West Virginia Code 3-4A-15 – Instructions and help to voters; vote-recording device models; facsimile diagrams; sample ballots; legal ballot advertisements
(a) For the instruction of the voters on any election day in counties utilizing an electronic voting system that uses a screen upon which votes may be recorded by means of a stylus or by means of touch, the ballot commissioners shall provide for each polling place a sample ballot with each screen as it will appear on the devices, together with written instructions regarding the operation of the devices. Upon request, the election officers shall offer instruction to each voter, before voting, in the operation of the vote-recording device.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 3-4A-15
- Ballot: means a logical or physical device that presents races, candidates and contests, and facilitates the capture of the voter'. See West Virginia Code 3-4A-2
- Election: shall mean the procedure whereby the voters of this state or any subdivision thereof elect persons to fill public offices, or elect members of a Constitutional convention, or vote on public questions. See West Virginia Code 3-1-2
- Vote-recording device: means equipment that captures and records voter intent by marking a screen to record selections or by using electronically sensible ink to mark selections. See West Virginia Code 3-4A-2
- Voter: shall mean any person who possesses the statutory and Constitutional qualifications for voting. See West Virginia Code 3-1-2
(b) The ballot commissioners shall also provide facsimile ballots, at least two of which, or complete sets of which, are to be posted on the walls of each polling place. The facsimile diagrams are exact diagrams of the ballots or screens so that the voter may become familiar with the location of the parties, offices, candidates, and questions as they appear on the ballot to be used in his or her precinct.
(c) The ballot commissioners may, with the consent of the county commission, or the county commission may, prepare and mail to each qualified voter at the address shown on the registration books a facsimile sample of the ballot or screens for his or her precinct.
(d) In counties where an electronic voting system has been adopted, the legal ballot advertisements required by §3-5-1 et seq. and §3-6-1 et seq., which specify the publication of a facsimile sample ballot, are to consist of a facsimile of the absentee ballot, or a facsimile of each of the electronic voting system screens with the names of the candidates and the offices for which they are running shown in their proper positions: Provided, That when the sample ballots for the precincts within the county contain different senatorial, delegate, magisterial, or executive committee districts or when the sample ballots for precincts within a city contain different municipal wards, the facsimile shall be altered to include each of the various districts in the appropriate order. If, in order to accommodate the size of each ballot, the ballot or ballot pages must be divided between more than one page, the arrangement and order shall be made to conform as nearly as possible to the arrangement of the ballot. The publisher of the newspaper shall submit a proof of the ballot and the arrangement to the ballot commissioners for approval prior to publication.