WEST VIRGINIA CODE











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WVC 3 - 3 - 5 C

§3-3-5c. Procedures for voting an emergency absentee ballot by

qualified voters.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a

person qualified to vote an emergency absentee ballot, as provided

in subsection (c), section one of this article may vote an

emergency absentee ballot under the procedures established in this

section. The county commission may adopt a policy extending the

emergency absentee voting procedures to: (1) Hospitals or other

duly licensed health care facilities within an adjacent county or

within thirty-five miles of the county seat; or (2) nursing homes

within the county: Provided, That the policy is to be adopted by

the county commission at least ninety days prior to the election

that will be affected and a copy of the policy is to be filed with

the secretary of state.

(b) On or before the fifty-sixth day preceding the date on

which any election is to be held the official designated to

supervise and conduct absentee voting shall notify the county

commission of the number of sets of emergency absentee ballot

commissioners which he or she determines necessary to perform the

duties and functions pursuant to this section.

(c) A set of emergency absentee ballot commissioners at-large

shall consist of two persons with different political party

affiliations appointed by the county commission in accordance with

the procedure prescribed for the appointment of election

commissioners under the provisions of article one of this chapter. Emergency absentee ballot commissioners have the same

qualifications and rights and take the same oath required under the

provisions of this chapter for commissioners of elections.

Emergency absentee ballot commissioners are to be compensated for

services and expenses in the same manner as commissioners of

election or poll clerks obtaining and delivering election supplies

under the provisions of section forty-four, article one of this

chapter.

(d) Upon request of the voter or a member of the voter's

immediate family or, when the county commission has adopted a

policy to provide emergency absentee voting services to nursing

home residents within the county, upon request of a staff member of

the nursing home, the official designated to supervise and conduct

absentee voting, upon receiving a proper request for voting an

emergency absentee ballot no earlier than the seventh day next

preceding the election and no later than noon of election day shall

supply to the emergency absentee ballot commissioners the

application for voting an emergency absentee ballot and the

balloting materials. The emergency absentee ballot application is

to be prescribed by the secretary of state and is to include the

name, residence address and political party affiliation of the

voter, the date, location and reason for confinement in the case of

an emergency, and the name of the attending physician.

(e) The application for an emergency absentee ballot is to be

signed by the person applying. If the person applying for an emergency absentee ballot is unable to sign his or her application

because of illiteracy or physical disability, he or she is to make

his or her mark on the signature line provided for an illiterate or

disabled applicant, the mark is to be witnessed. The person

assisting the voter and witnessing the mark of the voter shall sign

his or her name in the space provided.

(f) A declaration is to be completed and signed by each of the

emergency absentee ballot commissioners, stating their names, the

date on which they appeared at the place of confinement of the

person applying for an emergency absentee ballot and the

particulars of the confinement.

(g) At least one of the emergency absentee ballot

commissioners receiving the balloting materials shall sign a

receipt which is to be attached to the application form. Each of

the emergency absentee ballot commissioners shall deliver the

materials to the absent voter, await his or her completion of the

application and ballot and return the application and the ballot to

the official designated to supervise and conduct absentee voting.

Upon delivering the application and the voted ballot to the

official, the emergency absentee ballot commissioners shall sign an

oath that no person other than the absent voter voted the ballot.

The application and the voted ballot are to be returned to the

official designated to supervise and conduct absentee voting prior

to the close of the polls on election day. Any ballots received by

the official after the time that delivery may reasonably be made but before the closing of the polls are to be delivered to the

canvassing board along with the absentee ballots challenged in

accordance with the provisions of section ten of this article.

(h) Upon receiving the application and emergency absentee

ballot, the official designated to supervise and conduct absentee

voting shall ascertain whether the application is complete, whether

the voter appears to be eligible to vote an emergency absentee

ballot, and whether the voter is properly registered to vote with

the office of the clerk of the county commission. If the voter is

found to be properly registered in the precinct shown on the

application, the ballot is to be delivered to the precinct election

commissioner pursuant to section seven of this article. If the

voter is found not to be registered or is otherwise ineligible to

vote an emergency ballot, the ballot is to be challenged for the

appropriate reason provided for in section ten of this article.

(i) If either or both of the emergency absentee ballot

commissioners refuse to sign any application for voting an

emergency absentee ballot, the voter may vote as an emergency

absentee and the ballot will be challenged in accordance with the

provisions of section ten of this article, in addition to those

absentee ballots subject to challenge as provided in that section.

(j) Any voter who receives assistance in voting an emergency

absentee ballot shall comply with the provisions of section six of

this article. Any other provisions of this chapter relating to

absentee ballots not altered by the provisions of this section are to govern the treatment of emergency absentee ballots.





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

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