Plain English Breakdown
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HB4523 • 2026
To move the election of Supreme Court Justices to the general election
To move the election of Supreme Court Justices to the general election
Elections
Passed Legislature
This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.
Bill History
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2026-01-19
H
To House Judiciary
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2026-01-19
H
Introduced in House
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2026-01-19
H
To Judiciary
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2026-01-19
H
Filed for introduction
Official Summary Text
To move the election of Supreme Court Justices to the general election
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
HB 4523 Text skip navigation SENATE PRESIDENT SENATORS COMMITTEES VIDEO/AUDIO DISTRICT MAPS SENATE CLERK SENATE RULES HOUSE SPEAKER DELEGATES COMMITTEES VIDEO/AUDIO DISTRICT MAPS HOUSE CLERK HOUSE RULES HOUSE STAFF JOINT INTERIM COMMITTEES LEGISLATIVE ADMINISTRATOR LEGISLATIVE SERVICES DIVISION PUBLIC INFORMATION LEGISLATIVE AUTOMATED SYSTEMS DIVISION LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR'S OFFICE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION & RESEARCH DIVISION POST AUDIT DIVISION BUDGET DIVISION REGULATORY AND FISCAL AFFAIRS DIVISION CLAIMS COMMISSION CRIME VICTIMS RULE-MAKING REVIEW SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS JUDICIAL COMP. COMMISSION JOINT RULES STAFF INFO BILL STATUS BILL STATUS BILL TRACKING STATE LAW WEST VIRGINIA CODE ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE CODE OF 1931 WV CONSTITUTION US CONSTITUTION REPORTS AGENCY REPORTS AGENCY GRANT AWARDS PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS POST AUDITS EDUCATIONAL CITIZEN’S GUIDE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM PAGE PROGRAM PUBLICATIONS PHOTO GALLERY CAPITOL HISTORY HOW A BILL BECOMES LAW CONTACT SENATE ROSTER HOUSE ROSTER PUBLIC INFO. NEWS RELEASES HELPFUL LINKS Introduced Version House Bill 4523 History | Email Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted WEST virginia legislature 2026 regular session Introduced House Bill 4523 By Delegates Ridenour, B. Ward, Mallow, Marple, Jennings, Funkhouser, Kump, Martin, Masters, Coop-Gonzalez, and Mazzocchi [Introduced January 19, 2026; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary] A BILL to amend and reenact §3-5-6a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to primary elections and nominating procedures; and moving the election of Supreme Court justices to the general election rather than the primary election. Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia: ARTICLE 5. PRIMARY ELECTIONS AND NOMINATING PROCEDURES. §3-5-6a. Election of justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals. (a) An election for the purpose of electing a justice or justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall be held on the same date as the primary general election, as provided by law, upon a nonpartisan ballot by division printed for this purpose. For election purposes, in each election at which shall be elected more than one justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals, the election shall be by numbered division corresponding to the number of justices being elected. Each justice shall be elected at large from the entire state. (b) In each nonpartisan election by division for a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals, the candidates for election in each numbered division shall be tallied separately, and the board of canvassers shall declare and certify the election of the eligible candidate receiving the highest numbers of votes cast within a numbered division to fill any full terms. (c) In case of a tie vote under this section, section twelve, article six of this chapter controls in breaking the tie vote. NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to move the election of Supreme Court justices to the general election rather than the primary election. Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added. Bill Status | Bill Tracking | Legacy WV Code | Bulletin Board | District Maps | Senate Roster | House Roster | Live | Blog | Jobs | Links | Home This Web site is maintained by the West Virginia Legislature's Office of Reference & Information. | Terms of Use | Webmaster | © 2026 West Virginia Legislature ** Print On Demand Name: Email: Phone: