CHARLESTON – A bill to increase the amount of time a candidate must be registered with a political party before filing to run for office pitted two lawmakers serving as major political party chairmen against each other Wednesday.

The House of Delegates passed House Bill 4710, changing the limit on switching party affiliation before filing to run for office, in a 79-13 vote with seven absent or not voting. The bill now heads to the state Senate.

HB 4710 increases the duration a candidate must be registered with their declared party and not affiliated with any other party or as an independent from 60 days to 180 days preceding when a candidate files their certificate of announcement, effective Jan. 1, 2027.

The bill mandates that filing officers – such as the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office, county clerks or city recorders – must electronically verify a candidate’s party affiliation before accepting a certificate of announcement.

The Secretary of State or board of ballot commissioners may refuse or remove a candidacy certification if voter registration records show the candidate was affiliated with a different party during the 180-day window, provided a formal complaint is filed within 10 days of the filing period’s close.

“I think this bill is rather simple,” said the bill’s lead sponsor, Del. Josh Holstein, R-Boone. “I think it’s a good policy for the State of West Virginia to have candidates that are running for office to know what they stand for and what party label they’re going to run behind and inform their voters in that way.

“A lot of folks … don’t really hear from people or may not know who their candidates are,” Holstein said. “You’ve got to have a lot of resources to be able to mail out everything and do that. And a lot of times folks just vote based upon the banner of party, and you don’t want people to take advantage of that just because it’s politically advantageous.”

Del. Mike Pushkin, the chairman of the West Virginia Democratic Party, pointed out that several members of the GOP supermajority in the House would likely not have been able to run as Republicans had the proposed deadline been in place in recent elections.

“Would that surprise you to know you had a few independents or people who switched parties on your side of the aisle?” said Pushkin, D-Kanawha, to Holstein.

Pushkin said his concern was over whether the bill would discourage political independents from running for office and being forced to pick a political party before they had a chance to decide which one best represents them. Pushkin said the bill would benefit incumbents.

“I don’t see what the problem is that we’re trying to address with this bill, unless you think there are too many people running for office,” Pushkin said. “We’re often asked the question, ‘who does it help and who does it hurt?’ Limiting ballot access? Who does that help? The only folks I think it would help are the people who are serving in office right now. This is an incumbency protection act.”

House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, criticized his Republican colleagues for focusing the last two legislative sessions on changing West Virginia’s election laws.

“It seems as if this is what we are fixated on for the past couple of sessions is just on elections,” Hornbuckle said. “And I don’t know if it’s to try to rig something or what it is to do, but that seems like the only thing that we are doing down here.”

“I feel like I got to get in my spaceship with my tinfoil hat because we’re running legislation nonstop down here based on conspiracy theories and theoretical outcomes, not based on facts or evidence,” said House Minority Whip Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio. “There has been no evidence provided that this is an issue. There’s been no evidence provided why six months should be chosen compared to our current 60 days. And it really punishes people who think for themselves, which I thought our state was about freedom.”

The majority of Republican House members supported the bill, citing the need to ensure election integrity in the state.

“Election integrity is important, and I think it is our job to ensure that our elections have the most integrity as constitutionally permissible,” said Del. Joe Funkhouser, R-Jefferson. “This bill treats all West Virginians, regardless of party, equally. I think that’s a good thing, and that’s why I’ll be supporting it.”