West Virginia Amendment 3, Incorporation of Religious Denominations and Churches Measure (2022)

West Virginia Amendment 3
Election date November 8, 2022
Topic Religion
Status d Defeated
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

West Virginia Amendment 3, the Incorporation of Religious Denominations and Churches Amendment, was on the ballot in West Virginia as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022. The measure was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported amending the West Virginia Constitution to authorize the state legislature to pass laws to incorporate churches and religious denominations.

A "no" vote opposed amending the West Virginia Constitution to authorize the state legislature to pass laws to incorporate churches and religious denominations.

Election results

West Virginia Amendment 3
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		211,147	45.45%
No		253,379	54.55%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What would the amendment have changed?

See also: Full text

The amendment would have amended Article VI of the state constitution to remove the prohibition on incorporating religious denominations and churches and authorize the state legislature to provide for the incorporation of churches or religious denominations by law.

As of 2022, West Virginia was the sole state that has a prohibition against incorporating religious denominations and churches.

How did the amendment get on the ballot?

See also: Path to the ballot

To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required in both the West Virginia State Senate and the West Virginia House of Delegates.

This amendment was introduced as Senate Joint Resolution 4 (SJR 4) on February 10, 2021. The state Senate approved SJR 4 with a vote of 32-0 with two absent on March 2, 2021. On April 7, 2021, the state House adopted the bill with amendments and sent it back to the state Senate. On April 10, the state Senate did not adopt the amendments and sent the bill back to the state House where it was approved in its original form in a vote of 94-4 with one absent.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“

Incorporation of Churches or Religious Denominations Amendment To authorize the incorporation of churches or religious denominations.

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article VI, West Virginia Constitution

The measure would have amended section 47 of Article VI of the state constitution. The following underlined text would have been added, and struck-through text would have been deleted:

Text of Section 47:

Incorporation of religious denominations prohibitedpermitted.

No charter of incorporation shall be granted to any church or religious denomination. Provisions may be made by general laws for securing the title to church property, and for the sale and transfer thereof, so that it shall be held, used, or transferred for the purposes of such church, or religious denomination. Provisions may also be made by general laws for the incorporation of churches or religious denominations.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2022

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 20, and the FRE is -40. The word count for the ballot title is 16.

Support

Supporters

Officials

• State Sen. Rollan Roberts (R)
• State Sen. Charles S. Trump IV (Nonpartisan)

Organizations

• ACLU of West Virginia

Arguments

• House Judiciary Majority Chair Moore Capito (R-35): "What we have now is the opportunity for churches and houses of worship to incorporate, which is pretty standard procedure across the country, quite frankly."
• Senate Judiciary Majority Chair Charles Trump (R-15): "West Virginia, as far as I know, is the only state left in the whole country that has a provision like this in the state Constitution. Nothing would be mandatory. Churches would be free to incorporate or not."
• House Judiciary Minority Chair Chad Lovejoy (D-17): "It, frankly, is a little easier to operate under a traditional corporate sense than it is under this kind of antiquated Board of Trustees management. So I don't think it has anything to do with taxes. It has nothing to do with politics, frankly. I think that it does make things a little easier to manage religious institutions."
• ACLU of West Virginia: "This provision, placed in the modern context of corporate law, feels archaic. It discriminates against religious institutions by denying them the same opportunities as similar but secular institutions. The ban violates the U.S. Constitution. The state must never give preference to any particular religion, and it must never give preference to religion over non-religion. By the same token, it should not be favoring non-religious entities over similar religious entities. And that’s exactly what Article 6, Section 47 of our state constitution does."

Opposition

If you are aware of any opponents or opposing arguments, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for West Virginia ballot measures

Total campaign contributions:
Support:	$0.00
Opposition:	$0.00

If you are aware of a committee registered to support or oppose this measure, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Campaign finance reporting dates in 2021 in West Virginia are as follows:

WV 2021 campaign finance reporting dates
Filing dates	Report name	Covered period
January 1, 2021 – January 7, 2021	2020 4th Quarter Report	October 19, 2020 – December 31, 2020
April 1, 2021 – April 7, 2021	2021 1st Quarter Report	January 1, 2021 – March 31, 2021
July 1, 2021 – July 7, 2021	2021 2nd Quarter Report	April 1, 2021– June 30, 2021
October 1, 2021 – October 7, 2021	2021 3rd Quarter Report	July 1, 2021 - September 30, 2021
January 1, 2022 – January 7, 2022	2021 4th Quarter Report	October 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021

Background

Types of incorporation

The incorporation of a business or nonprofit organization makes the corporation a legal entity and creates a legal separation from the corporation's assets, income, and liabilities from its owners, investors, and members.

