24.2-106 - Appointment and terms; vacancies; chairman and secretary; certain prohibitions; training.
§ 24.2-106. Appointment and terms; vacancies; chairman and secretary; certainprohibitions; training.
There shall be in each county and city an electoral board composed of threemembers who shall be appointed by a majority of the circuit judges of thejudicial circuit for the county or city. If a majority of the judges cannotagree, the senior judge shall make the appointment. Any vacancy occurring ona board shall be filled by the same authority for the unexpired term. Theclerk of the circuit court shall send to the State Board a copy of each ordermaking an appointment to an electoral board.
In the appointment of the electoral board, representation shall be given toeach of the two political parties having the highest and next highest numberof votes in the Commonwealth for Governor at the last preceding gubernatorialelection. Two electoral board members shall be of the political party thatcast the highest number of votes for Governor at that election. When theGovernor was not elected as the candidate of a political party,representation shall be given to each of the political parties having thehighest and next highest number of members of the General Assembly at thetime of the appointment and two board members shall be of the political partyhaving the highest number of members in the General Assembly. The politicalparty entitled to the appointment shall make and file recommendations withthe judges for the appointment not later than January 15 of the year of anappointment to a full term or, in the case of an appointment to fill avacancy, within 30 days of the date of death or notice of resignation of themember being replaced. Its recommendations shall contain the names of atleast three qualified voters of the county or city for each appointment. Thejudges shall promptly make such appointment (i) after receipt of thepolitical party's recommendation or (ii) after January 15 for a full term orafter the 30-day period expires for a vacancy appointment, whichever of theevents described in clause (i) or (ii) first occurs.
The circuit judges of the judicial circuit for the county or city shall notappoint to the electoral board (i) any person who is the spouse of anelectoral board member or the general registrar for the county or city or(ii) any person, or the spouse of any person, who is the parent, grandparent,sibling, child, or grandchild of an electoral board member or the generalregistrar of the county or city.
Electoral board members shall serve three-year terms and be appointed tostaggered terms, one term to expire at midnight on the last day of Februaryeach year. No three-year term shall be shortened to comply with the politicalparty representation requirements of this section.
The board shall elect one of its members as chairman and another assecretary. The chairman and the secretary shall represent different politicalparties, unless the representative of the second-ranked political partydeclines in writing to accept the unfilled office. At any time that thesecretary is incapacitated in such a way that makes it impossible for thesecretary to carry out the duties of the position, the board may designateone of its other members as acting secretary. Any such designation shall bemade in an open meeting and recorded in the minutes of the board.
The secretary of the electoral board shall immediately notify the State Boardof any change in the membership or officers of the electoral board and shallkeep the Board informed of the name, residence and mailing addresses, andhome and business telephone numbers of each electoral board member.
No member of an electoral board shall be eligible to offer for or hold anoffice to be filled in whole or in part by qualified voters of hisjurisdiction. If a member resigns to offer for or hold such office, thevacancy shall be filled as provided in this section.
No member of an electoral board shall serve as the chairman of a state, localor district level political party committee or as a paid worker in thecampaign of a candidate for nomination or election to an office filled byelection in whole or in part by the qualified voters of the jurisdiction ofthe electoral board.
At least one member of the electoral board shall attend an annual trainingprogram provided by the State Board.
(Code 1950, §§ 24-29, 24-32, 24-33, 24-42; 1970, c. 462, § 24.1-29; 1971, Ex.Sess., c. 204; 1973, c. 30; 1975, c. 515; 1978, c. 778; 1980, c. 639; 1984,c. 480; 1986, c. 558, § 24.1-33.1; 1993, cc. 480, 641; 1995, cc. 835, 848;2003, c. 1015; 2005, c. 380.)