HB 4710 West Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Changing the limit on switching parties before filing to run for office from 60 days to 180 days prior to an election.

HB 4710 would change West Virginia's election law by extending the required period a candidate must maintain their party registration before filing for office. Currently, candidates must not have changed parties within 60 days prior to filing; this bill increases that period to 180 days. It directly affects candidates running for partisan offices like the House of Delegates, State Senate, or judicial positions who seek to switch political parties before submitting their candidacy paperwork. The key provision modifies Section 3-5-7(c)(6)(B) of the state code to require this longer waiting period before candidates can file with a new party. This change aims to prevent last-minute party switches during election filing periods.

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 21, 2026 Last action Mar 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 5 comparisons

What changed between versions

hb4710 s jud am _1 as amended adopted.htm → hb4710 sfa tarr 3-10 _1 adopted.htm · 3 edits

MINOR

This amendment modifies the filing requirements for political candidates in West Virginia, specifically changing the deadline for party affiliation verification from 60 days to 210 days for primary elections, and removing the distinction between primary and general election filing periods. The amendment also changes the language from 'general election' to 'partisan election' in one instance and removes a subdivision about delegate preferences.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on primary election candidate filing requirements, but the applicability of the party affiliation verification period has been extended from 60 days to 210 days for primary elections.

REQUIREMENT

Extended the party affiliation verification period from 60 days to 210 days for primary elections, aligning it with the general election timeframe.

Changed the term 'general election' to 'partisan election' in the context of filing requirements.

Removed subdivision (7) regarding delegate to national convention preferences and renumbered remaining subdivisions.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 13, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 18, 2026

How they voted

31–2

Passed

Total votes 33

Mar 13, 2026

D Democratic2

2 Nay

100% Nay

R Republican31

31 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Senate (Roll No. 545)

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Committee amendment as amended adopted (Voice vote)

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Amendments to committee amendment adopted (Voice vote)

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Committee amendment reported

upper

Mar 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported do pass, with amendment

upper

Feb 19, 2026

Committee

To Judiciary

upper

Feb 19, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in Senate

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed House (Roll No. 122)

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Amended

Amendment rejected (Roll No. 115)

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Introduced

Amendment reported by the Clerk

lower

Feb 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

By substitute, do pass

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Committee

To House Judiciary

lower

Feb 9, 2026

Committee

To House Legal Services

lower

Jan 21, 2026

Committee

To House Judiciary

lower

Jan 21, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in House

lower

Jan 21, 2026

Committee

To Judiciary

lower

1 primary · 3 co-sponsors