If any person who is a candidate for nomination by a political party at a primary election, and who, along with one or more other candidates, has qualified to have his name printed on the official ballot for the primary, dies 45 days or more before the day on which the primary is to be held, any person otherwise qualified who desires to be a candidate at that primary may file a declaration of and petition for his candidacy with the proper chairman of his party committee. The declaration and petition shall comply in every respect with the requirements established generally for such declarations and petitions by this article, except that the declaration and petition shall be filed at least 35 days before the day on which the primary is to be held.

The party chairman or chairmen shall promptly certify the names of every such person to the State Board and appropriate electoral boards as having qualified under the provisions of this section. Every electoral board having charge of the printing of official ballots for the primary election shall either:

1. Cause to be printed thereon the name of every person so certified; or

2. If the official ballots have already been printed, cause separate ballots to be printed for the office containing the names of those candidates other than the decedent who have theretofore qualified and the names of those certified to it as having qualified pursuant to the provisions of this section. The board may, in its discretion, cause to be stricken from the ballots already printed the title of the office involved and the names of all candidates for nomination for the office appearing thereon.

Whenever any additional candidate shall qualify pursuant to this section, no ballots theretofore cast by absentee vote for a candidate for such office shall be counted, but any person who has so voted shall be entitled to receive a new ballot and to vote for his choice among all the candidates for such office.

Code 1950, § 24-392; 1970, c. 462, § 24.1-196; 1976, c. 616; 1993, c. 641; 2010, cc. 449, 645.