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{{Short description|none}}
[[Image:WV Capitolbuilding.jpg|thumb|right|West Virginia Capitol Building.]]
The '''Government of [[West Virginia]]''' is modeled after the [[Government of the United States]], with three [[separation of powers|branches]]: the [[executive branch|executive]], consisting of the [[Governor of West Virginia]] and the other elected constitutional officers; the [[legislative branch|legislative]], consisting of the [[West Virginia Legislature]] which includes the [[West Virginia State Senate|Senate]] and the [[West Virginia House of Delegates|House of Delegates]]; and the [[judicial branch|judicial]], consisting of the [[West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals]] and lower courts.
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==Legislative branch==
Like all states except [[Nebraska]], West Virginia has a [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] [[State legislature (United States)|state legislature]], the [[West Virginia Legislature]]. The [[lower house]] is the [[West Virginia House of Delegates]] and the [[upper house]] is the [[West Virginia Senate|Senate]]. The West Virginia Legislature is a citizen's legislature or part-time legislature.
 
The West Virginia Constitution imposes a limit of 60 calendar days the length of the regular [[Legislative session|session]]. Regular sessions of the Legislature commence on the second Wednesday of January of each year; following the election of a new governor, the session starts in January with the governor's address but then adjourns until February. The session may be extended by [[concurrent resolution]] adopted by a two-thirds vote of each house. The governor may also call legislators to convene in [[special session]]s whenever the governor deems one or more issues of state government in need of timely action by the Legislature. The final day of the regular session usually includes last-minute legislation in order to meet a constitutionally-imposed deadline of midnight. Legislators usually do not make it a full-time occupation, but frequently hold a full-time job in their community of residence. This differs from neighboring states such as [[Pennsylvania]] and [[Ohio]], who have professional full-time legislatures.
 
The House of Delegates has 100 members. All delegates are elected to two-year terms and are up for election in even-numbered years, elected from 67100 single member districts, thatthus electeach arepresents varyingabout number17,000 people. The Senate consists of 34 members from 17 districts, elected to four year terms. One senator from each district is elected in the presidential year and the other in the off year. Each senator thus represents about 105,000 people.
 
==Executive branch==
The [[chief executive]] of West Virginia is the [[governor of West Virginia]], who is elected to a four-year term at the same time as [[United States presidential election|presidential elections]]. The governor is sworn in the January following the November election. A governor may only serve two consecutive terms.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wvlegislature.gov/wvcode/wv_con.cfm|title=Constitution of West Virginia|website=West Virginia Legislature|access-date=19 April 2023|year=2023}} Article 7, Section 4.</ref> A term-limited governor may subsequently run for aadditional third termterms, but an interceding election must occur. [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[Jim Justice]] was elected governor in 2016, defeating Bill Cole in the general election. He was easily reelected in 2020.
 
In addition to the governor, there are five other directly elected executive offices:
*[[Secretary of State of West Virginia|Secretary of State]] (currently Republican [[Mac Warner]])
*[[West Virginia Attorney General|Attorney General]] (currently Republican [[Patrick Morrisey]])
*[[West Virginia CommissionerDepartment of Agriculture|Agriculture Commissioner]] (currently Republican [[Kent Leonhardt]])
*[[West Virginia State Auditor|Auditor]] (currently Republican [[John McCuskey]])
*[[West Virginia State Treasurer|Treasurer]] (currently DemocratRepublican [[JohnRiley PerdueMoore]])
 
Regular elections are held concurrently with the election for governor every four years, but unlike the governor these offices have no term limits.
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== Judicial branch ==
The [[State court (United States)|state]] [[trial court]]s of [[general jurisdiction]] are the [[West Virginia Circuit Courts]], There are 31 judicial circuits, each made up of one or more counties, with a total of 70 Circuit Judges. Domestic cases are handled by Family Courts. There are 27 Family Court Circuits with a total of 45 judges. Local judges are elected in non-partisan elections to serve eight-year terms on a non-partisan basis. Small claims and misdemeanor case are heard by [[magistrates]] elected for four years, with between two and ten in each county, based on population. Magistrates are not lawyers.
 
