W. Va. Code » §3-9-12. Improper influence and bribery by candidates; penalties.
West Virginia Code

W. Va. Code § 3-9-12 (2026)

Improper influence and bribery by candidates; penalties

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section WV-LEGwvlegislature.gov JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
ARTICLE 9. OFFENSES AND PENALTIES.

§3-9-12. Improper influence and bribery by candidates; penalties.

Whoever, being a candidate for any office, loans or gives, directly or indirectly, or offers or promises to loan, or give, any money, or other thing of value, to any elector, for the purpose of influencing or retaining the vote of such elector, or inducing such elector to work or labor for the election of such candidate, or to refrain from working or laboring for the election of any other candidate; or to any person to secure or to retain the influence or vote of such elector, in his behalf as such candidate, or to be used by such person in any way to influence the vote of any elector, or of electors generally, for himself or any candidate or ticket, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000, or confined in the county jail for not more than one year, or both, in the discretion of the court.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases, 1985–2009 · leading case: State Ex Rel. Cohen v. Manchin, 336 S.E.2d 171 (W. Va. 1985).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
State Ex Rel. Cohen v. Manchin, 336 S.E.2d 171 (W. Va. 1985). · cites it 2× “Code, 3-8-12(f), relating to the one thousand dollar maximum limit on contributions; W.Va.Code, 3-9-12, regarding payment to electors for influencing such electors' votes; W.”
Hill v. Stowers, 680 S.E.2d 66 (W. Va. 2009). · cites it 2× “W. Va.Code § 3-9-12 states: Whoever, being a candidate for any office, loans or gives, directly or indirectly, or offers or promises to loan, or give, any money, or other thing of value, to any elector, for the purpose of influencing or retaining the vote of such elector, or…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.