reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-3a. Persons Entitled to Vote Under Federal Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970; Authority of Secretary of State

(1) Any citizen of the United States who is a resident of the state and who applies, not later than thirty days immediately prior to any presidential election for registration or qualification to vote for the choice of electors for president and vice-president, or for president and vice-president, in such election, and who is otherwise qualified to vote, may register to vote, and vote, for the choice of electors for president and vice-president, or for president and vice-president, in such election, as provided by the federal Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970.
(2) Any citizen of the United States who has moved his residence from this state within thirty days next preceding any election for president and vice-president, and who was otherwise qualified to vote in this state as of the date of his change of residence and who has not satisfied the registration requirements of the state to which he has moved, may vote for the choice of electors for president and vice-president, or for president and vice-president, in such election, as provided by the federal Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970.
(3) Any citizen of the United States who has attained the age of eighteen years but who has not attained the age of twenty-one years by the time of the next ensuing primary or election in which he may vote under section 302 of the federal Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970, as interpreted and limited by the United States supreme court, and who is otherwise qualified to vote, may vote in any primary or election for those candidates for whom he is entitled to vote under said section 302 of the federal Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970, as interpreted and limited by the United States supreme court.
(4) The Secretary of State shall have authority to make, amend and rescind such rules, regulations, orders and instructions, and prescribe such registration and voting procedures, forms (including registration, ballot and ballot label forms), lists and records, as may be necessary in order for this state to fully implement, and comply with, the federal Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970, as interpreted and limited by the United States supreme court, and it shall be the duty of all public officers, election officers, boards and commissioners having any authority or responsibility in connection with any election, to comply with all such rules, regulations, orders and instructions, and use, make, follow or comply with all such registration and voting procedures, forms (including registration, ballot and ballot label forms), lists and records as have been prescribed by the Secretary of State under the foregoing authority vested in that office.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › 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 at least one per cent of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for that office in the state, 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.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-10. Party Committees in Office

The members of all state, congressional, senatorial, and county executive committees for political parties in office at the time this section becomes effective, and the various officers of such committees, shall hold their several offices and discharge the duties thereof until their successors are chosen and installed in accordance with the provisions of section nine of this article effective simultaneously herewith and other applicable provisions of this article, the prior provisions of section nine having become effective after the election of such members and officers for terms ending in the year 1982. The Legislature finds and declares that the prior provisions of section nine of this article should not operate to limit the terms of such members and officers before the expiration thereof as contemplated by law effective at the time of the primary election held May, 1978.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-11. Powers of State Executive Committee; Central or Subcommittees; Party Emblems

The state executive committee of each party may make such rules for the government of such party, not inconsistent with law, as may be deemed expedient; and it may also revoke, alter, or amend, in any manner not inconsistent with law, any present or future rules of such party. All acts of such state or other committees may be reviewable by the courts.
Any party executive committee may create and appoint subcommittees, campaign, or central committees, and delegate to them such powers and authority in the executive and administrative work of the committee as they shall deem advisable; but no power or authority shall be delegated to such subcommittee, campaign committee, or central committee, in contravention of any law of the state.
The state executive committee shall adopt a party emblem or device for the party to distinguish and identify the party ticket, and shall certify the same to the ballot commissioners, and it shall be printed on the party ticket. The device or emblem of no two parties shall be similar or of such a nature as to mislead or confuse the voter. If two or more parties seek the same device, or similar devices, preference shall be given to the party polling the largest number of votes for the candidate for Governor at the last election for such office.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-12. Members of National Party Committee

The members of the national party executive committee of any political party, to which the state is entitled under the national organization and the rules and regulations of the national committee of the party, shall be elected by the state executive committee of such party, unless the rules of the national party otherwise provide, in which latter event they shall be selected in all respects as provided for the selection thereof by the rules and regulations of the national organization of the political party and the resolutions of the delegated representatives of the political party passed and adopted by any national convention of such political party. A vacancy in the membership of a national party executive committee shall be filled by the state committee of the party unless the rules of the national party otherwise provide.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-13. Other Party or Group Committees

The members of any political party which, at the last preceding general election, polled, for its candidate for Governor, fewer than ten per cent of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for that office in the state, and groups of citizens, not constituting a political party, which nominate candidates for offices to be voted for at any election, may select members of committees and officers thereof, for such political parties and such groups of citizens, in such manner as they may devise and adopt.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-14. Presidential Electors; How Chosen; Duties; Vacancies; Compensation

