                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

PARTY TO DETERMINE METHOD OF NOMINATING ITS CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE; EXCEPTIONS
(§ 24.2-509)

A. The duly constituted authorities of the state political party shall have the
right to determine the method by which a party nomination for a member of the
United States Senate or for any statewide office shall be made. The duly
constituted authorities of the political party for the district, county, city,
or town in which any other office is to be filled shall have the right to
determine the method by which a party nomination for that office shall be made.
A method of nomination shall not be selected if such method will have the
practical effect of excluding participation in the nominating process by
qualified voters who are otherwise eligible to participate in the nominating
process under that political party&#8217;s rules but are unable to attend
meetings because they are (i) a member of a uniformed service, as defined in
&#xA7; 24.2-452, on active duty; (ii) temporarily residing outside of the United
States; (iii) a student attending a school or institution of higher education;
(iv) a person with a disability; or (v) a person who has a communicable disease
of public health threat as defined in &#xA7; 32.1-48.06 or who may have come in
contact with a person with such disease. However, such restriction shall not
apply when selecting a candidate for a special election or nominating a
candidate pursuant to &#xA7; 24.2-539, or in the event that no candidate files
the required paperwork by the deadline prescribed in &#xA7; 24.2-522.

B. Notwithstanding subsection A, the following provisions shall apply to the
determination of the method of making party nominations. A party shall nominate
its candidate for election for a General Assembly district where there is only
one incumbent of that party for the district by the method designated by that
incumbent, or absent any designation by him by the method of nomination
determined by the party. A party shall nominate its candidates for election for
a General Assembly district where there is more than one incumbent of that party
for the district by a primary unless all the incumbents consent to a different
method of nomination. A party, whose candidate at the immediately preceding
election for a particular office other than the General Assembly (i) was
nominated by a primary or filed for a primary but was not opposed and (ii) was
elected at the general election, shall nominate a candidate for the next
election for that office by a primary unless all incumbents of that party for
that office consent to a different method.
			When, under any of the foregoing provisions, no incumbents offer as
candidates for reelection to the same office, the method of nomination shall be
determined by the political party.
			For the purposes of this subsection, any officeholder who offers for
reelection to the same office shall be deemed an incumbent notwithstanding that
the district which he represents differs in part from that for which he offers
for election.

HISTORY: Code 1950, §§ 24-348, 24-361, 24-363, 24-364; 1970, c. 462, §§
24.1-171, 24.1-172; 1971, Ex. Sess., c. 119; 1973, c. 30; 1975, c. 515; 1978, c.
778; 1993, c. 641; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 474.