WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2023 REGULAR SESSION
Introduced House Bill 3497
By Delegates Holstein, Hornby, Jeffries, Kimble,
Hanna, Foster, and Keaton [Introduced February 14, 2023; Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary]
 Intr HB 2023R3500
1 A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section,
2 designated §3-1-52, relating to prohibiting ranked choice voting in West Virginia.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS.
§3-1-52. Prohibiting ranked-choice voting in West Virginia.
1 (a) "Ranked choice voting" is defined as a method for casting and tabulating votes in which
2 voters rank candidates for an office in order of preference, and then tabulation occurs in rounds,
3 with each round dropping the candidate with the least support and then reallocating the first-place
4 votes from the eliminated candidate to the second-choice candidates.
5 (b) Ranked choice voting may not be used to elect or nominate any candidate to any local,
6 state, or federal office in the state. Any election utilizing ranked choice voting is invalid. No official
7 may be sworn into office on the basis of such an election.
8 (c) The prohibitions of this section do not apply to the internal processes of political parties,
9 such as conventions, the elections of political party officers, or other nonpublic decision-making
10 procedures by political parties.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit ranked choice voting in West Virginia.
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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Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 3-1-52