The Senate passed three voting-related bills that came at the request of the Secretary of State during Thursday’s floor session.
Senate Bill 622 would trim the time period for removing inactive voters from the voting rolls from eight years to six years.
Under current law, when a voter is inactive for four years, which would include not voting and not renewing a driver’s license among other things, the county clerk must send out a confirmation notice to the voter. If the card isn’t returned the person goes on inactive status. After two more federal election cycles of inactivity – another four years – the clerk would then remove the voter from the rolls.
This legislation would shorten the period the clerk has to wait to send out the confirmation notice to two years. This bill is aligned with Ohio law and has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Senate Bill 623 would require the Division of Motor Vehicles to send images from a resident’s driver’s license or photo ID to the Secretary of State for voter identification purposes.
Under current law, the DMV sends images of voter signatures to the Secretary of State, which are then sent on to county clerks. Proponents believe this legislation would provide an extra layer of security and aid poll workers by giving them an extra form of identification when a signature is unclear or doesn’t match the voter’s signature that day.
Senate Bill 624 would work in tandem with the State-to-State voter information sharing program.
Under the program, when a West Virginia voter acquires a driver’s license in a participating state, that information would be transmitted to our Secretary of State, allowing them to remove the voter from the rolls.
These bills now head to the House of Delegates for consideration. If they complete legislative action, all three laws would take effect on Jan. 1, 2025, after the current election.
The Senate is adjourned until tomorrow, Feb. 16, at 9:30 a.m.
Afternoon Meetings:
Health at 1 p.m. in 451M
Transportation at 2 p.m. in 451M
Finance at 3 p.m. in 451M
Morning Meetings for 2/16:
The Workforce Committee will meet 15 minutes after tomorrow’s floor session.