In West Virginia as of 2022, the West Virginia Nonprofit Corporation Act governed the process and requirements for the incorporation of nonprofit organizations. This amendment was designed to allow the legislature to provide for the incorporation of churches through general law.

Falwell v. Miller (2002)

In 2002, Rev. Jerry Falwell and the Trustees of Thomas Road Baptist Church filed a lawsuit against Clinton Miller, Chairman of the State Corporation Commission ("SCC") of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The lawsuit argued that the SCC violated the First Amendment rights of the church by not granting a corporate charter to the church and its trustees. At the time, the Virginia Constitution prohibited the state from incorporating any church or religious denomination. United States District Court Judge Norman Moon ruled that Article IV of the Virginia Constitution violated the U.S. Constitution and overturned the prohibition on incorporating churches.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Trump said, "We’re making our constitution consistent with the law as we believe it would be espoused for West Virginia based on the federal case out of Virginia."

The language from the West Virginia Constitution prohibiting church incorporation was inherited from the Virginia Constitution in 1872.

Constitutional provisions on the incorporation of churches in the U.S.

Going into 2022, West Virginia was the only state with a prohibition against the incorporation of churches in its state constitution.

Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2006 by 65% to 35% removing the Virginia Constitution's similar prohibition from which West Virginia inherited its ban. The 2006 Virginia amendment followed Falwell v. Miller in 2002 which ruled the provision unconstitutional. In 1996, Virginia voters rejected an amendment that would have allowed the incorporation of churches.

Missouri had a similar provision in its 1820 constitution that said, "No religious corporation can ever be established in this state." The Missouri Constitution of 1865 allowed incorporation of churches solely for the purpose of owning a limited amount of property. The Missouri Constitution of 1875 had similar language but did not explicitly limit the amount of property but rather left the details up to the legislature. In 1924, Missouri voters defeated a constitutional amendment that would have expanded the property rights of religious corporations. The existing version of the Missouri Constitution—which was ratified in 1945—does not ban or limit religious incorporation.

Referred amendments on the ballot

See also: List of West Virginia ballot measures

From 1996 through 2020, a total of 15 measures appeared on statewide ballots. Of those, 13 were on the ballot during even-numbered years, and two were on the ballot during odd-numbered years. An average of one measure appeared on the ballot during even-numbered years in West Virginia in that time period. The number of measures appearing on even-year statewide ballots from 1996 through 2020 ranged from zero to three. From 1996 through 2020, 73.3% (11 of 15) of statewide ballots were approved by voters, and 26.7% (4 of 15) were defeated. In 1986, there were six constitutional amendments on the ballot, the largest number on the ballot in any year since at least 1950.

Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 1996-2020
Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Even-year average	Even-year median	Annual minimum	Annual maximum
15	11	73.3%	4	26.7%	1	1	0	3

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the West Virginia Constitution

To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required in both the West Virginia State Senate and the West Virginia House of Delegates.

This amendment was introduced as Senate Joint Resolution 4 (SJR 4) on February 10, 2021. The state Senate approved SJR 4 with a vote of 32-0 with two absent on March 2, 2021. On April 7, 2021, the state House adopted the bill with amendments and sent it back to the state Senate. On April 10, the state Senate refused to adopt the amendments and sent the bill back to the state House where it was approved in its original form in a vote of 94-4 with one absent.

Vote in the West Virginia State Senate March 2, 2021
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 23  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	32	0	2
Total percent	94.12%	0.00%	5.88%
Democrat	11	0	0
Republican	21	0	2

Vote in the West Virginia House of Delegates April 10, 2021
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 67  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	95	4	1
Total percent	95.0%	4.0%	1.0%
Democrat	19	4	0
Republican	76	0	1

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in West Virginia

Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in West Virginia.

