On January 9, West Virginia State Senator Clark Barnes introduced SB 49. It improves the definition of “political party”. Currently, a qualified party is one that polled 1% for its candidate for Governor in the last election.

The bill expands that to a group that polled 1% for any of its statewide state office candidates. It is always easier for a minor party to poll a relatively large vote for a less important statewide office, than an office like President, Governor, or U.S. Senator.

The bill also says a qualified party is any group that persuades 1% of all the registered voters to register into it. Senator Barnes is the Republican whip in the State Senate.

Also on January 9, Delegate Barbara Fleischauer and seven other Delegates introduced HB 3144. It lowers the petition for previously unqualified parties and independent candidates from 2% of the last vote, to 1%. It also deletes various obsolete provisions from the law that have already been declared unconstitutional. The West Virginia petition for statewide office was only 1,000 signatures until 1932. Then it was raised to 1% of the last vote cast, and in 1999 it was raised again, to 2%.