of
voting in primary.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section thirty-one, article two, 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 2. REGISTRATION OF VOTERS.
§3-2-31. Rules pertaining to voting after registration or change
of address within the county.
(a) A voter who designates a political affiliation with a
major party on a registration application filed at least thirty days before the primary may vote the ballot of that political party
in the primary election. Political parties through the official
action of their state executive committees shall be are permitted
to determine whether unaffiliated voters or voters of other parties
shall be allowed to may vote that party's primary election ballot
upon request. An unaffiliated or "independent" voter may vote for
the election of a candidate of any political party participating in
the primary election, but may not vote for the candidates of more
than one political party on more than one ballot. Upon voting for
a candidate or candidates of a political party in a primary
election, the unaffiliated or "independent" voter shall be
designated on his or her voter registration record as affiliated
with that political party until such time that the voter changes
party affiliation. The receiving clerk, prior to providing a
ballot to an unaffiliated voter, shall advise the voter that upon
voting, he or she will be registered as affiliated with the
political party for whom he or she voted. The clerk shall also
advise the unaffiliated voter that he or she may change his or her
registration anytime after the election.
(b) A voter whose registration record lists one residence
address but the voter has since moved to another residence address
within the precinct shall be permitted to update the registration
at the polling place and vote without challenge for that reason.
(c) A voter whose registration record lists one residence
address but the voter has since moved to another residence address
in a different precinct in the same county shall be permitted to update the registration at the polling place serving the new
precinct and shall be permitted to vote a challenged or provisional
ballot at the new polling place. If the voter's registration is
found on the registration records within the county during the
canvass and no other challenge of eligibility was entered on
election day, the challenge shall be removed and the ballot shall
be counted.
(d) A voter whose registration record has been placed on an
inactive status or transferred to an inactive file and who has not
responded to a confirmation notice sent pursuant to the provisions
of section twenty-four, twenty-five or twenty-six of this article
and who offers to vote at the polling place where he or she is
registered to vote shall be required to affirm his or her present
residence address under penalty of perjury as provided in section
thirty-six of this article.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit unaffiliated or
independent voters to vote for the election of a candidate of any
political party in a primary election. The bill also provides that
the voter may not vote for a candidate of more than one party and
that he or she will become registered as affiliated with that party
until the voter changes that party affiliation. The bill requires
the receiving clerks to explain this to the voter before he or she
is allowed to vote.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)