Senate Bill No. 376
(By Senators Palumbo, D. Facemire, Kessler (Mr. President), Unger and Jenkins)
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[Introduced January 23, 2012; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §3-3-2b of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the provision of absentee ballots to participants of the Address Confidentiality Program.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §3-3-2b of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. VOTING BY ABSENTEES.
§3-3-2b. Special absentee voting list.
(a) Any person who is registered and otherwise qualified to vote and who is permanently and totally physically disabled and who is unable to vote in person at the polls in an election may apply to the official designated to supervise and conduct absentee voting for placement on the special absentee voting list.
(b) Any person who is registered and otherwise qualified to
vote and who is participating in the Address Confidentiality
Program as established by section one hundred ten, article twenty-eight-a, chapter forty-eight of this code, may apply to the program
manager within the office of the Secretary of State for placement
on the special absentee voting list. The program manager will
notify the designated county contact to coordinate the provision of
an absentee ballot to the program participant.
(b) (c) The application is to be on a form prescribed by the
Secretary of State which is to include the voter's name and
signature, residence address, a statement that the voter is
permanently and totally physically disabled and would be unable to
vote in person at the polls in any election, a description of the
nature of that disability, and a statement signed by a physician to
that effect or a statement that the voter is a program participant
in the Address Confidentiality Program.
(c) (d) Upon receipt of a properly completed application, the
official designated to supervise and conduct absentee voting shall
enter the name on the special absentee voting list, which is to be
maintained in a secure and permanent record. The person's name will
remain active on the list until: (1) The person requests in writing
that his or her name be removed; (2) the person removes his or her
residence from the county, is purged from the voter registration
books or otherwise becomes ineligible to vote; (3) a ballot mailed
to the address provided on the application is returned
undeliverable by the United States postal service; or (4) the death
of the person; or (5) in the case of a Address Confidentiality
Program participant, withdrawal or removal from that program.
(d) (e) The official designated to supervise and conduct
absentee voting shall mail an application for an absentee ballot by
mail to each person active on the special absentee voting list due
to disability not later than forty-six days before each election.
The Address Confidentiality Program manager shall, in coordination
with the designated county contact, mail to each person on the
special absentee voting list due to participation in the Address
Confidentiality Program an absentee ballot by mail not later than
forty-six days before each election.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish procedures for: (1) The inclusion of Address Confidentially Program participants on the special absentee voting list and (2) the method of application and ballot provision for the program participants. This is to further protect a program participant’s location information.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.