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WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2020 REGULAR SESSION
Introduced House Bill 4895
BY DELEGATE S. BROWN, DOYLE AND PYLES
[Introduced February 11, 2020; Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary]
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1 A BILL amend and reenact §3-7-6 and §3-7-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
2 all relating to the contests of county, district, and municipal elections, establishing
3 jurisdiction for said election contests with the circuit courts; setting forth procedures for
4 election contests; establishing three-judge circuit courts as initial tribunals for hearing
5 election contest proceedings; providing for appeals of such proceedings to the Supreme
6 Court of Appeals; and establishing the authority of the Supreme Court of Appeals to
7 establish rules and procedures for the conduct of county, district, and municipal election
8 contest proceedings before the courts of the state.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 7. CONTESTED ELECTIONS.
§3-7-6. County, and district, and municipal contests; notices; time.
1 (a) In all cases of contested elections, the county commission circuit court shall be the
2 judge of the election, qualifications and returns of their own members and of all county, and
3 district, and municipal officers. officer: Provided, That a member of the county commission whose
4 election is being contested may not participate in judging the election, qualifications and returns
5 (b) A person intending to contest the election of another to any county, or district, or
6 municipal office, including judge of any court or any office that shall hereafter be created to be
7 filled by the voters of the county, municipality, or of any magisterial or other district therein, shall,
8 within ten days seven business days after the result of the election is certified, give the contestee
9 and the circuit court notice in writing of such intention and a list of the votes he or she will dispute,
10 with the objections to each, and of the votes rejected for which he or she will contend. If the
11 contestant objects to the legality of the election or the qualification of the person returned as
12 elected, the notice shall set forth the facts on which such objection is founded. The person whose
13 election is so contested shall, within ten days seven business days after receiving such notice,
14 deliver to the contestant and the circuit court a like list of the votes he or she will dispute, with the
15 objections to each, and of the rejected votes for which he or she will contend; and, if he or she
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16 has any objection to the qualification of the contestant, he or she shall specify in writing the facts
17 on which the objection is founded. Each party shall append to his or her notice an affidavit that
18 he the party verily believes the matters and things set forth to be true. If new facts be discovered
19 by either party after he or she has given notice as aforesaid, he or she may, within ten three days
20 after such discovery, give an additional notice to his the party’s adversary and the circuit court,
21 with the specifications and affidavit prescribed in this section.
22 The provisions of this section apply to all elections, including municipal elections, except
23 that the governing body of the municipality is the judge of any contest of a municipal election
§3-7-7. County court to hear county and district contests; procedure; review.
1 (a) The county circuit court shall hear and decide election contests initiated pursuant to
2 the provisions of the preceding section. Upon receipt of the notice of election contest by the
3 contestant, the clerk of the circuit court shall immediately forward a copy thereof to the chief justice
4 of the Supreme Court of Appeals.
5 (b) Upon receipt of said notice, the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall,
6 not fewer than 10 days from the date of the receipt of the notice, designate and appoint three
7 circuit judges within the state, not more than one of whom shall be from the same circuit in which
8 the notice was filed, and, in the order of such appointment, shall require that the three-judge court
9 designate the date, time, and place for the hearing of the contest forthwith. The proceedings shall
10 take precedence over all other business of the court or any of the judges and shall be heard and
11 determined as soon as possible.
12 (c) Subpoenas for witnesses for either party shall be issued by the clerk of the county
13 circuit court, and served as in other cases, and the witnesses shall be entitled to the same
14 allowances and privileges, and be subject to the same penalties, as witnesses attending a circuit
15 court in a civil suit. The notice of contest shall be presented to the county court at its first term
16 after the same is delivered to the person whose election is contested, and the same shall be
17 docketed for trial in such court At the trial of such contest, the court shall hear all such legal and
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18 proper evidence that may be brought before it by either party, and may, if deemed necessary,
19 require the production of the poll books, certificates, and ballots deposited with it’s the county
20 clerk or municipal recorder, and examine the same. The hearing may be continued by the court
21 from time to time, if it be shown that justice and right require it, but not beyond three months from
22 the day of election the amount of time absolutely necessary. At the final trial of such contest the
23 court shall declare the true result of such election, and cause the same to be entered on the
24 records of the court. When the result of the election is declared, as aforesaid, a certified copy of
25 the order declaring such result shall, if required, be delivered by the clerk of the court to the person
26 declared elected, if such be the result of the trial, and such copy shall be received in all courts
27 and places as legal evidence of the result of the election therein declared. Either the contestant
28 or contestee shall have the right of appeal to the circuit court of the county from the final order or
29 decision of the county court in such proceeding, upon the filing of a bond with good personal
30 security, by the party desiring the appeal, to be approved by the county court, in a sum deemed
31 sufficient by such court, with condition to the effect that the person proposing to appeal will
32 perform and satisfy any judgment which may be rendered against him or her by the circuit court
33 on such appeal. But such appeal shall not be granted unless the party desiring the appeal shall
34 make application for such appeal, and file such bond, within thirty days from the entering of the
35 final order in such proceeding; and the circuit court may at any time require a new bond or
36 increase the penalty thereof when the court deems it necessary. When such appeal is taken to
37 the circuit court, as hereinbefore provided, it shall be heard and determined upon the original
38 papers, evidence, depositions and records filed before and considered by the county court, and
39 the circuit court shall decide the contest upon the merits
40 (d) From the decision of the circuit court, an appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court of
41 Appeals, as in other cases, but such appeal shall be heard upon the original papers and copies
42 of all orders made, without requiring the same to be printed. The proceedings shall take
43 precedence over all other business of the court and shall be heard and determined as soon as
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44 possible.
45 (e) If any election contest proceeding shall continue past the date for the beginning of the
46 term of the office being contested, the three-judge circuit court shall, by order, provide for the
47 temporary administration of said office until the election contest shall be finally disposed of.
48 (f) The Supreme Court of Appeals, through its rulemaking power contained in §51-1-4 of
49 this code, shall make and promulgate rules and regulations, not inconsistent with law, governing
50 pleadings, practice, and procedure for the conduct of county, district, and municipal election
51 contests in the courts of this state.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to transfer initial jurisdiction of county, district, and municipal contested elections from the county commission or municipal council to the circuit court composed of three circuit judges appointed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals. The bill shortens the times allowed for the various filings in election contest cases in order that they can be disposed of more quickly. The bill allows for appeals of elections contests to proceed to the Supreme Court of Appeals, and also allows the Supreme Court of Appeals to make rules and regulations governing election contest proceedings before the courts of the state.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law,
and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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