HB 1116

            
2020 SESSION

20102715D

HOUSE BILL NO. 1116


Offered January 8, 2020


Prefiled January 7, 2020

A BILL to amend and reenact �� 24.2-511, 24.2-516, 24.2-517, and 
 24.2-527 of the Code of Virginia, relating to political parties; notification 
 of adoption of primary election; certification of candidates.
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Patron-- Hudson

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Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections

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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
 
 
1. That �� 24.2-511, 24.2-516, 24.2-517, and 24.2-527 of the 
 Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
 
 
� 24.2-511. Party chairman or official to certify candidates 
 to the Department of Elections; failure to certify.
 
 
A. The state, district, or other 
 appropriate party chairman, or the 
 chairmans designee, shall certify the name of any 
 candidate who has been nominated by his party by a method other than a primary 
 for any office to be elected by the 
 qualified voters of (i) the Commonwealth 
 at large, (ii) a congressional district or a General Assembly district, or 
 (iii) political subdivisions jointly electing a shared constitutional officer, 
 along with the date of the nomination of the candidate, to the State Board Department not later than five 
 days after the last day for nominations to be made. Such 
 certification shall be on a form and in a format prescribed by the Department. 
 The State Board Department shall notify the 
 general registrars of the names of the candidates to appear on the ballot for 
 such offices.
 
 
B. The party chairman of the 
 district or political subdivision in which any other office is to be filled 
 shall certify the name of any candidate for that office who has been nominated 
 by his party by a method other than a primary to the State Board and to the 
 general registrars of the cities and counties in which the name of the 
 candidate will appear on the ballot not later than five days after the last day 
 for nominations to be made. Should the party chairman fail to make such 
 certification, the State Board shall declare that the candidate is the nominee 
 of the particular party and direct that his name be treated as if certified by 
 the party chairman.
 
 
C. In 
 the case of a nomination for any office to be filled by a special election, the state party chairman, or the chairmans designee, 
 shall certify the name of any candidate (i) by the deadline to nominate the 
 candidate or (ii) not later than five days after the deadline if it is a 
 special election held at the second November election after the vacancy 
 occurred.
 
 
C. If the state party 
 chairman, or the chairmans designee, fails to certify to the Department the 
 name of a candidate nominated for an office by the deadline prescribed in 
 subsection A or B, the Department shall 
 declare that there is no candidate nominated by the party for that office.
 
 
D. No further notice declaration of candidacy or 
 petition shall be required of a candidate once the state 
 party chairman, or the chairmans designee, 
 has certified his name to the State Board Department.
 
 
E. In no case shall the individual who is a candidate for an 
 office be the person who certifies the name of the party candidate for that 
 same office. In such case the party shall designate an alternate official to 
 certify its candidate.
 
 
� 24.2-516. Party to furnish names of chairmen and notify 
 Department of Elections of adoption of direct primary.
 
 
A. Each 
 political party within the Commonwealth shall furnish to the State Board Department the names and 
 addresses of its state, county, and city 
 party chairmen 
 chairman in January of each year, and during the remainder 
 of the year it shall notify the Board Department of any changes in 
 such names and addresses.
 
 
B. At 
 least 135 days prior to the regular date for a primary, the Board Department shall inquire of 
 each state chairman and each county and city 
 chairman whether a direct primary has been adopted for any office. The Board 
 Department shall advise each chairman that notification to 
 the Board 
 Department of the adoption of a direct primary is required 
 and must be filed with the Board Department not more than 125 
 days and not less than 105 days before the date set for the primaries.
 
 
C. Each state party chairman, or the chairmans designee, 
 shall file timely written 
 notice with the Board Department whether or not a 
 primary has been adopted and identify each office for which a primary has been 
 adopted. The requirement to notify the Board Department of the adoption of a any 
 direct primary shall be satisfied when the Board Department receives by the 
 deadline (i) written notice from the appropriate state party chairman or (ii) a copy of the written notice from an 
 incumbent officeholder to his party chairman of the incumbents selection, 
 pursuant to � 24.2-509, of the primary as the method of nomination or the chairmans designee.
 
 
D. The Department shall not 
 order the holding of a primary election pursuant to � 
 24.2-517 without a timely filed notice as required by this section.
 
 

 
 
� 24.2-517. Department of Elections to order election.
 
 
The State Board Department 
 shall order the holding of a primary election in any county, city, or other 
 district of the Commonwealth in which it is notified pursuant to � 24.2-516 
 that a primary is intended to be held. The notice ordering the primary shall be 
 sent to the secretary of the electoral board. Within five days of the issuance 
 of the order by the State Board Department, 
 each secretary shall post a copy of the notice on the official website of the 
 county or city, post copies of the notice at not less than 10 public places in 
 the county or city, or have notice of the election published at least once in a 
 newspaper of general circulation in the county or city.
 
 
 
 
� 24.2-527. Chairman or official to furnish Department of 
 Elections with names of candidates and certify petition signature requirements 
 met.
 
 
A. It shall be the duty of the state 
 party chairman or chairmen of the 
 several committees, or the chairmans 
 designee, of the respective parties to furnish the name of 
 any candidate for nomination for any office to be elected by the qualified 
 voters of the Commonwealth at large or of a congressional 
 district or of a General Assembly district to the State Board, and to furnish 
 the name of any candidate for any other office to the State Board and to the 
 general registrars charged with the duty of preparing and printing the primary 
 ballots to the Department, on a 
 form prescribed by the Department. In furnishing the name 
 of any such candidate, the chairman, or the chairmans designee, 
 shall certify that a review of the filed candidate petitions found the required 
 minimum number of signatures of qualified voters for that office to have been 
 met. The chairman, or the chairmans 
 designee, shall also certify the order and date and time of 
 filing for purposes of printing the ballots as prescribed in � 24.2-529, 
 provided that the State Board shall determine the order and date and time of 
 filing for candidates for United States Senator, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, 
 and Attorney General for such purposes. Each state 
 party chairman, or the chairmans 
 designee, shall comply with the provisions of this section 
 not less than 70 days before the primary.
 
 
B. In no case shall the individual who is a candidate for an 
 office be the person who certifies the names of candidates for a primary for 
 that same office. In such case the party shall designate an alternate official 
 to certify the candidates.