West Virginia Attorney General

Description

The Attorney General of West Virginia is an elected position within the West Virginia state government. The attorney general is the chief legal officer for the state of West Virginia, providing legal representation for all state agencies, officials, commissions and boards. The office of the attorney general is statutorily bound to represent all state agencies, officials, commissions and boards that request representation in civil matters. There are a number of areas in which the attorney general also bears some responsibility: Legal Opinions - The office provides written legal opinions on issues that have not previously been addressed in the state or federal courts; Criminal Appeals - Though the attorney general does not prosecute criminal cases, the office does represent the state in criminal appeals before the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals; Consumer Protection - The office enforces consumer protection laws and provides mediation services to resolve complaints; Civil Rights - The office represents individuals who may have been discriminated against in employment, housing or public accommodations on the basis of race, religion, gender, age, disability, ancestry or national origin; Burial and Funeral Contracts - The office has regulatory oversight over "pre-need" contracts sold to people to pay in advance for funeral and burial expenses; State Purchases - The office must approve the form of all state contracts to purchase goods or services. The office is explicitly forbidden, though, from disapproving a contract that is in proper form, even if the office believes the contract otherwise violates the law; Concealed Weapons - The state assembly granted the attorney general's office authority to enter into agreements to honor concealed weapon permits from other states. The attorney general and their staff do not: provide legal advice or opinions for private citizens or businesses; prosecute criminal cases; represent individual consumers; investigate state contracts that are in proper form; issue permits to carry a concealed weapon. The salary of this office is $95,000/year.

Application Guidelines

To file for this position follow these three steps: 1) Contact the West Virginia Secretary of State Elections Division to confirm that your registered address qualifies you for the position you intend to run for, and that you meet other office specific qualifications. Obtain the correct candidacy filing paperwork. 2) Complete the required candidacy paperwork including the appropriate campaign finance forms, a certificate of announcement form and (if you plan to run as an independent) a nominating petition. If you plan to run as a partisan candidate, the filing window for the certificate of announcement, which is required in order to participate in the primary election, runs from the second Monday in January until the last Saturday in January. For more information please contact your local party office for further instructions. 3) If you plan to run as an independent candidate, submit the nominating certificate with the stipulated amount of verified signatures to the West Virginia Secretary of State Elections Division by the filing deadline. The amount of required nominating petition signatures varies by office. The filing deadline for independents is August 1st (WV 3-5-24). The West Virginia Secretary of State Elections Division is the point of contact for any questions or concerns you may have. The West Virginia Secretary of State Elections Division can be reached at 304-558-6000 and the Elections Division website can be found here: http://www.sos.wv.gov/elections/current/Documents/2016%20RFO%20Final.pdf

Submit application to:
West Virginia Secretary of State, 1900 Kanawha Blvd. East, Charleston, WV, 25305, US