---
type: "Bill"
title: "Prohibiting ranked-choice voting in elections in West Virginia"
description: "Prohibiting ranked-choice voting in elections in West Virginia"
jurisdiction: "us/states/wv"
legislature: "West Virginia Legislature"
session: "2025"
identifier: "SB 490"
citation: "West Virginia SB 490 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Elections"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Woodrum"]
version_count: 2
action_count: 31
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2025-02-14"
last_action: "2025-08-08"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/3979470f-75de-4c27-a19c-e81e56115236"
source_url: "https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfm?input=490&year=2025&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill"
source_hash: "7e2041fc965ab3cc111d3dabb3c09ce759f3f95a47510cddef79ec5ac6682d06"
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 SB 490 (2025) — Prohibiting ranked-choice voting in elections in West Virginia

## Version chain

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

1. **Enrolled Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=sb490%20enr.htm&yr=2025&sesstype=RS&i=490)
2. **Introduced Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=sb490%20intr.htm&yr=2025&sesstype=RS&i=490)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **87–9** (pass) · lower
- Passage — **31–2** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Woodrum — primary (person)
- Oliverio — cosponsor (person)
- Rose — cosponsor (person)
- Rucker — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2025-02-14** Filed for introduction `filing`
- **2025-02-14** To Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-14** Introduced in Senate `introduction`
- **2025-02-14** To Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-27** Reported do pass `committee-passage`
- **2025-02-28** On 1st reading
- **2025-02-28** Read 1st time `reading-1`
- **2025-03-03** On 2nd reading
- **2025-03-03** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2025-03-04** On 3rd reading
- **2025-03-04** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2025-03-04** Passed Senate (Roll No. 59) `passage`
- **2025-03-04** Ordered to House
- **2025-03-05** House received Senate message
- **2025-03-05** Introduced in House `introduction`
- **2025-03-05** Immediate consideration
- **2025-03-05** Reference dispensed
- **2025-03-05** Read 1st time `reading-1`
- **2025-03-06** On 2nd reading, Special Calendar
- **2025-03-06** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2025-03-07** On 3rd reading, Special Calendar
- **2025-03-07** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2025-03-07** Passed House (Roll No. 38) `passage`
- **2025-03-07** Communicated to Senate
- **2025-03-07** Completed legislative action
- **2025-03-10** House Message received
- **2025-03-12** To Governor 3/12/2025 `executive-receipt`
- **2025-03-18** Approved by Governor 3/19/2025 - House Journal `executive-signature`
- **2025-03-18** Approved by Governor 3/18/25 `executive-signature`
- **2025-03-19** Approved by Governor 3/18/2025 - Senate Journal `executive-signature`
- **2025-08-08** Chapter 106, Acts, Regular Session, 2025 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/3979470f-75de-4c27-a19c-e81e56115236`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official West Virginia legislature records).