Bill Text: WV HB2565 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Providing official ballot status to a political party that received at least one per cent of the votes

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 4-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-09 - To House Judiciary [HB2565 Detail]

Download: West_Virginia-2014-HB2565-Introduced.html

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H. B. 2565

          (By Delegates Kump, Folk, Nelson, J., Canterbury
and Manypenny)

          [Introduced February 20, 2013; referred to the
          Committee on the Judiciary.]


A BILL to amend and reenact §3-1-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to providing official ballot status to a political party that received at least one per cent of the votes in the preceding general election for a statewide office or has at least one thousand votes registered as members of that party.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
     That §3-1-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, 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.
     (a) Any An affiliation of voters representing any a 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 is 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 a municipality may, by ordinance adopted by the affirmative vote of at least three fourths of the members of such the governing body by recorded vote, provide that municipal political parties or groups within such the 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 the 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.
     (b) A political party that has received at least one percent of the votes in the preceding general election for a statewide office or has at least one thousand voters registered as members of that party has official ballot status.



     NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide official ballot status to a political party that has received at least one percent of the votes in the preceding general election for a statewide office or has at least one thousand voters registered as members of that party.

     Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.