Electors of president and vice president of the United States shall be nominated as provided in section twenty-one of article five of this chapter but their names shall be omitted from the general election ballot, as provided in section two of article six of this chapter, to be voted on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November 1964, and every fourth year thereafter.
The presidential electors shall meet in the office of the Governor at the capital of this state, on the day now appointed, or which shall hereafter be appointed, by the Congress of the United States and vote for the president and for the vice president of the United States in the manner prescribed by the Constitution and the laws of the United States. If any of the electors so chosen fail to attend at the time appointed, the electors present shall appoint an elector in place of each one so failing to attend, and every elector so appointed shall be entitled to vote in the same manner as if he had been originally chosen by the people.
Each presidential elector shall receive as compensation the sum of $10 a day for attending such meeting, including the time spent in traveling to and from the place of meeting and in addition thereto the sum of 10¢ for every mile necessarily traveled in going to and returning from the place of meeting, by the most direct route.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-15. Election of United States Senators and Congressmen

At the general election in the year nineteen hundred and sixty-four and at each general election in every sixth year thereafter, and at the general election in the year nineteen hundred and sixty-six, and in each sixth year thereafter, there shall be elected a member of the United States Senate, and at the general election in the year nineteen hundred and sixty-four, and in every second year thereafter, there shall be elected a member of the House of Representatives in the Congress of the United States for each congressional district of the state, each for the next ensuing term.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-16. Election of State Officers

(a) At the general election to be held in 1968, and every fourth year thereafter, there shall be elected a Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Auditor, Attorney General and Commissioner of Agriculture. At the general election in 1968, and every second year thereafter, there shall be elected a member of the State Senate for each senatorial district, and a member or members of the House of Delegates of the state from each county or each delegate district.
(b) At the time of the primary election to be held in the year 2016, and every twelfth year thereafter, there shall be elected one justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals, and at the time of the primary election to be held in 2020, and every 12
th
year thereafter, two justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals and at the time of the primary election to be held in 2024, and every twelfth year thereafter, two justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals. Effective with the primary election held in the year 2016, the election of justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall be on a nonpartisan basis and by division as set forth more fully in article five of this chapter.
(c) At the time of the primary election to be held in the year 2024, and every tenth year thereafter, there shall be elected one judge to a seat of the Intermediate Court of Appeals; at the time of the primary election to be held in 2026, and every 10
th
year thereafter, one judge to a seat of the Intermediate Court of Appeals; and at the time of the primary election to be held in 2028, and every 10
th
year thereafter, one judge to a seat of the Intermediate Court of Appeals. Effective with the primary election held in the year 2024, the election of Judges of the Intermediate Court of Appeals shall be on a nonpartisan basis and by division as set forth more fully in 3-5-1
et seq
. of this code.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-17. Election of Circuit Judges; County and District Officers; Magistrates

(a) There shall be elected, at the time of the primary election to be held in 2016, and every eighth year thereafter, one judge of the circuit court of every judicial circuit entitled to one judge, and one judge for each numbered division of the judicial circuit in those judicial circuits entitled to two or more circuit judges; and at the time of the primary election to be held in 2016, and in every fourth year thereafter, the number of magistrates prescribed by law for the county. Beginning with the election held in the year 2016, an election for the purpose of electing judges of the circuit court, or an election for the purpose of electing magistrates, shall be upon a nonpartisan ballot printed for the purpose.
(b) There shall be elected, at the general election to be held in 1992, and every fourth year thereafter, a sheriff, prosecuting attorney, surveyor of lands, and the number of assessors prescribed by law for the county; and at the general election to be held in 1990, and every second year thereafter, a commissioner of the county commission for each county; and at the general election to be held in 1992, and every sixth year thereafter, a clerk of the county commission and a clerk of the circuit court for each county.
(c) Effective with the primary election of 2016, all elections for judge of the circuit courts in the respective circuits and magistrates in each county will be elected on a nonpartisan basis and by division as set forth more fully in article five of this chapter.
(d) Beginning with the judicial election in 2024, and in every judicial election thereafter, if no candidate in a division for judge of a circuit court receives more than 30 percent of the votes cast in the election, there shall be a runoff election at the subsequent general election between the two candidates who received the highest and next-highest number of votes cast in that division.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-18. Election to Fill Other Offices

