HB 4591 — Give a 10-day right to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeals a Secretary of State decision to not certify a candidacy.

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION IntroducedCommittee Substitute for House Bill 4591 By Delegate Holstein [Introduced[Originating Januaryin 10,the 2024;Committee on the Judiciary;

ReferredReported toon theFebruary Committee22] on2024 JudiciaryCS ]for Intr HB 2024R17764591 A BILL to amend and reenact §3-5-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to givingrequiring individualsimmediate seekingverification to run for public office a 10-day right to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appealspartisan theelection decisions of the Secretary of State not to verify the potential candidates’ certificatesparty ofaffiliation; announcements.

providing that the Secretary of State shall, upon receipt of certificates of announcements, also verify the residency and correct district of each prospective candidate;

and giving individuals seeking to run for public office a 10-day right to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeals the decisions of the Secretary of State not to verify the potential candidates’ certificates of announcements.

1 CS for HB 4591 (c) The certificate of announcement shall be filed with the proper officer not earlier than the second Monday in January before the primary election day and not later than the last Saturday in January before the primary election day and must be received before midnight, eastern standard time, of that day or, if mailed, shall be postmarked by the United States Postal Service before that Intr HB 2024R1776 hour.

(6) For partisan elections, the name of the candidate’s political party on the date the certificate of announcement is submitted and a statement that the candidate:

(A) Is a member of and affiliated with that political party as evidenced by the candidate’s current registration as a voter CS for HB 4591 affiliated with that party;

Intr HB 2024R1776 (8) A statement that the person filing the certificate of announcement is a candidate for the office in good faith;

(e) ThePrior Secretaryto ofaccepting Statea orCertificate the board of ballotAnnouncement commissioners,for asfiling thefor casean mayoffice be,which mayis refuseelected toin certifya thepartisan candidacyelection, or may remove the certificationSecretary of theState’s candidacyOffice, uponclerk receipt of a certified copy of the voter’scounty registrationcommission, recordrecorder ofor thecity candidateclerk showingshall thatelectronically theverify candidate was registered as a votercandidate’s incurrent a party otheraffiliation thanas thesubscribed oneand namedsworn into theby certificate of announcement during the 60candidate. days immediately preceding the filing of the certificate:

Provided,If That unless a signedcandidate’s formalcurrent complaintparty ofaffiliation violationis ofnot thisas sectionstated andon the certifiedCertificate copy of theAnnouncement, voter’s registration record of the candidate are filed with the officer receiving that candidate’s certificate of announcement no later than 10 days following the close of the filing period,shall the candidate may not be refusedrefused. certification for this reason.

(1) The Secretary of State shall,or the board of ballot commissioners, as the case may be, may refuse to certify the candidacy or may remove the certification of the candidacy upon receipt of certificatesa certified copy of announcements,the verifyvoter’s registration record of the candidate showing that the candidate was registered as a voter in a party registration,other residency,than andthe correctone district.named in the certificate of announcement during the 60 days immediately preceding the filing of the certificate:

Provided, That unless a signed formal complaint of violation of this section and the certified copy of the voter’s registration record of the candidate are filed with the officer receiving that candidate’s certificate of announcement no later than 10 days following the close of the filing period, the candidate may not be refused certification for this reason:

Provided, however, That (1) The Secretary of State shall, upon receipt of certificates of announcements, also verify the residency and correct district of each prospective candidate.

CS for HB 4591 (3) An applicant who is denied certification of his or her candidacy may appeal this decision to the Supreme Court of Appeals withinno later than 10 days offollowing the decisionclose fromof the Secretaryfiling ofperiod. State.

When the rules of the Intr HB 2024R1776 political party allow each presidential candidate to approve or reject candidates for delegate to convention who may appear on the ballot as committed to that presidential candidate, the presidential candidate or the candidate’s committee on his or her behalf may file a list of approved or rejected candidates for delegate and the Secretary of State shall list as "uncommitted" any candidate for delegate who is disapproved by the presidential candidate.

CS for HB 4591 NOTE: