Several West Virginia election law bills, other than the public funding bill mentioned in the post just below this one, have been introduced. HB 2497 would convert the elections for the state’s executive positions into non-partisan elections, including the Governor. In the entire history of the United States, at least since 1824, no state has had non-partisan gubernatorial elections.
HB 2417 and SB 29 would require declared write-in candidates to pay filing fees, even though in 2000, a U.S. District Court in West Virginia struck down the old law that required write-in candidates to pay filing fees. That case was Phillips v Hechler, 120 F.Supp. 2d 587, and was won by the Constitution Party for its presidential candidate. SB 29 says the write-in candidate only needs to pay one-fourth of the normal fee (the normal fee is 1% of the annual salary for most statewide offices and U.S. House, and $2,500 for President). HB 2417 requires the full filing fee for write-in candidates.
HB 2444 would change the order of party columns on the ballot. Currently, the party whose presidential candidate won the state is listed first on the ballot. The bill would change the formula so that the party with the most registered voters would be listed first. This would benefit the Democratic Party.
HB 2300 would abolish the straight-ticket device. HB 2481 would put “None of the Above” on ballots, and if NOTA received a plurality, there would be no winner and another election would be held. HB 2378 is the National Popular Vote Plan bill.
A bill is also about to be introduced on behalf of acting Governor Earl Tomblin for his plan for the special gubernatorial election. Unlike the bill on this subject already introduced by several Republicans, which requires a May primary and an August election, the Governor’s bill provides for a June 2011 gubernatorial primary. The Governor has already proclaimed that the special gubernatorial election itself will be October 4, 2011. If no bill on this subject passes, all parties will nominate gubernatorial candidates by convention, not primary.
RE: HB2378
A survey of 800 West Virginia voters conducted on September 29–30, 2009 showed 81% overall support for the idea that the President of the United States should be the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states.
Voters were asked: “How do you think we should elect the President: Should it be the candidate who gets the most votes in all 50 states, or the current Electoral College system?”
By political affiliation, support for a national popular vote on the first question was 87% among Democrats, 75% among Republicans, and 73% among others.
By gender, support was 87% among women and 73% among men. By age, support was 83% among 18-29 year olds, 80% among 30-45 year olds, 83% among 46-65 year olds, and 79% for those older than 65.
By congressional district, support was 81% in the 1st district, 77% in the 2nd district, and 85% in the 3rd district.
http://nationalpopularvote.com/pages/polls.php#WV_2008DEC
How many retarded voters ALWAYS vote for the top line or left column of party hack candidates ??? — aka the donkey voters — apologies to real Mother Nature donkeys — who deserve respect.