EVCIElection Voter-Confidence Index

This section codifies requirements for sample ballots and facsimile diagrams to be provided at polling places and optionally mailed to voters. However, it does not establish a statutory requirement for a comprehensive voter pamphlet or ballot information booklet containing candidate and ballot-question information. The statute requires only facsimile ballots and sample ballots showing candidate names and office positions. Distribution of mailed facsimiles is discretionary ('may, with the consent'). The section addresses ballot format clarity but does not mandate the production or distribution of explanatory candidate information, statements, or ballot measure descriptions that would constitute a full 'voter pamphlet.' The requirement is procedurally defined but incomplete relative to the criterion's requirement for 'candidate and ballot-question information' within a pamphlet framework.

No matching sections in corpus.

No section in the FTS-surfaced candidates satisfies this criterion. Best signal: This section addresses the Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission's procedures for filling judicial vacancies, not candidate filing or nominating petitions for electoral candidates. The criterion CAND.1 requires statutory codification of public accessibility for candidate-filing documents (nominating petitions, eligibility certifications) within defined timeframes. While the statute does require that the commission make available applications and letters of recommendation (subsection i) and lists of qualified persons submitted to the Governor (subsection j), these relate to judicial appointment procedures, not electoral candidate filings. The statute does not address voter election processes, ballot access through nominating petitions, or the public accessibility of candidate-filing documents as would be relevant to EVCI scoring of procedural clarity for election voter communication. This is administrative law governing judicial appointments, not election administration law governing candidate ballot access or voter communication.

Section (c) of W. Va. Code § 3-5-11 codifies a specific public-notice procedure for candidate disqualification (death) after ballots are printed. The statute mandates that the county clerk provide written notice posted with sample ballots at each precinct, with the exact notice content specified. This satisfies the criterion because it establishes: (1) a triggering condition (candidate dies after ballots printed but before election), (2) the responsible party (clerk of county commission), (3) the notice method (written notice posted with sample ballots), (4) the location (each precinct), and (5) the prescribed notice language. While the provision addresses death specifically rather than all forms of disqualification or withdrawal, it still demonstrates statutory codification of public-notice procedure for post-ballot-printing candidate disqualifications.

“If a candidate dies after the ballots are printed but before the election, the clerk of the county commission shall give a written notice which shall be posted with the sample ballot at each precinct with the county to the following effect: "To the voter: (name) of (residence), a candidate for (office) is deceased."”

This statute addresses notification of PRECINCT CHANGES only, not general election notification. While it does codify specific notification requirements (publication within 15 days, mailed written notification to affected voters), it does not establish a framework for notifying voters of upcoming elections generally, including election dates, polling places, or registration deadlines in the ordinary electoral cycle. The statute is narrowly tailored to administrative changes to precinct boundaries and polling place locations, not the core pre-election notification requirement contemplated by NOTIF.1. Under the dual-scholar test, the statute meets the textual requirements for timing and content specificity regarding precinct changes, but fails to address the broader pre-election notice mandate that NOTIF.1 seeks. A second scholar would likely agree that while the language is clear and mandatory for its limited scope, it does not satisfy the criterion's requirement for election notice (date, polling place, registration deadline) codified in statute.

The statute explicitly requires individual written notification to voters affected by polling place changes in two provisions: § 3-1-7(c) mandates mail notification to 'all registered voters affected by the change' and requires this be done 'before the next succeeding election'; § 3-1-7(e) similarly requires mailed written notification to 'all registered voters affected by the change' when a polling place is established at a different location. The timeframe is codified as 'before the next succeeding election' in subsection (c) and 'on election day' posting plus mailing in subsection (e). These provisions establish both the notification requirement and defined timeframe for delivery, satisfying the criterion's dual requirements of statutory mandate for individual notice and defined timeframe.