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booth and encounters the questions, it may be the first time he or she has ever heard of them.
So it is with the two amendments on the ballot this year.
In order for a proposed constitutional amendment to be placed on the ballot, it must first be passed in identical form by two sessions of the General Assembly with an intervening House of Delegates election between them. Both of this year’s questions have cleared that process, and are now ready for final approval or disapproval by the electorate.
The first deals with the replacement of mayors and chairmen of the boards of supervisors in certain counties, cities and towns.
On the voting machines and ballots, the question will appear as follows: “Shall the Constitution of Virginia be amended so that members of local governing bodies can be elected or appointed to vacancies in the office of mayor and board chairman? Yes or No.”
The amendment is deemed necessary by its supporters because, as Article VII, Section 6 of the Constitution is now written, no member of a governing body is eligible, during the term of office for which he or she has been elected, to hold any office filled by that governing body by election or appointment.
In a limited number of counties, cities and towns, the mayors and board chairmen are elected separately from' the supervisors and members of council. In those localities, if the mayor or board chairman has to be replaced for any reason, an incumbent board or council member would not be eligible to seek the vacant post. He could not do so because of the present constitutional prohibition against serving in such a post “during the term of service” for which he had been previously elected. The prohibition applies even if he vacates the office.
The proposed amendment would allow localities to remove that disability and permit incumbent board and council members to seek the higher post. It does
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