If the Legislature shall hereafter create any elective office, or make any office now filled by appointment an elective office, in the state or in any subdivision thereof, the person to fill the same shall be elected at the general election last preceding the beginning of the term of such office.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to the office of member or to the election of members of a Constitutional convention.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-19. Ballot Commissioners; Selection; Duties Generally; Vacancies

(a) In each county in the state, the Board of Ballot Commissioners shall be comprised of:
(1) The clerk of the county commission while holding office; and
(2) Two other persons as follows:
(A) One person appointed by the county executive committee of the political party that cast the largest number of votes in the state at the last preceding general election; and
(B) One person appointed by the county executive committee of the political party that cast the second largest number of votes in the state at the last preceding general election.
(b) If the county executive committees do not make the appointments in a timely manner, then the county clerk shall make the appointments.
(c) The county clerk shall serve as chairman.
(d) The county clerk shall notify the chairman of the respective county executive committees of the two parties, at least five days before the time of the making of the appointments.
(e) If at any time after notice is given, and before or on the day so fixed for making appointments, the chairman of each of the committees shall designate, in writing, a member of his or her party as ballot commissioner. Each designee shall be appointed if he or she meets the qualifications of a voter: Provided, That a ballot commissioner cannot be a candidate for any office in any election held during the time he or she is serving as ballot commissioner, other than state, county, or district executive committee or delegate to the national convention of a political party.
(f) Ballot commissioners shall be appointed between January 15 and January 30, in each year in which a general election is to be held, for a term of two years beginning on February 1 next ensuing.
(g) The ballot commissioners shall perform their duties at all general, special, and primary elections held in the county or any magisterial district thereof during their term of office.
(h) A vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as an original appointment, but immediate notice of a vacancy shall, where necessary, be deemed in compliance with the five-day notice provision.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-20. Cards of Instructions to Voters; Sample Ballots; Posting

(a) The board of ballot commissioners of each county shall provide cards of general information which will include:
(1) The date of the election and the hours during which polling places will be open;
(2) Instruction for mail-in registrants and first-time voters;
(3) Voters' rights; and
(4) Prohibitions against fraud and misrepresentation.
The board of ballot commissioners shall also provide cards of instruction for voters in preparing their ballots and casting a provisional ballot as prescribed by the Secretary of State. The provisional ballot notice shall include a notification to voters of their rights as a provisional voter to inquire as to the correct precinct to cast a ballot and notification that if a ballot is cast in the incorrect precinct the ballot may not be counted at the canvass for that election. The board of ballot commissioners shall furnish a sufficient number of cards to the commissioners of election at the same time they deliver the ballots for the precinct. The instructions regarding a provisional ballot shall be posted in the precinct in a highly visible location for voters to review.
(b) The commissioners of election shall post one instruction card in each voting booth giving instructions to the voters on how to prepare the ballots for deposit in the ballot boxes and how to obtain a new ballot in place of one accidentally spoiled.
(c) The commissioners of election shall post one or more other cards of general information at places inside and outside of the voting place where voters pass or wait to vote. The commissioners shall also post the official write-in candidates in the same locations inside and outside of the voting place.
(d) The ballot commissioners shall have printed, on a different color paper than the official ballot, two or more copies of sample ballots for each voting place for each election. Sample ballots shall be furnished and posted with the cards of general information at each voting place.
(e) During the period of early in-person voting, the clerk of the county commission shall post the cards of general information, a list of official write-in candidates and sample ballots within the area where absentee voting is conducted.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-22. County Court Clerks to Provide Election Supplies; Requirements for Poll Books and Ballot Boxes

The clerk of the county court of each county shall provide poll books, a list of all precincts within the county, tally sheets, ballot boxes, voting booths, registration records and forms, strong and durable envelopes upon which to make returns, blank forms for certifying returns and whatever further supplies are needed for holding the elections and making the returns thereof. The poll books shall bear upon each page the following heading: "Names of persons voting at precinct No. ...... in the District of ....................... in the county of ...................... on this (the) ................. day of ................. in the year ........" Such poll books shall have columns headed respectively: "Number of Voters," "Signature of Voter" and "Challenge of Voter", and shall have under the heading "Number of Voters" numbers in consecutive order to the bottom of each page. Forms for oaths of commissioners of election and poll clerks shall be written or printed on the poll books. Each ballot box shall be provided with two locks with different keys so that the key for one lock will not open the other and shall be so constructed as to be safely and securely closed and locked, with an opening in the lid of the box sufficient only for the passage of a single ballot.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-23. County Commission to Arrange Polling Places and Equipment; Requirements

