Permitting voters not affiliated with a major political party to vote the ballot of that political party in a primary election.
HB 4457 would allow unaffiliated voters (such as independents) to request voting in any major political party's primary election ballot, if the party's state committee permits it. Currently, unaffiliated voters in West Virginia cannot vote for party candidates in primaries and only receive ballots for nonpartisan races and public questions. The bill requires each major party's state executive committee to decide whether to allow unaffiliated voters to cast a ballot for that party's candidates. Unaffiliated voters would still receive separate ballots for nonpartisan races and public questions, as required by existing law.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 16, 2026
Last action Jan 16, 2026
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
4
Key actions
0
Committee
2
Jan 16, 2026
Committee
To House Judiciary
lower
Jan 16, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
Jan 16, 2026
Committee
To Judiciary
lower
1 primary · 8 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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