---
type: "Bill"
title: "To ensure party affiliation is consistent with candidate’s voter registration"
description: "To ensure party affiliation is consistent with candidate’s voter registration"
jurisdiction: "us/states/wv"
legislature: "West Virginia Legislature"
session: "2024"
identifier: "HB 4552"
citation: "West Virginia HB 4552 (2024)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Elections"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Barnhart"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 45
vote_count: 4
first_action: "2024-01-10"
last_action: "2024-04-24"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/421416c1-3676-4272-908f-1912b53d60ce"
source_url: "https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfm?input=4552&year=2024&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill"
source_hash: "1eac3a792dd393267d9f2eeeb5d98441b46256274a323233f39f5e7df15bd0d6"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-wv"]
---

# West Virginia HB 4552 (2024) — To ensure party affiliation is consistent with candidate’s voter registration

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Committee Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb4552%20sub.htm&yr=2024&sesstype=RS&i=4552)
2. **Enrolled Committee Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb4552%20sub%20enr.htm&yr=2024&sesstype=RS&i=4552)
3. **Introduced Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb4552%20intr.htm&yr=2024&sesstype=RS&i=4552)
4. **hb4552 s jud am _1 2-29 adopted.htm** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/legisdocs/chamber/2024/RS/com_amends/hb4552%20s%20jud%20am%20_1%202-29%20adopted.htm)
5. **hb4552 s jud amt _1 2-29 adopted.htm** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/legisdocs/chamber/2024/RS/com_amends/hb4552%20s%20jud%20amt%20_1%202-29%20adopted.htm)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **96–0** (pass) · lower
- Passage — **33–0** (pass) · upper
- EFFECT Jan 01, 2025 — **96–1** (pass) · lower
- PASSAGE-SENATE AMENDED HB — **97–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Barnhart — primary (person)
- Heckert — cosponsor (person)
- Hillenbrand — cosponsor (person)
- Kimble — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2024-01-10** Filed for introduction `filing`
- **2024-01-10** To Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2024-01-10** Introduced in House `introduction`
- **2024-01-10** To House Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2024-01-16** By substitute, do pass
- **2024-01-17** On 1st reading, Special Calendar
- **2024-01-17** Read 1st time `reading-1`
- **2024-01-18** On 2nd reading, Special Calendar
- **2024-01-18** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2024-01-19** On 3rd reading, Special Calendar
- **2024-01-19** Postponed on 3rd reading, Special Calendar, until 1/22/2024
- **2024-01-22** On 3rd reading, Special Calendar
- **2024-01-22** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2024-01-22** Passed House (Roll No. 16) `passage`
- **2024-01-22** Communicated to Senate
- **2024-01-23** Introduced in Senate `introduction`
- **2024-01-23** To Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2024-01-23** To Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2024-03-05** Reported do pass, with amendment and title amendment `committee-passage`
- **2024-03-05** Immediate consideration
- **2024-03-05** Read 1st time `reading-1`
- **2024-03-06** On 2nd reading
- **2024-03-06** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2024-03-06** Committee amendment adopted (Voice vote)
- **2024-03-07** On 3rd reading
- **2024-03-07** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2024-03-07** Passed Senate with amended title (Roll No. 405) `passage`
- **2024-03-07** Senate requests House to concur
- **2024-03-08** House received Senate message
- **2024-03-08** House concurred in Senate amendment and passed bill (Roll No. 628)
- **2024-03-08** Effective January 1, 2025 (Roll No. 629)
- **2024-03-08** House requests Senate to concur in changed effective date
- **2024-03-08** Communicated to Senate
- **2024-03-09** House Message received
- **2024-03-09** Senate concurred in House changed effective date
- **2024-03-09** Effective January 1, 2025 (Roll No. 489)
- **2024-03-09** Communicated to House
- **2024-03-08** Completed legislative action
- **2024-03-09** To Governor 3/21/2024 - Senate Journal `executive-receipt`
- **2024-03-21** To Governor 3/21/2024 `executive-receipt`
- **2024-03-09** To Governor 3/21/2024 - House Journal `executive-receipt`
- **2024-03-09** Approved by Governor 3/27/2024 - Senate Journal `executive-signature`
- **2024-03-27** Approved by Governor 3/27/24 `executive-signature`
- **2024-03-09** Approved by Governor 3/27/24 - House Journal `executive-signature`
- **2024-04-24** Chapter 125, Acts, Regular Session, 2024 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/421416c1-3676-4272-908f-1912b53d60ce`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official West Virginia legislature records).