Source: http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb3107%20intr.htm&yr=2013&sesstype=RS&i=3107
Timestamp: 2020-02-20 18:57:01
Document Index: 735599738

Matched Legal Cases: ['§3', '§3', '§5', '§17', '§3', '§3', '§5', '§17', '§3', '§3', '§5', '§5']

A BILL to amend and reenact §3-1-34 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §3-4A-10 of said code; to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §5-1A-6; and to amend and reenact §17B-2-1 of said code, all relating to voting procedures; requiring a voter to present an identifying document issued either by the State of West Virginia or the United States Government that contains the name, address and a photograph of the person desiring to vote which the poll clerk must inspect and confirm that the name on the document conforms to the name in the individual's voter registration record and that the image displayed is truly an image of the person presenting the document; permitting the casting of a provisional ballot by a person without adequate proof of identification if the voter executes an affidavit; permitting the provisional ballot to be counted if certain conditions are met; providing that certain funds be made available; requiring identification photos to be taken by certain spending units; accessing databases; exempting voters who vote in person at a precinct polling place that is located at a state licensed care facility where the voters are residents; county clerks being the custodian of vote-recording devices, tabulating equipment and electronic poll books; duties; requirements and specifications for electronic poll books; permitting the Division of Motor Vehicles to issue, at no charge, identification cards to persons who will be at least eighteen years of age at the next general, municipal or special election and intends to use the identification card as a form of identification for voting; and providing criminal penalties.
That §3-1-34 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; that §3-4A-10 of said code be amended and reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §5-1A-6; and that §17B-2-1 of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
§3-1-34. Voting procedures generally; identification assistance to voters; voting records; penalties.
(a) Any person desiring to vote in an election shall, upon entering the election room, clearly state his or her name and residence to one of the poll clerks who shall thereupon announce the same in a clear and distinct tone of voice. The person desiring to vote shall present to one of the poll clerks an identifying document issued either by the State of West Virginia or by the United States government which contains the name, address and a photograph of the person desiring to vote, which the poll clerk shall inspect and confirm that the name thereon conforms to the name in the individual's voter registration record and that the image displayed is truly an image of the person presenting the document: Provided, That a Social Security Direct Express debit card is a valid form of identifying document for the purposes of this section. If that person is found to be duly registered as a voter at that precinct, he or she shall sign his or her name in the designated location provided at the precinct. If that person is physically or otherwise unable to sign his or her name, his or her mark shall be affixed by one of the poll clerks in the presence of the other and the name of the poll clerk affixing the voter's mark shall be indicated immediately under the affixation. No ballot may be given to the person until he or she signs his or her name on the designated location or his or her signature is affixed thereon.
(1) If the person desiring to vote is unable to furnish an identifying document which contains the name, address and a photograph of the person desiring to vote, or if the poll clerk determines that the proof of identification presented by the voter does not qualify as proof of identification under the above listed criteria, the person desiring to vote shall be allowed to vote, but must cast a provisional ballot. An individual who appears at a polling place without identification in the form described in subsection (a) of this section, and who is otherwise qualified to vote at that polling place, may cast a provisional ballot after executing an affidavit affirming his or her identity.
(2) The provisional ballot is entitled to be counted when the election authority verifies the identity of the individual by comparing that individual's signature to the current signature on file with the election authority and determines that the individual was otherwise eligible to cast a ballot at the polling place where the ballot was cast.
(3) The affidavit to be used for voting shall be substantially in the following form:
§3-4A-10. County clerk to be custodian of vote-recording devices, tabulating equipment and electronic poll books; duties; requirements and specifications for electronic poll books.
(b) When a Each county commission elects to shall, at least ninety days prior to the primary elections in May 2014, acquire and use electronic poll books in lieu of, or in addition to, printed poll books and the clerk of the county commission shall immediately take custody of the electronic poll books, which shall remain in his or her custody at all times except when in use at an election or when in the custody of a court or court officers during contest proceedings. The clerk shall ensure that the electronic poll books are properly protected and preserved from damage or unnecessary deteriorations and the clerk shall not permit any unauthorized person to tamper with the electronic poll books. The clerk shall also keep the electronic poll books in good repair and the clerk shall prepare the electronic poll books for election day.
(c) The clerk of the county commission shall ensure that the electronic poll books acquired shall be capable of accessing the databases of the Department of Motor Vehicles and other state databases, including photographs of persons contained within these databases. Each electronic poll book acquired must allow an election official at a polling place, at the time an individual seeks to vote, to obtain information on the individual's eligibility to vote; including, but not limited to, whether the individual is registered to vote in an election for federal office, the polling place to which the individual is assigned, and whether the individual has already voted in the election. Acquisition of these systems is to be provided for by using the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) funds available for disbursement by the Office of the Secretary of State. If such funds are exhausted and should prove insufficient, then the funds contained in the Supreme Court Public Campaign Financing Pilot Program as defined generally in article twelve of chapter three of this code shall be available for the purpose.
§5-1A-6. Identification photos to be taken by spending units; databases.
(a) Each spending unit which disburses any state funds to the public as part a program of means-tested public benefits consisting of state assistance shall take a photograph of any person receiving those benefits and shall store the same in an electronic database.
(b) Each spending unit covered by this section shall maintain a database of such photographs and shall ensure that the database is accessible by an electronic pollbook as defined in section two of article four-a of chapter three of this Code.
(C) Has paid the required fee of two dollars and fifty cents per year: Provided, That the fee is not required no fees or charges, including renewal fees, are required if the applicant:
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require voters to present identifying documents, issued either by the State of West Virginia or the United States Government that contain the name, address and a photograph of the person desiring to vote, which the poll clerk must inspect and confirm that the name on the document conforms to the name in the individual's voter registration record and that the image displayed is truly an image of the person presenting the document. The bill exempts voters who vote in person at a precinct polling place that is located at a state licensed care facility where the voters are residents. The bill permits the casting of a provisional ballot by a person without adequate proof of identification if the voter executes an affidavit. The bill permits the provisional ballot to be counted if certain conditions are met, and provides certain funds shall be made available. The bill requires each county clerk to be custodian of vote-recording devices, tabulating equipment and electronic poll books; clarifies their duties; and sets requirements and specifications for electronic poll books. The bill requires identification photos to be taken by certain spending units; and compels them to maintain databases. The bill permits the Division of Motor Vehicles to issue, at no charge, identification cards to persons who will be at least eighteen years of age at the next general, municipal or special election and intends to use the identification card as a form of identification for voting. The bill also contains criminal penalties.
§5-1A-6 is new; therefore,strike throughs and underscoring have been omitted.