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Virginia > Title 24.2 Elections > Candidates For Office Article 7. Presidential Year Primaries

§ 24.2-544 Time presidential primaries to be held and completion of duties by officers of election; age qualifications for participation

Overview of Statute

Primaries for the nomination of candidates for the office of President of the United States shall be held on the first Tuesday in March preceding the November general election.

Statute

A. Primaries for the nomination of candidates for the office of President of the United States to be voted on at the November 2012 general election and the November general election in each presidential election year thereafter shall be held on the first Tuesday in March preceding the November general election.

B. The provisions of this title shall apply to the conduct of presidential election year primaries including the time limits applicable to notices and candidate filing deadlines and the closing of registration records before the primary. The State Board shall provide a schedule for the notices and filing deadlines by the August 1 prior to the March primary including a campaign finance disclosure report filing schedule adjusted to reflect the differences between the June date for other primaries and the March date for the presidential primary and primaries for the nomination of candidates for offices to be voted on at the general election date in May.

C. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any officer of election who serves at any election held on the first Tuesday in March shall be required to complete his official duties relating to that election whether or not he has been reappointed to serve for the ensuing year.

D. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any person who is otherwise qualified and will be 18 years of age on or before the day of the next November general election shall be permitted to register in advance of and also vote in any presidential primary and any other primary held on the same day.

1999, c. 972; 2000, cc. 1, 856; 2003, cc. 815, 823; 2006, c. 205; 2011, cc. 570, 584.

Definition [State Board]

The State Board of Elections.

See § 24.2-101.

Definition [United States]

Used in the territorial sense, means the several states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

See § 24.2-452.

Definition [General election]

An election held in the Commonwealth on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November or on the first Tuesday in May for the purpose of filling offices regularly scheduled by law to be filled at those times.

See § 24.2-101.

Definition [Officer of election]

A person appointed by an electoral board pursuant to § 24.2-115 to serve at a polling place for any election.

See § 24.2-101.

Definition [Registration records]

All official records concerning the registration of qualified voters and shall include all records, lists, applications, and files, whether maintained in books, on cards, on automated data bases, or by any other legally permitted record-keeping method.

See § 24.2-101.

Definition [Board]

The State Board of Elections.

See § 24.2-101.

Definition [State]

A state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

See § 24.2-452.

Definition [Person]

Any individual or corporation, partnership, business, labor organization, membership organization, association, cooperative, or other like entity.

For the purpose of applying the filing and reporting requirements of this chapter, the term “person” shall not include an organization holding tax-exempt status under § 501(c) (3), 501(c) (4), or 501(c) (6) of the United States Internal Revenue Code which, in providing information to voters, does not advocate or endorse the election or defeat of a particular candidate, group of candidates, or the candidates of a particular political party.

See § 24.2-945.1.

Definition [Primary]

An election held for the purpose of selecting a candidate to be the nominee of a political party for election to office.

See § 24.2-101.

Definition [Election]

A general, primary, or special election.

See § 24.2-101.

Definition [Candidate]

A person who seeks or campaigns for an office of the Commonwealth or one of its governmental units in a general, primary, or special election and who is qualified to have his name placed on the ballot for the office. “Candidate” shall include a person who seeks the nomination of a political party or who, by reason of receiving the nomination of a political party for election to an office, is referred to as its nominee. For the 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-in candidate. However, no write-in candidate who has received less than 15 percent of the votes cast for the office shall be eligible to initiate an election contest pursuant to Article 2 (§ 24.2-803 et seq.) of Chapter 8. For the purposes of Chapters 9.3 (§ 24.2-945 et seq.) and 9.5 (§ 24.2-955 et seq.), “candidate” shall include any person who raises or spends funds in order to seek or campaign for an office of the Commonwealth, excluding federal offices, or one of its governmental units in a party nomination process or general, primary, or special election; and such person shall be considered a candidate until a final report is filed pursuant to Article 3 (§ 24.2-947 et seq.) of Chapter 9.3.

See § 24.2-101.

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