The county commission in each county, before each election, shall secure, for each voting precinct in the county, a suitable room or building in which to hold the election, and shall cause the same to be suitably provided with heat, drinking water and light and a sufficient number of booths or compartments, each containing a table, counter or shelf, and furnished with proper supplies for preparing ballots, at or in which voters may conveniently prepare their ballots, so that in the preparation thereof they may be secure from the observation of others. The number of such booths or compartments shall not be less than two. Such room or building shall be located in such precinct: Provided, That upon a determination of the county commission that a suitable room or building in which to hold the election is not reasonably available in such precinct then the county commission may secure a suitable room or building in which to hold the election for such precinct in an adjacent precinct in said county, in a location as near as may be to the territory of the precinct for which such room or building is provided. At any polling place for which parking spaces are available nearby, at least one parking space shall be reserved for handicapped voters and clearly designated as such.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-24. Obtaining and Delivering Election Supplies

(a) It shall be the duty of the clerk of the county commission to appoint one or more of the commissioners of election or poll clerks at each precinct of the county to attend at the office of the clerk of the county commission at least one day before each election to receive the ballots, ballot boxes, poll books, registration records and forms and all other supplies and materials for conducting the election at the respective precincts. The clerk shall take a receipt for the respective materials delivered to the commissioners of election or poll clerks and shall file the receipt in his or her office. It shall be the duty of the commissioners or poll clerks to receive the supplies and materials from the clerk and to deliver them with the seal of all sealed packages unbroken at the election precinct in time to open the election.
(b) The commissioners or poll clerks, if they perform the messenger services, shall receive the per diem and mileage rate prescribed by law for this service.
(c) Ballots shall be delivered in sealed packages with seals unbroken. For general and special elections the delivered ballots shall not be in excess of one and one-twentieth times the number of registered voters in the precinct. For primary elections the ballots for each party shall be in a separately sealed package containing not more than one and one-twentieth times the number of registered voters of each party in the election precinct.
(d) For primary elections one copy of the poll books, including the written or printed forms for oaths of commissioners of election and poll clerks, shall be supplied at each voting precinct for each political party appearing on the primary ballot.
(e) There shall be two ballot boxes for each election precinct for which a receiving and a counting board of election commissioners have been appointed.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-25. Supplies by Special Messenger

In case any commissioner of election or poll clerk fails to appear at the offices of the clerk of the county commission by the close of the clerk's office on the day prior to any election, the board of ballot commissioners, the chairman or the clerk of the county commission shall forthwith dispatch a special messenger to the commissioners of election of each respective precinct with the ballots, registration records, ballot boxes, poll books and other supplies for the precinct. The messenger, if not a county employee, shall be allowed $5 for this service. The messenger shall also receive mileage up to the rate of reimbursement authorized by the travel management rule of the Department of Administration for each mile necessarily traveled in the performance of his or her services. The messenger shall promptly report to the clerk of county commission and file with the clerk the receipts of the person to whom he or she delivered the ballots and other supplies and his or her affidavit stating when and to whom he or she delivered them.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-26. Election Supplies in Emergencies

If, by any accident or casualty, the ballots or ballot box or boxes delivered to a commissioner of election, or to any messenger, shall be lost or destroyed, it shall be the duty of such commissioner or messenger to report the loss forthwith to the board of ballot commissioners and clerk of the county court from whom the same were, or was, obtained, and make affidavit of the circumstances of the loss; whereupon such board and clerk shall at once send a new supply by special messenger, as provided in other cases. If, for any reason, there should be found no ballots, or ballot box, or other necessary means or contrivances for voting, at the opening of the polls, it shall be the duty of the commissioners of election to secure the same as speedily as possible and, if necessary, the ballot commissioners may have ballots printed or written, and the election commissioners may have a ballot box or boxes made.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-27. Municipal Precinct Registration Records

