House passes amended Senate municipal elections bill and returns it to Senate
The bill is SB 50, amended by the House on Friday to require municipalities to align their local elections by July 1, 2028.
The Senate had set the deadline at July 1, 2032, to give municipalities time to change their election date ordinances or put a charter amendment to that effect before the city's voters, and to account for redistricting following the 2030 census.
Apart from the redistricting issue, the West Virginia Municipal League had told Senate Judiciary in February that the soonest the bill should take effect was July 1, 2029, to give cities time to hold charter elections.
On the House floor on Monday, Delegate Larry Kump, R-Berkeley, noted that the Senate will need to agree to the House amendment, but praised the bill for what it hopes to accomplish.
"Prolonged persistence pays, " he said.
The bill will get rid of the obscure, good-old-boy election dates created to keep those boys in power. It will increase voter participation and turnout and reduce the burden on taxpayers.
In his district, he said, Martinsburg and Hedgesville both have off dates. Martinsburg has 20, 000 residents but only 200-300 vote. Hedgesville has 300 residents but only 20 vote.
When he was elected to the House in 2010, he said, he sponsored a bill to change the dates, but it died.
One question that's arisen and hasn't been definitively answered is: Would this state law change preempt any city charter provisions, whether or not the cities put it up to a vote and the voters approve or defeat it ?
As we've reported before, last October, Morgantown City Council voted against giving the choice of election dates to city voters. An ordinance to place that proposed charter change on the city's April 29 ballot failed on first reading.
Granville voters chose last November to align their election dates with county dates starting in May 2026. Star City and Westover elections were held in conjunction with the county starting in May 2024.
Monday's House vote on SB 50 was 96-2. The Senate could concur with the House amendment, or re-amend it and send it back to the House, or do nothing and let it die. The legislative session ends at midnight Saturday.
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