CHAPTER 523

An Act to amend and reenact §§ 24-845.8 and 24-845.8 of the Code of
Virginia, which were enacted by Chapter 509 of the Acts of Assem-
bly of 1952, relating to facilities and opportunity for absentee voting
by Virginia members of the armed forces of the United States.

[H 525]
Approved April 5, 1954
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 24-345.3 and 24-345.8 of the Code of Virginia, which were
enacted by Chapter 509 of the Acts of Assembly of 1952, be amended and
reenacted as follows:

§ 24-345.3. During the effective period of this act in order that
ballots may be printed in primary elections in ample time for the trans-
mission of same to absent members of the armed forces, and their return,
all declarations of candidacy required by Chapter 14 of this Title to
be filed by candidates in primary elections shall be filed at least ninety
days before the primary, regardless of whether the candidacy is for an
office filled by election by the voters of the State at large or of a district,
county, town or city. The party chairman or other officers with whom
such declarations of candidacy are filed, in addition to certifying the
names as now required by law, shall, as provided by Chapter 8 of this
Title or other applicable statute, also certify within seven days to the
State Board of Elections hereinafter referred to as Board the names
of all primary candidates for any of the offices embraced within the pro-
visions of this Chapter who have qualified to have their names on the
official] ballot, in all cases where more than one candidate files such a
declaration for the same office. During the effective period of this Chap-
ter in order that ballots may be printed in ample time for the trans-
mission of same to absent members of the armed forces overseas, and
their return, all political parties desiring to nominate candidates for
members of the General Assembly, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attor-
ney General, and all county and city officers except mayor and council-
men, shall make and complete their nominations in the manner provided
by law on or before the Tuesday after the second Monday in July next
preceding the election for such offices unless a second primary be required
in which event any party for which such second primary is required shall
complete its nominations on the fifth Tuesday following the first primary,
and for mayor and members of councils in cities and towns on or before
the first Tuesday in April next preceding such election, and the proper
authorities of each political party shall certify the names of its candi-
dates to the chairman of the electoral boards, if required, and to the
Board not later than ten days after said day. All candidates for said
offices other than party nominees shall file their notices of candidacy and
petitions, if same are required by Chapter 8 of this Title, within ten
days after the Tuesday after the second Monday in July unless a second
primary be required, in which event any such candidate shall file his
notice of candidacy and petition within ten days following the day of
such second primary, or within ten days after the first Tuesday in April,
as the case may be, with the Board, and also with the clerk or other
officer, when same is required by law. The name of no candidate for any
State or local office required by this section to be certified to the Board
whose name is not so certified, or whose notice of candidacy, if the filing
of such a notice is required by such chapter of the Code, is not filed
within the time required by this section, shall be printed on any official
ballot for said election.

§ 24-345.8. It shall be the duty of the Board to make and preserve
in its office a record of all members by or for whom ballots are requested,
showing the name and the address of the member to which and the day
on which the ballot was mailed, the branch of his service, the county or
city and address therein of the member’s residence in Virginia, and, if
the ballot is returned, the date of receipt thereof.

It shall also be the duty of the Board, on the fifth day before the
day of election, to transmit by registered mail to the secretaries of the
appropriate electoral boards of the several counties and cities of the
State in which the voting members reside all envelopes containing voted
ballots which have been returned to the Board. Any number of such
returned envelopes may be mailed in one registered package. Any such
envelopes returned by voters to the Board on or after the fifth day
before the day of election shall be forthwith transmitted in like manner
to the secretary of the appropriate electoral board.

It shall be the duty * of every electoral board receiving any such
return ballot envelopes to deliver the same unopened to the * judges of
election of the precinct within the boundaries of which the voter resides
as shown by said return envelope, or as may be known to the electoral
board chairman, secretary, or any member thereof, * in the same manner
and along with other absentee ballot envelopes. The secretary of the
local board of elections shall prepare for each precinct a duplicate list
showing the names of all persons from whom he has received war ballots
to be counted in such precinct. One copy of this list shall be delivered by
said secretary, together with the copy of the list of names of all other
absentee ballots which he is required by § 24-339 of the Code to deliver,
to the registrars of the respective precincts on the morning of the elec-
tion. The list shall be posted by the registrar in a public place at the
voting place where it may be inspected by any voter. This list shall be
entitled ‘‘List of Voters under the War Voters Act.” One copy shall be
kept by the secretary.