At least one day prior to every municipal election, it shall be the duty of the appropriate officer designated by the municipality to procure from the municipal precinct file in the office of the clerk of the county commission the registration records necessary for the conduct of such election.
Such records shall, within ten days after the date of the municipal election, be returned to the office of the clerk of the county commission by the appropriate officer or officers designated by the municipality.
In case of a contested municipal election, the registration record of any challenged voter shall be made available by the clerk of the county commission to the officer or tribunal empowered to determine the contest. Such record shall be returned to the office of the clerk of the county commission within a reasonable time after the contest shall have been finally decided.
The clerk of the county commission shall acknowledge the release and return of the registration records under this section by the issuance of appropriate receipts.
In the event any municipal registration record is lost, destroyed, defaced or worn in any way as to warrant replacement, it shall be the duty of the clerk of the county commission to prepare a duplicate of such record and it shall be the duty of the municipality to pay for such replacement.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-28. Election Officials; Eligibility, Suspension of Eligibility

(a) To be eligible to be appointed or serve as an election official in any state, county, or municipal election held in West Virginia, a person:
(1) Must be a registered voter of the county for elections held throughout the county and a registered voter of the municipality for elections held within the municipality: Provided, That if the required number of persons eligible to serve as election officials for a municipal election are not available or are not willing to serve as election officials for a municipal election, a registered voter of the county in which the municipality is located may serve as an election official for elections held within the municipality;
(2) Must be able to read and write the English language;
(3) May not be a candidate on the ballot or an official write-in candidate in the election for any office, other than for district, county, or state political party executive committee;
(4) May not be the parent, child, sibling, or spouse of a candidate on the ballot for any office, other than for district, county, or state political party executive committee, or an official write-in candidate for any office, other than for district, county, or state political party executive committee, in the precinct where the official serves;
(5) May not be a person prohibited from serving as an election official pursuant to any other federal or state statute; and
(6) May not have been previously convicted of a violation of any election law.
(b) The county commission may, upon majority vote, suspend the eligibility to serve as an election official in any election for four years for the following reasons:
(1) Failure to appear at the polling place at the designated time without proper notice and just cause;
(2) Failure to perform the duties of an election official as required by law;
(3) Improper interference with a voter casting a ballot or violating the secrecy of the voter’s ballot;
(4) Being under the influence of alcohol or drugs while serving as an election official; or
(5) Having anything wagered or bet on an election.
(c) The county commission may, upon majority vote, suspend the eligibility to serve as an election official in any election for two years upon petition of 25 registered voters of the precinct where the official last served and upon presentation of evidence of any of the grounds set forth in §31-1-28(b) of this code: Provided, That the petition requesting the suspension of the election official is filed with the county commission at least 90 days prior to an election date. The names of those persons signing the petition must be kept confidential.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-29. Boards of Election Officials; Definitions, Composition of Boards, Determination of Number and Type

(a) For the purpose of this article:
(1) The term "standard receiving board" means those election officials charged with conducting the process of voting within a precinct and consists of no less than five persons, to be comprised as follows:
(A) Each precinct shall have at least one team of poll clerks, one team of election commissioners for the ballot box and one additional election commissioner.
(B) At the discretion of the county clerk and county commission, any county may add additional teams of poll clerks and commissioners to any precinct, as necessary to fairly and efficiently conduct an election;
(2) The term "counting board" means those election officials charged with counting the ballots at the precinct in counties using paper ballots and includes one team of poll clerks, one team of election commissioners and one additional commissioner;
(3) The term "team of poll clerks" or "team of election commissioners" means two persons appointed by opposite political parties to perform the specific functions of the office: Provided, That no team of poll clerks or team of election commissioners may consist of two persons with the same registered political party affiliation or two persons registered with no political party affiliation; and
(4) The term "election official trainee" means an individual who is sixteen or seventeen years of age who meets the requirements of subdivisions (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6), subsection (a), section twenty-eight of this article.
(b) For each primary and general election in the county, the county commission shall designate the number and type of election boards for the various precincts according to the provisions of this section. At least eighty-four days before each primary and general election the county commission shall notify the county executive committees of the two major political parties in writing of the number of nominations which may be made for poll clerks and election commissioners.
(c) For each municipal election held at a time when there is no county or state election:
(1) The governing body of the municipality shall perform the duties of the county commission as provided in this section; and
(2) The standard receiving board may, at the discretion of the official charged with the administration of election, consist of as few as four persons, including one team of poll clerks and one team of election commissioners for the ballot box.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-31. Days and Hours of Elections; Scheduling of Local Elections; Extension or Shortening of Terms of Certain Elected Local Officials

