West Virginia Statutes § 3-5-7 Filing certificates of announcements of candidacies; requirements; withdrawal of candidates when section applicable

(a) Any person who is eligible and seeks to hold an office or political party position to be filled by election in any primary or general election held under the provisions of this chapter shall file a certificate of announcement declaring his or her candidacy for the nomination or election to the office.

(b) The certificate of announcement shall be filed as follows:

(c) The certificate of announcement shall be filed with the proper officer not earlier than the second Monday in January before the primary election day and not later than the last Saturday in January before the primary election day and must be received before midnight, eastern standard time, of that day or, if mailed, shall be postmarked by the United States Postal Service before that hour. This includes the offices of Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals, Judge of the Intermediate Court of Appeals, circuit court judge, family court judge and magistrate, which are to be filled on a nonpartisan and division basis at the primary election: Provided , That on the final day of a political filing period, the office of the Secretary of State shall be open from 9:00 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. The offices of the County Clerk in all counties of the state shall be open on that final day of a political filing period from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.

(d) The certificate of announcement shall be on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State on which the candidate shall make a sworn statement before a notary public or other officer authorized to administer oaths, containing the following information:

(e) The Secretary of State or the board of ballot commissioners, as the case may be, may refuse to certify the candidacy or may remove the certification of the candidacy upon receipt of a certified copy of the voter's registration record of the candidate showing that the candidate was registered as a voter in a party other than the one named in the certificate of announcement during the 60 days immediately preceding the filing of the certificate: Provided , That unless a signed formal complaint of violation of this section and the certified copy of the voter's registration record of the candidate are filed with the officer receiving that candidate's certificate of announcement no later than 10 days following the close of the filing period, the candidate may not be refused certification for this reason: Provided, however , That prior to accepting a Certificate of Announcement for filing for an office which is elected in a partisan election, the Secretary of State's Office, clerk of the county commission, recorder or city clerk shall electronically verify a candidate's current party affiliation as subscribed and sworn to by the candidate. If a candidate's current party affiliation is not as stated on the Certificate of Announcement, the filing shall be refused.

(f) The certificate of announcement shall be subscribed and sworn to by the candidate before some officer qualified to administer oaths, who shall certify the same. Any person who knowingly provides false information on the certificate is guilty of false swearing and shall be punished in accordance with § 3-9-3 of this code.

(g) Any candidate for delegate to a national convention may change his or her statement of presidential preference by notifying the Secretary of State by letter received by the Secretary of State no later than the third Tuesday following the close of candidate filing. When the rules of the political party allow each presidential candidate to approve or reject candidates for delegate to convention who may appear on the ballot as committed to that presidential candidate, the presidential candidate or the candidate's committee on his or her behalf may file a list of approved or rejected candidates for delegate and the Secretary of State shall list as "uncommitted" any candidate for delegate who is disapproved by the presidential candidate.

(h) A person may not be a candidate for more than one office or office division at any election: Provided, That a candidate for an office may also be a candidate for President of the United States, for membership on political party executive committees or for delegate to a political party national convention: Provided, however, That an unsuccessful candidate for a nonpartisan office in an election held concurrently with the primary election may be appointed under the provisions of section nineteen of this article to fill a vacancy on the general ballot.

(i) A candidate who files a certificate of announcement for more than one office or division and does not withdraw, as provided by § 3-5-11 of this code, from all but one office prior to the close of the filing period may not be certified by the Secretary of State or placed on the ballot for any office by the board of ballot commissioners.

(j) The amendments to this section enacted by the Legislature in the 2024 Regular Session are effective January 1, 2025.