WEST VIRGINIA CODE











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WVC 3 - 2 - 4 A

§3-2-4a. Statewide voter registration database.

     (a) The Secretary of State shall implement and maintain a

single, official, statewide, centralized, interactive computerized

voter registration database of every legally registered voter in

the state, as follows:

     (1) The statewide voter registration database shall serve as

the single system for storing and managing the official list of

registered voters throughout the state.

     (2) The statewide voter registration database shall contain

the name, registration information and voter history of every

legally registered voter in the state.

     (3) In the statewide voter registration database, the

Secretary of State shall assign a unique identifier to each legally

registered voter in the state.

     (4) The statewide voter registration database shall be

coordinated with other agency databases within the state and

elsewhere, as appropriate.

     (5) The Secretary of State, any clerk of the county commission

or any authorized designee of the Secretary of State or clerk of

the county commission may obtain immediate electronic access to the

information contained in the statewide voter registration database.

     (6) The clerk of the county commission shall electronically

enter voter registration information into the statewide voter

registration database on an expedited basis at the time the

information is provided to the clerk.

     (7) The Secretary of State shall provide necessary support to

enable every clerk of the county commission in the state to enter

information as described in subdivision (6) of this subsection.

     (8) The statewide voter registration database shall serve as

the official voter registration list for conducting all elections

in the state.

     (b) The Secretary of State or any clerk of a county commission

shall perform maintenance with respect to the statewide voter

registration database on a regular basis as follows:

     (1) If an individual is to be removed from the statewide voter

registration database, he or she shall be removed in accordance

with the provisions of 42 U. S. C.§1973gg, et seq., the National

Voter Registration Act of 1993.

     (2) The Secretary of State shall coordinate the statewide

voter registration database with state agency records and shall

establish procedures for the removal of names of individuals who

are not qualified to vote because of felony status or death. No

state agency may withhold information regarding a voter's status as

deceased or as a felon unless ordered by a court of law.

     (c) The list maintenance performed under subsection (b) of

this section shall be conducted in a manner that ensures that:

     (1) The name of each registered voter appears in the statewide

voter registration database;

     (2) Only voters who are not registered, who have requested in

writing that their voter registration be canceled or who are not eligible to vote are removed from the statewide voter registration

database;

     (3) Duplicate names are eliminated from the statewide voter

registration database; and

     (4) Deceased individuals' names are eliminated from the

statewide voter registration database.

     (d) The Secretary of State and the clerks of all county

commissions shall provide adequate technological security measures

to prevent the unauthorized access to the statewide voter

registration database established under this section.

     (e) The Secretary of State shall ensure that voter

registration records in the state are accurate and updated

regularly, including the following:

     (1) A system of file maintenance that makes a reasonable

effort to remove registrants who are ineligible to vote from the

official list of eligible voters. Under the system, consistent

with 42 U. S. C.§1973gg, et seq., registrants who have not

responded to a notice sent pursuant to section twenty six, article

two of this chapter, who have not otherwise updated their voter

registration address and who have not voted in two consecutive

general elections for federal office shall be removed from the

official list of eligible voters, except that no registrant may be

removed solely by reason of a failure to vote;

     (2) By participation in programs across state lines to share

data specifically for voter registration to ensure that voters who have moved across state lines or become deceased in another state

are removed in accordance with state law and 42 U. S. C.§1973gg, et

seq.; and

     (3) Through safeguards to ensure that eligible voters are not

removed in error from the official list of eligible voters.

     (f) Applications for voter registration may only be accepted

when the following information is provided:

     (1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection

and notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, an

application for voter registration may not be accepted or processed

unless the application includes:

     (A) In the case of an applicant who has been issued a current

and valid driver's license, the applicant's driver's license

number;

     (B) In the case of an applicant who has been issued an

identification card by the Division of Motor Vehicles, the

applicant's identification number; or

     (C) In the case of any other applicant, the last four digits

of the applicant's Social Security number; and

     (2) If an applicant for voter registration has not been issued

a current and valid driver's license, Division of Motor Vehicles

identification card or a Social Security number, the Secretary of

State shall assign the applicant a number which will serve to

identify the applicant for voter registration purposes. The number

assigned under this subdivision shall be the unique identifying number assigned under the statewide voter registration database.

     (g) The Secretary of State and the Commissioner of the

Division of Motor Vehicles shall enter into an agreement to match

and transfer applicable information in the statewide voter

registration database with information in the database of the

Division of Motor Vehicles to the extent required to enable each

official to verify the accuracy of the information provided on

applications for voter registration.

     (h) The Commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles shall

enter into an agreement with the Commissioner of Social Security

under 42 U. S. C.§401, et seq., the Social Security Act. All fees

associated with this agreement shall be paid for from moneys in the

fund created under section twelve of this article.





Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2015 Regular Session

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