(a) General elections shall be held in the several election precincts of the state on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November of each even year. Primary and special elections shall be held on the days provided by law therefor:
Provided
, That beginning July 1, 2022, all local municipal elections may be held concurrently with a regularly scheduled statewide primary or general election. In exercising this right, a municipality may negotiate an agreement with the county commission to establish the election date, election officials, registration books to be used, and other matters pertaining to changing the municipal election to be held on the same day as a regularly scheduled statewide primary or general election:
Provided, however
, That a municipality which enters into an agreement with a county commission to hold elections at the same time as a regularly scheduled statewide primary or general election day pursuant to 8-5-5 of this code shall share in the administrative costs of holding the election, but which costs shall not exceed the municipalitys pro rata share of voters registered in the municipality compared with the total voters registered in the county:
Provided further
, That the municipality shall also comply with the requirements of 8-5-5 of this code regarding an agreement with the county regarding use of county election officials in municipal elections.
(b) At every primary, general, or special election the polls shall be opened in each precinct on the day of the election at 6:30 in the morning and be closed at 7:30 in the evening.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-32. Opening and Closing Polls; Procedure

At the time of opening the polls in all precincts wherein voting machines are not to be used, the election commissioners shall examine the ballot box and ascertain that there are no ballots in the same, and they shall thereupon securely lock the box and give one key to one of the commissioners and one to a commissioner of the opposite political party, who shall hold the same, and such boxes shall not be again opened until the time to begin counting the votes arrives and for that purpose. At or before opening the polls, the commissioners of election shall open the package containing the ballots in such manner as to preserve the seals intact and thereupon deliver all of the ballots to the poll clerk. Before any voter is permitted to vote, the commissioners of election shall proclaim that such election is opened. When the polls are closed, proclamation must be made of the fact by one of the commissioners of election to the people outside, in a loud and audible tone of voice, and a minute of such proclamation and of the time when it was made must be entered on the pollbooks by the clerks. The election commissioner shall permit those electors to vote who are present at the polling place prior to the hour specified for the closing of the polls: Provided, That at that time they are in a line awaiting their turn to vote within the voting room itself or, if the line extends outside of the voting room itself, within that line. In that event an election commissioner from each party shall immediately after the closing proclamation begin with the last voter in line and together supply the voters within the line with waiting-voter permits which shall be prescribed by the Secretary of State. Each voter shall sign his permit in the presence of both commissioners who shall then likewise affix their signatures to the permit in the presence of the voter and each other. After each such voter in line has received and signed his permit and the election commissioners have affixed their signatures thereto, voting shall be resumed. Each voter shall present his permit to one of the poll clerks so that the signature thereon may be compared to the voter's signature when he signs the pollbook. Each permit so presented shall be attached to the page in the pollbook on which the voter affixed his signature. In no case shall any person who arrives at the polling place after the closing hour be given a waiting-voter permit or be allowed to vote. After the final voter presents his waiting-voter permit and casts his ballot no more ballots shall be cast or received.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-33. How Elections Conducted by Double Boards

In all precincts wherein two election boards shall have been appointed, the receiving board shall attend at the opening of the polls, shall open the polls, and shall proceed with the election. The counting board shall attend at the voting place not later than three hours after the opening of the polls, and shall take charge of the ballot box containing the ballots theretofore cast in that precinct. They shall retire to a partitioned room or space in the voting place and there proceed to count and tabulate the ballots cast, as they shall find them deposited in the ballot box. The receiving board shall continue to receive the vote of electors in the other box, until such time as the counting board shall have finished counting and tabulating the ballots cast in the first ballot box. The county board shall, before exchanging the ballot boxes as herein provided, seal the ballots counted by it in envelopes to be provided for the purpose, which shall not be opened until the two boards shall together proceed with counting, tabulating and summarizing the votes as by this chapter provided. The two boards shall then exchange the first box for the second box, and so continue until the hour of closing the polls arrives.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-35. Ballots to Be Furnished Voters

In general and special elections the ballots for all voters of an election precinct shall be the same. In primary elections the ballot of the voter's political party at that election in that precinct shall be furnished to the voter together with separate ballots, if any, on any nonpartisan candidates and any public questions submitted to the voters generally at such primary election. In the event the voter is lawfully registered as "independent" or as an adherent of a political party not appearing on any primary election ballot to be voted in his precinct, he shall not, in a primary election, be given or entitled to vote any party ballot but shall be furnished any separate ballots to be voted thereat on nonpartisan candidates and public questions.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-36. Report on and Disposition of Ballots Spoiled or Not Used

