Constitution of West Virginia

It expresses the rights of the state's citizens and provides the framework for the organization of law and government.

Following the secession of Virginia during the American Civil War, Unionist politicians established a "Restored Government" to assert their loyalty to the U.S.

[4] Significantly, the state's first constitution also abandoned the traditional system of county government found in Virginia and elsewhere in the South.

Instead, the drafters of the 1863 document "Yankeefied" the state's local government, establishing a system of townships which resembled that found in New England.

The convention made a number of changes to the preexisting document, including increasing the terms of office for the governor and legislators.

[7] As historian Sean Patrick Adams notes, the Flick Amendment empowered conservatives, including former Confederates, who dominated the convention.

County courts became the center of governmental authority, decentralizing the state, and a system of business taxation was also implemented.

[10] Since through Divine Providence we enjoy the blessings of civil, political and religious liberty, we, the people of West Virginia, in and through the provisions of this Constitution, reaffirm our faith in and constant reliance upon God and seek diligently to promote, preserve and perpetuate good government in the State of West Virginia for the common welfare, freedom and security of ourselves and our posterity.Article I defines the state in relation to the federal government.

[17] A federal district court partially struck the section down, saying it violated the Establishment Clause, but the remainder of the provision remains in effect.

Provisions include eligibility for voting, methods for impeaching or otherwise removing officials, and a guaranteed secret ballot.

Article V consists of a single section: The legislative, executive and judicial departments shall be separate and distinct, so that neither shall exercise the power properly belonging to either of the others; nor shall any person exercise the powers of more than one of them at the same time, except that justices of the peace shall be eligible to the Legislature.Article VI concerns the state's legislature.

Other officers in this branch include the secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, agriculture commissioner, and attorney general.

[23] On the other hand, West Virginia is one of the few states without an official lieutenant governor, and amendments to add such a position have repeatedly failed, most recently in 2012.

These courts lost most of their judicial power in 1880 but were not formally abolished until 1974, when the present version of Article VIII was enacted.

Section 2 additionally provides for the appointment of officials such as coroners and overseers of the poor, although most counties no longer have such positions.

Sections 6 and 10 regulate these districts, prohibiting the legislature from establishing additional ones and requiring geographical diversity among the members of local school boards.

This article arose in 1862 in response to various land disputes left unresolved by the state government of Virginia.

Additionally, the sale of "forfeited and delinquent lands" provided funding for the state's nascent educational system, although not as much as drafters such as Gordon Battelle hoped.