Providing for a program allowing election official trainees to be appointed as election officials
HB 4865 creates a program allowing high school juniors and seniors (with a 3.0 GPA or higher) to serve as election officials in West Virginia. To qualify, students must meet standard election official requirements (like being a registered voter and completing training), get written approval from their school principal and parent, and agree to one political party affiliation per precinct. The bill ensures these student officials are not marked absent from school on election days and limits appointments to one per political party per precinct. This change directly affects eligible high school students and county election officials who would appoint them.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Jun 2026
Introduced Jan 28, 2026
Signed Jun 29, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 5 comparisons
What changed between versions
hb4865 s jud am _1 3-10 adopted.htm
→
hb4865 s jud amt _1 3-10 adopted.htm
·
3 edits
MINOR
The bill was amended to change its title to better reflect its purpose: creating a program for student election official trainees. The substantive text detailing eligibility rules, suspension procedures, and student protections was removed, leaving only the title amendment.
Scope change
The bill's scope was narrowed significantly; the detailed provisions regarding student eligibility and suspension of election officials were deleted, leaving the bill to only propose a new title.
ELIGIBILITY
All detailed eligibility requirements for student election officials, including GPA standards and parental consent rules, were deleted.
ENFORCEMENT
Provisions regarding the suspension of election official eligibility for specific violations were removed.
TECHNICAL
The bill title was updated to describe the program for student trainees and the prohibition on counting them as absent from school.
Floor votes · Senate Mar 13, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 16, 2026
How they voted
33–0
Passed
Total votes 33
Mar 13, 2026
D
Democratic2
100% Yea
R
Republican31
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
40
Key actions
9
Committee
8
Apr 1, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor 4/1/2026
lower
Mar 14, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor 4/1/2026 - House Journal
lower
Mar 14, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor 4/1/2026 - Senate Journal
upper
Mar 14, 2026
Lower · Passed
House concurred in Senate amendment and passed bill (Roll No. 672)
lower
Mar 13, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate with amended title (Roll No. 549)
upper
Mar 12, 2026
Upper · Passed
Committee amendment adopted (Voice vote)
upper
Mar 11, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported do pass, with amendment and title amendment
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Committee
To Judiciary
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
Feb 16, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed House (Roll No. 93)
lower
Feb 11, 2026
Lower · Passed
By substitute, do pass
lower
Feb 6, 2026
Committee
To House Judiciary
lower
Feb 5, 2026
Committee
To House Legal Services
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Committee
To House Judiciary
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Committee
To Judiciary
lower
1 primary · 10 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Joe Funkhouser
RRepublican
Co
Bill Ridenour
RRepublican
Co
J.B. Akers
RRepublican
Co
Jarred Cannon
RRepublican
Co
Jim Butler
RRepublican
Co
Jordan Maynor
RRepublican
Co
Matthew Rohrbach
RRepublican
Co
Mike Hornby
RRepublican
Co
Rick Hillenbrand
RRepublican
Co
Scot Heckert
RRepublican
Co
Wayne Clark
RRepublican
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