How to cast a vote in West Virginia

Poll times In West Virginia, all polling places are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time. A voter who is in line at the time polls close must still be permitted to vote. Registration requirements Check your voter registration status here. To vote in West Virginia, an individual must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of West Virginia, and at least 18 years of age by the date of the next general election. The registration deadline is 21 days prior to an election. An individual may register to vote by submitting a form by mail to his or her county clerk's office or the Secretary of State's Office. Registration can be completed online, in person at the county clerk's office, the Secretary of State's office, the Department of Motor Vehicles, any public assistance office, any agency that serves people with disabilities, any marriage license office, or any military recruiting agency. Automatic registration See also: Automatic voter registration West Virginia automatically registers eligible individuals to vote through the Department of Motor Vehicles. Online registration See also: Online voter registration West Virginia has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website. Same-day registration See also: Same-day voter registration West Virginia does not allow same-day voter registration. Residency requirements An individual must have resided in the state for at least 30 days of residency before they may vote. Verification of citizenship See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States West Virginia does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury. All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. One state, Ohio, requires proof of citizenship only when registering to vote at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles facility. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters. Verifying your registration The West Virginia Secretary of State's office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website. Voter ID requirements West Virginia requires voters to present identification while voting. The identification provided must be issued either by the State of West Virginia, or one of its subsidiaries, or by the United States government. Signed into law in 2025, HB 3016 established that a document was valid if it: “ (A) Has been issued either by the State of West Virginia, one of its political subdivisions or instrumentalities, or by the United States Government; (B) Contains the name of the person desiring to vote; and (C) Contains a photograph of the person desiring to vote: Provided, That a driver’s license or identification card issued in accordance with §17B-2-1(f)(4) of this code that does not contain a photograph of the person desiring to vote is a valid identifying document. ” State law enumerates the following identifications that an individual may use to vote: “ (A) A valid West Virginia driver’s license or valid West Virginia identification card issued by the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles, including a driver’s license or identification card issued in accordance with §17B-2-1(f)(4) of this code. (B) A valid driver’s license issued by a state other than the State of West Virginia; (C) A valid United States passport or passport card; (D) A valid employee identification card with a photograph of the eligible voter issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the United States Government or of the State of West Virginia, or by any county, municipality, board, authority, or other political subdivision of West Virginia; (E) A valid student identification card with a photograph of the eligible voter issued by an institution of higher education in West Virginia, or a valid high school identification card issued by a West Virginia high school; (F) A valid military identification card issued by the United States with a photograph of the person desiring to vote; or (G) A valid voter registration card that includes the voter’s photograph issued by a county clerk in the State of West Virginia or the Secretary of State. The county clerk or the Secretary of State may not charge or collect a fee for the application or issuance of a voter registration card that includes the voter’s photograph. ” Lastly, state law provided for the following exceptions and alternative methods of verifying a voter's identity: “ (3) Any expired document identified in §3-1-34(a)(2) of this code is a valid identifying document if presented by a registered voter 65 years of age or older: Provided, That the identifying document was not expired on the registered voter’s 65th birthday. (4) In lieu of providing a valid identifying document, as required by this section, a registered voter may be accompanied at the polling place by an adult known to the registered voter for at least six months. That adult may sign an affidavit on a form provided to clerks and poll workers by the Secretary of State, which states under oath or affirmation that the adult has known the registered voter for at least six months, and that in fact the registered voter is the same person who is present for the purpose of voting. For the affidavit to be considered valid, the adult shall present a valid identifying document with his or her name, address, and photograph. (5) A poll worker may allow a voter, whom the poll worker has known for at least six months, to vote without presenting a valid identifying document. (6) If the person desiring to vote is unable to furnish a valid identifying document, or if the poll clerk determines that the proof of identification presented by the voter does not qualify as a valid identifying document, the person desiring to vote shall be permitted to cast a provisional ballot after executing an affidavit affirming his or her identity pursuant to §3-1-34(a)(6)(B) of this code. ” Voters can obtain a free voter ID card at their county clerk’s office.

See also

2022 measures

• 2022 ballot measures
• Religion on the ballot

West Virginia

• West Virginia ballot measures
• West Virginia ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Full text of SJR 4