West Virginia Statutes § 3-2-16 Procedures upon receipt of application for registration by the clerk of the county commission; verification procedure and notice of disposition of application for registration

Statute Text

(a) Upon receipt of an application for voter registration, the clerk of the county commission shall determine whether the application is complete, whether the applicant appears to be eligible to register to vote within the county and whether the applicant is currently registered within the county. If the application is incomplete or the applicant appears not to be eligible, the clerk shall take the appropriate action as prescribed in section seventeen of this article.

(b) If the application received is complete and appears to be from an eligible person who has not previously been registered within the county, or has not been included within the active voter registration files as defined in section eighteen of this article within the preceding calendar year and does not present a driver's license containing the residence address pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (2), subsection (d), section seven of this article, the clerk of the county commission shall conduct the following verification procedure:

(1) The clerk shall issue or mail, by first-class nonforwardable return requested, a verification notice addressed to the applicant at the residence and mailing address given on the application, except that the mailing address shall not be included on the notice if it appears to identify a distinctly different location from the residence address, such as a business address, another residence or a different city or town, unless the voter has registered as a uniformed services, overseas or homeless voter and provided a local residence address pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (4), subsection (c), section five of this article.

(2) The verification notice shall state the purpose of the procedure, the fact that no further action is required of the applicant, and the fact that a notice of the disposition of the registration application will be mailed after the ten day return period has expired.

(3) If the verification notice is not returned as undeliverable within ten days, the application for registration shall be accepted and entered into the active voter registration files and a registration receipt mailed designating the voter's assigned precinct.

(4) If the verification notice is returned undeliverable within ten days, the clerk shall compare the address given on the voter registration application with the address used on the envelope and, if there is any discrepancy, shall send a second verification notice to the correct address. If there is no discrepancy, the application for registration shall be denied and the notice of denial prescribed in section seventeen of this article shall be mailed.

(5) If the verification notice is returned undeliverable after the registration has been accepted, the clerk shall initiate the confirmation procedure prescribed in section twenty-six of this article.

(c) If the application received is complete and appears to be from an eligible person who is currently registered within the county, or has been included within the active voter registration files as defined in section eighteen of this article within the preceding calendar year, the clerk of the county commission shall send, by first-class nonforwardable return requested mail, a registration receipt or other notice of the disposition of the application; and

(1) If the application is for a change of name, change of address, change of political party affiliation, reinstatement or other correction of the previous voter registration, the clerk shall include a new voter registration receipt;

(2) If the application does not make any change in the previous voter registration, the clerk shall notify the registrant that the voter is not required to reregister or update the registration as long as he or she lives at the same address and has the same legal name; or

(3) If the notice of disposition is returned undeliverable after the registration has been accepted, the clerk shall initiate the confirmation procedure prescribed in section twenty-six of this article.

(d) If the application contains information indicating the address at which the applicant was previously registered to vote in another county or state, the clerk of the county commission shall give notice to the clerk or registrar of that jurisdiction for the purpose of canceling the previous registration.

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