Any voter who shall spoil, deface or mutilate the ballot delivered to him, on returning the same to the poll clerks, shall receive another in place thereof. Every person who does not vote any ballot delivered to him shall, before leaving the election room, return such ballot to the poll clerks. When a spoiled or defaced ballot is returned, the poll, clerks shall make a minute of the fact on the pollbooks, at the time, and the word "spoiled" shall be written across the face of the ballot and such ballot shall be placed in an envelope for spoiled ballots.
Immediately on closing the polls, the commissioners of election shall ascertain the number of ballots spoiled during the election and the number of ballots remaining not voted. The commissioners of election shall also ascertain from the pollbooks the number of persons who voted and shall report, over their signatures, to the clerk of the county commission, the number of votes case, the number of ballots spoiled during the election and the number of ballots not voted. All unused ballots shall at the same time be returned to the clerk of the county commission, who shall separately package the unused ballots from each precinct, mark the name and number of the precinct on the package and retain them securely along with other election materials.
Each commissioner who is a member of an election board which fails to account for every ballot delivered to it is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or confined in the county jail for not more than one year, or both fined and imprisoned.
The board of ballot commissioners of each county, or the chairman thereof, shall preserve the ballots that are left over in their hands, after supplying the precincts as provided, until twenty-two months after the election.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-38. Disorder at Polls; Procedure

The commissioners of election shall preserve order at, and in the vicinity of, the polls, and keep the way to the polls open and free from obstruction, and may direct disorderly persons to be removed therefrom, and, if necessary and proper, to be taken and held in custody until sunrise of the next day, or for any shorter time, which may be done by any sheriff or constable or other person or persons designated by the commissioners of election. For such purpose no warrant or authority in writing shall be necessary. The jail of the county or other place designated by the commissioners of election may be used as the place of custody. But any person so arrested shall have an opportunity to vote, if he be entitled to do so, before he shall be committed to jail, if he so desires and shall be prepared to do so promptly.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-39. Illegal Voting; Affidavit; Procedure

(a) If at any time during the election any qualified voter shall appear at the polls for the purpose of stating that any person who has voted is an illegal voter in the precinct, that person shall be admitted to the election room and shall appear before a commissioner of election to make an affidavit explaining why he or she believes the accused to be an illegal voter.
(b) All affidavits alleging illegal voting shall be placed in a strong and durable envelope by the commissioners of election. The envelope shall be securely sealed and each of the commissioners shall endorse his or her name on the back of the envelope. At the close of the count the envelope shall be delivered to the clerk of the circuit court in accordance with section sixteen, article five of this chapter and section eight, article six of this chapter. The clerk of the circuit court shall carefully preserve the envelope containing the affidavits and deliver it, with the seal unbroken, to the prosecuting attorney in the county. The prosecuting attorney shall proceed as if it had been made before him or her.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-42. Time Off for Voting

Every person entitled to vote at any election who may be employed by any person, company, or corporation on the day on which such election shall be held in this state, shall, on written demand of such employee, made at least three days prior thereto, be given a period of not more than three hours, if necessary, between the opening and the closing of the polls on such day, for the purpose of enabling such person to repair to the place of voting to cast his vote and return, without liability to any penalty or deduction from his usual salary or wages on account of such absence, except that any employee, who has three or more hours of his own time away from his work or place of employment at any time between the hours of the opening and the closing of the polls on election day and who fails or neglects to vote or elects not to vote during such free time away from his work or employment, may be subject to wage or salary deductions for the time actually absent from his work or employment for voting in such election.
In essential government, health, hospital, transportation and communication services and in production, manufacturing and processing works requiring continuity in operation, the employer may, upon receipt of such written demand for voting time off, arrange and schedule a calendar of time off for any and all of his employees for voting so as to avoid impairment or disruption of essential services and operations, but every such schedule or calendar of time off for voting so arranged shall provide ample and convenient time and opportunity for each employee of such services or works to cast his vote as herein provided.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 3. Elections › Article 1. General Provisions and Definitions › §3-1-43. Disposition of Miscellaneous Election Papers

At the expiration of twenty-two months after any election, the affidavits taken and returned by any registrar or any election officer, applications for absent voters' ballots, rejected absent voters' ballots, certificates of nominations of candidates, and the written designations of election officers and of ballot commissioners shall be destroyed. If the further preservation of any of the documents mentioned in this section shall be required by the order of the court, the same shall be destroyed at the expiration of the time fixed for the further preservation thereof by such order.