(a) Each commissioner of election and poll clerk, as defined in this article, before entering upon his or her duties, shall take orally and subscribe to the appropriate oath, as prescribed herein. Such oath may be taken before and administered by one of the election commissioners or poll clerks, who in turn may take the same before another election commissioner or poll clerk. For the purposes of this article, all election commissioners and poll clerks, having first been sworn, are authorized to administer oaths.

(1) The oath for members of the receiving board shall be as follows:

State of West Virginia

............... County

I, ........................, a qualified and registered voter of the county affiliated with the ..................... Party, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully and honestly discharge my duties as ............................... (poll clerk or election commissioner) of the receiving board according to the requirements of law in this election; that I will not knowingly permit any person to vote an unchallenged ballot who is not a resident of the precinct and a properly registered voter qualified to vote the ballot provided; that I will not challenge a ballot without just cause; that I will not cause any unnecessary delay in voting; that I will not disclose to any person how any voter has voted, nor how any ballot has been folded, marked, printed or stamped; that I do not have any agreement, understanding or arrangement that I will receive any money, position or other benefit for service in the election apart from my official pay; that I do not have any agreement, understanding or arrangement that I will perform any act for the benefit of any candidate in the election; and that I have nothing wagered or bet on the result of this election.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this ............. day of ............., 19....

..............................

Signature and official title

of person before whom sworn

(2) The oath for the members of the counting board shall be as follows:

State of West Virginia

............... County

I, ...................., a qualified and registered voter of the county affiliated with the ........................ Party, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully and honestly discharge my duties as .............................(poll clerk or election commissioner) of the counting board according to the requirements of law in this election; that I will carefully and accurately read and record the votes cast on each ballot voted in the election which contains the signatures of both poll clerks; that I will not disclose to any person how any voter has voted, nor how any ballot has been folded, marked, printed or stamped; that I will not disclose the votes cast for any candidate or any other information about the result of the election prior to the posting of the precinct returns on the door of the polling place; that I do not have any agreement, understanding or arrangement that I will receive any money, position or other benefit for service in the election apart from my official pay; that I do not have any agreement, understanding or arrangement that I will perform any act for the benefit of any candidate in the election; and that I have nothing wagered or bet on the result of this election.

..............................

Subscribed and sworn to before me this .............. day of ............., 19....

..............................

Signature and official title

of person before whom sworn

(3) The Secretary of State may prescribe the form of such oaths.

(b) When any election official is unable to perform the duties for which he or she was appointed, a substitution may be made, as follows:

(1) An eligible person of the same political party shall assume the duties after taking the oath. One of the election commissioners shall make an entry in the space provided on the oath form, indicating the name of the official being replaced, the reason for the change, the name of the person assuming the duties, the time at which the change occurred and the poll slip number of the last voter who signed a poll slip before the change occurred;

(2) If it is necessary for a poll clerk of one political party to exchange duties with an election commissioner of the same political party, the change of duties for each person shall be recorded in the same manner;

(3) If an election commissioner or poll clerk is unable or fails to perform the duties of the office adequately and according to the requirements of law to the extent such failure interferes with the conduct of the election, the clerk of the county commission may order the exchange of duties with another official of the same party, or if necessary, remove the official. The fact of that order shall be entered on the record, along with the information required in subdivision (1) of this subsection.

(c) In a municipal election, the recorder or other official designated by charter or ordinance to perform election responsibilities shall perform the duties of the clerk of the county commission specified in this section.