24.2-101 - Definitions.
§ 24.2-101. Definitions.
As used in this title, unless the context requires a different meaning:
"Candidate" means a person who seeks or campaigns for an office of theCommonwealth or one of its governmental units in a general, primary, orspecial election and who is qualified to have his name placed on the ballotfor the office. "Candidate" shall include a person who seeks the nominationof a political party or who, by reason of receiving the nomination of apolitical party for election to an office, is referred to as its nominee. Forthe purposes of Chapters 8 (§ 24.2-800 et seq.), 9.3 (§ 24.2-945 et seq.),and 9.5 (§ 24.2-955 et seq.), "candidate" shall include any write-incandidate. However, no write-in candidate who has received less than 15percent of the votes cast for the office shall be eligible to initiate anelection contest pursuant to Article 2 (§ 24.2-803 et seq.) of Chapter 8. Forthe purposes of Chapters 9.3 (§ 24.2-945 et seq.) and 9.5 (§ 24.2-955 etseq.), "candidate" shall include any person who raises or spends funds inorder to seek or campaign for an office of the Commonwealth, excludingfederal offices, or one of its governmental units in a party nominationprocess or general, primary, or special election; and such person shall beconsidered a candidate until a final report is filed pursuant to Article 3 (§24.2-947 et seq.) of Chapter 9.3.
"Central absentee voter precinct" means a precinct established by a countyor city pursuant to § 24.2-712 for the processing of absentee ballots for thecounty or city or any combination of precincts within the county or city.
"Constitutional office" or "constitutional officer" means a county orcity office or officer referred to in Article VII, Section 4 of theConstitution of Virginia: clerk of the circuit court, attorney for theCommonwealth, sheriff, commissioner of the revenue, and treasurer.
"Election" means a general, primary, or special election.
"Election district" means the territory designated by proper authority orby law which is represented by an official elected by the people, includingthe Commonwealth, a congressional district, a General Assembly district, or adistrict for the election of an official of a county, city, town, or othergovernmental unit.
"Electoral board" or "local electoral board" means a board appointedpursuant to § 24.2-106 to administer elections for a county or city. Theelectoral board of the county in which a town or the greater part of a townis located shall administer the town's elections.
"Entrance of polling place" or "entrance to polling place" means anopening in the wall used for ingress to a structure.
"General election" means an election held in the Commonwealth on theTuesday after the first Monday in November or on the first Tuesday in May forthe purpose of filling offices regularly scheduled by law to be filled atthose times.
"Officer of election" means a person appointed by an electoral boardpursuant to § 24.2-115 to serve at a polling place for any election.
"Party" or "political party" means an organization of citizens of theCommonwealth which, at either of the two preceding statewide generalelections, received at least 10 percent of the total vote cast for anystatewide office filled in that election. The organization shall have a statecentral committee and an office of elected state chairman which have beencontinually in existence for the six months preceding the filing of a nomineefor any office.
"Person with a disability" means a person with a disability as defined bythe Virginians with Disabilities Act (§ 51.5-1 et seq.).
"Polling place" means the structure that contains the one place providedfor each precinct at which the qualified voters who are residents of theprecinct may vote.
"Precinct" means the territory designated by the governing body of acounty, city, or town to be served by one polling place.
"Primary" or "primary election" means an election held for the purpose ofselecting a candidate to be the nominee of a political party for election tooffice.
"Qualified voter" means a person who is entitled to vote pursuant to theConstitution of Virginia and who is (i) 18 years of age on or before the dayof the election or qualified pursuant to § 24.2-403 or subsection D of §24.2-544, (ii) a resident of the Commonwealth and of the precinct in which heoffers to vote, and (iii) registered to vote. No person who has beenconvicted of a felony shall be a qualified voter unless his civil rights havebeen restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. No personadjudicated incapacitated shall be a qualified voter unless his capacity hasbeen reestablished as provided by law.
"Qualified voter in a town" means a person who is a resident within thecorporate boundaries of the town in which he offers to vote, duly registeredin the county of his residence, and otherwise a qualified voter.
"Referendum" means any election held pursuant to law to submit a questionto the voters for approval or rejection.
"Registered voter" means any person who is maintained on the Virginia voterregistration system. All registered voters shall be maintained on theVirginia voter registration system with active status unless assigned toinactive status by a general registrar in accordance with Chapter 4 (§24.2-400 et seq.). For purposes of applying the precinct size requirements of§ 24.2-307, calculating election machine requirements pursuant to Article 3(§ 24.2-625 et seq.) of Chapter 6, mailing notices of local electiondistrict, precinct or polling place changes as required by subdivision 13 of§ 24.2-114 and § 24.2-306, and determining the number of signatures requiredfor candidate and voter petitions, "registered voter" shall include onlypersons maintained on the Virginia voter registration system with activestatus.
"Registration records" means all official records concerning theregistration of qualified voters and shall include all records, lists,applications, and files, whether maintained in books, on cards, on automateddata bases, or by any other legally permitted record-keeping method.
"Residence" or "resident," for all purposes of qualification to registerand vote, means and requires both domicile and a place of abode. To establishdomicile, a person must live in a particular locality with the intention toremain. A place of abode is the physical place where a person dwells.
"Special election" means any election that is held pursuant to law to filla vacancy in office or to hold a referendum.
"State Board" or "Board" means the State Board of Elections.
"Virginia voter registration system" or "voter registration system" meansthe automated central record-keeping system for all voters registered withinthe Commonwealth that is maintained as provided in Article 2 (§ 24.2-404 etseq.) of Chapter 4.
(Code 1950, §§ 24-17, 24-18, 24-18.2, 24-22, 24-23, 24-44, 24-136, 24-137,24-172, 24-346; 1956, c. 378; 1963, Ex. Sess., c. 2; 1964, c. 592; 1970, c.462, §§ 24.1-1, 24.1-41, 24.1-42, 24.1-93; 1971, Ex. Sess., cc. 119, 205,265; 1972, c. 620; 1973, c. 30; 1974, c. 428; 1975, c. 515; 1977, cc. 30,490; 1978, c. 778; 1982, c. 650; 1983, c. 461; 1989, c. 322; 1991, 1st Sp.Sess., c. 12; 1993, c. 641; 1996, cc. 72, 73; 1997, c. 801; 1998, c. 866;2001, c. 719; 2002, c. 487; 2003, c. 1015; 2005, c. 384; 2006, cc. 205, 787,892; 2007, c. 311; 2008, c. 880; 2009, cc. 865, 870, 874; 2010, c. 707.)