House 4080

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2026 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 4080

By Delegates Willis, Chiarelli, Stephens, Phillips, Hornby, Holstein, Hite, Martin, and Funkhouser

[Introduced January 14, 2026; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary]

A BILL to amend and reenact §8-5-5 and §8-5-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to making mayor or city council elections to be partisan and preventing mayors from being appointed except when filling a vacancy.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 5. ELECTION, APPOINTMENT, QUALIFICATION AND COMPENSATION OF OFFICERS; GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES; ELECTIONS AND PETITIONS GENERALLY; CONFLICT OF INTEREST.

§8-5-5. Regular election of officers; establishment of longer terms.

(a) After the first election of officers of a city, town, or village, the regular election of officers shall be held on the same day and in the same manner as prescribed by §3-1-31 of this code.

(b) Any city, town, or village whose charter requires elections to be held on a day and in a manner that conflicts with §3-1-31 of this code shall amend said charter to make the requirements set forth in §3-1-31 of this code effective by July 1, 2032.

(c) Any municipality which establishes its election date by charter provision shall comply with the provisions of this section.

(d) Officers of a city may be elected for a four-year term at the same election at which a proposed charter, proposed charter revision, or charter amendment providing for four-year terms is voted upon. The ballots or ballot labels used for the election of officers shall indicate that the officers shall be elected for four-year terms if the proposed charter, revision, or amendment is approved. Officers of a town or village may be elected for a four-year term upon approval by a majority of the legal votes cast at a regular municipal election of a proposition calling for four-year terms. The ballots or ballot labels used for the election of officers shall indicate that the officers shall be elected for four-year terms if the proposition is approved.

(e) Municipalities may stagger and/or change the terms of elected municipal officers. Prior to any changes being made to the terms of elected municipal officers, the procedure to stagger and/or change the terms shall be set by ordinance and shall be approved by a majority of the voters.

(f) By July 1, 2032, any municipality that has not previously adopted a municipal charter shall pass an ordinance that establishes a new municipal election day upon agreement with its county commission to hold any local elections, including the regular election of local officers, municipal bond elections, and municipal levy elections, on the same day as a regularly scheduled statewide primary or general election.

(g) The ordinance proposed pursuant to paragraph (f) of this section may call for an extension or reduction of the terms of office for the purpose of aligning the terms to coincide with the same date as a regularly scheduled statewide primary or general election day, which question shall be resolved by majority vote of the participating voters in the county: Provided, That the governing body shall not propose an extension of the terms of those offices by more than 18 months: Provided, however, That nothing in this section modifies a municipality’s authority to reduce current elected officials’ terms of office in any other manner provided by law.

(h) By July 1, 2032, municipal elections for city council members and mayor shall be conducted as partisan elections. Mayors shall not be decoded by appointment or in any other manner besides popular vote, except as permitted by §3-10-1 et seq. of this code. Any city, town, or village whose charter conflict with this subsection shall amend said charter to make these requirements effective by July 1, 2032.  

(i) Municipalities are required to share in the administrative costs of holding elections with county commissions, but those costs shall not exceed the municipality’s pro rata share of voters registered in the municipality compared with the total voters registered in the county.

PART III. CHARTER PROVISIONS PERTAINING TO

ELECTION OF OFFICERS.

§8-5-6. Charter provisions concerning officers and elections, etc.; provisions of general law concerning same.

(a) The charter of every city framed and adopted or revised as a whole under the provisions of article three or article four of this chapter, as the case may be, shall provide a method and time for the filing of certificates of candidacy, nominating candidates, conducting primary and regular municipal elections, and determining and certifying the results of such elections. Except as otherwise provided in the charter of any municipality, the provisions of general law with respect to the method and time for the filing of certificates of candidacy, nominating candidates, conducting primary and regular municipal elections, and determining and certifying the results of such elections, so far as applicable, shall apply to municipal elections: Provided, That the provisions of section thirteen of this article shall be construed as mandatory.

(b) Starting July 1, 2032, all elections for city council members and mayor shall be partisan elections. Any city, town, or village whose charter conflicts with this section shall amend said charter to make the requirements set forth in §3-1-31 of this code effective by July 1, 2032.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require mayor and city council elections to be partisan.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.