The [[West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals]] is the [[state supreme court]]. ItThere purportsis itselfan to[[Intermediate beCourt theof busiest appellate courtAppeals of its type in the United States, in part because West Virginia]] is one ofwhich only 11hears statescivil toand notadministrative have an intermediate [[appellate court]]appeals. (The [[WestCriminal Virginiaappeals Constitution]]go allowsdirectly forfrom the creationCircuit ofCourt an intermediate court of appeals, butto the Legislature has never done so.) The Supreme Court of Appeals has five justices. Justices must have practiced law for at least ten years. The five justices are elected in partisan elections to 12-year terms. The current justices are Justice [[Brent Benjamin]], Justice [[Robin Davis]], Justice [[Margaret Workman]], Justice [[Allen Loughry]], and Justice [[Menis Ketchum]]. By tradition, the position of "Chief Justice" rotates yearly. It primarily brings extra administrative duties.
 
Most recently, all members of the Supreme Court were impeached.[https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/36428217-6c7b-3920-855f-946ee455a29a/ss_west-virginia-house-panel.html]
 
== Political history ==
{{main|Politics of West Virginia}}▼
From the 1930s through the 1990s, West Virginia's politics were largely dominated by the [[History of the United States Democratic Party|Democratic Party]], and Democrats still dominate most local and state offices. West Virginia also has a very strong tradition of [[trade union]] membership.
 
In presidential elections, the state's [[Electoral College (United States)|electoral votes]] went to Democratic tradition by supporting Democrat [[Bill Clinton]] in 1992 and 1996, who won the state by large margins, but the state's five electoral votes went to [[George W. Bush]] in 2000 and 2004 (when Bush won by 13 percentage points) and to [[John McCain]] in 2008.
 
The most consistent support for Democrats is found in the [[coal field]]s of [[southern West Virginia]] (especially [[McDowell County, West Virginia|McDowell]], [[Mingo County, West Virginia|Mingo]], [[Logan County, West Virginia|Logan]], [[Wyoming County, West Virginia|Wyoming]], and [[Boone County, West Virginia|Boone]] counties), while [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] find greatest success to the east of the [[Allegheny Mountains]], especially in [[Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia|the state's Eastern Panhandle]], and in the suburbs near Charleston and Huntington.
 
== Local government ==
In West Virginia, the [[county (United States)|county]] is the unit of government, although an unsuccessful attempt to introduce the [[civil township|township]] system was made in West Virginia's first constitution.
 
Each of [[List of counties in West Virginia|the state's 55 counties]] havehas a ''county commission'', consisting of three commissioners elected for six years but with terms so arranged that one retiresis up for reelection every two years, which is the legislative and fiscal authority. The county commissions were originally called ''county courts'' before legal reform stripped the commissions of their judicial powers in 1976. The county commission still retains the judicial function as the [[probate]] court, however.
 
Other officers are the County Clerk, whose primary duties are as [[recorder of deeds]] and voter's registrar; and a Circuit Clerk, who records acts of the Family and Circuit courts, both elected for six-year terms on a partisan basis; the ''[[sheriff]]'', who has law enforcement and tax collection authority; the Prosecuting Attorney, who must be a lawyer and who not only handles criminal cases but also does the civil litigation for the county; an Assessor (the Constitution provides for a possibility of two, but no county has ever adopted that system), who determines the value of land for tax purposes, and a surveyor of lands, which has no official duties or salary except when the county commission contracts with the surveyor.<ref>https://sos.wv.gov/FormSearch/Elections/Informational/Running%20for%20Office.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref> All of the non-clerk jobs are elected on a partisan basis for four-year terms. The sheriff is term limited to two consecutive terms. In addition, there are boards appointed or elected by various authorities and charged with specific duties. They include the local board of health and the board of jury commissioners.
 
There is also a Board of Education, which is elected on a non-partisan basis, consisting of five members elected with overlapping terms similar to the county commission.
 
== See also ==
▲{{main|Politics*[[List of governors of West Virginia}}]]
*[[Mountain Party]]
*[[ListUnited ofStates Governorscongressional ofdelegations from West Virginia]]
*[[U.S.Politics Congressional Delegations fromof West Virginia]]
*[[ElectionsPolitical party strength in West Virginia]]
 
==References==
{{Reflist}}
 
== External links==
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{{Governments of the United States}}
 
[[Category:Government of West Virginia| ]]
[[Category:State governments of the United States|West Virginia]]
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