(a) The City Clerk and two persons appointed by the Common Council, who shall be qualified voters of the city, shall constitute a Board of Ballot Commissioners, of which Board the Clerk shall be Chairperson. Ballot Commissioners shall be appointed between January 15 and 30 in each year in which an election is to be held, for a term of two years beginning on the first day of February next ensuing. They shall perform the duties of such Commissioners at all regular and special elections held in the city during their term of office.
(b) (1) The Board of Ballot Commissioners shall cause to be printed in large, clear type, on cards, instructions for the guidance of voters in preparing their ballots. They shall furnish 12 of such cards to the Commissioners of Election at the same time they deliver them to the ballots for the precinct. The Commissioners of the Election shall cause to be posted one of such cards in each place or compartment provided for the preparation of ballots, and the others in and about the polling place, and one or more of the cards outside of the 300-foot limit provided for in W.Va. Code § 3-1-37, on the day of election.
(2) Such cards shall contain full instructions to the voters as to what shall be done:
A. To obtain ballots for voting;
B. To prepare the ballots for deposit in the ballot boxes; and
C. To obtain a new ballot in place of one accidentally spoiled.
(3) Such cards shall contain a copy of the second paragraph of W.Va. Code § 3-9-2 and a copy of W.Va. Code §§ 3-9-5, 3-9-6, 3-9-8 and 3-9-9.
(4) The Ballot Commissioners shall also cause to be printed, on a different color paper than the official ballot ten or more copies of the ballots provided for each voting place at each election therein, which shall be designated sample ballots, and shall be furnished and posted with the cards of instructions at each voting place.
(c) (1) The Board of Ballot Commissioners shall provide printed ballots for every election for public officers in which the voters or any of the voters within the city participate, and cause to be printed, on the appropriate ballot, the name of every candidate, but in no case shall the ballot contain any title, position, rank, degree, or such, including, but not limited to, doctor, reverend, Ph.D. or the equivalent, whose name has been filed with the City Clerk as provided in this chapter.
(2) The printing of the ballots, and all other printing caused to be done by the Board of Ballot Commissioners, shall be contracted for with the lowest responsible bidder. Ballots other than those caused to be printed by the Board of Ballot Commissioners, shall not be cast, received or counted in any election.
(d) The Board of Ballot Commissioners shall appoint one or more of the Commissioners of Election at each precinct of the city to attend at the office of the City Clerk at least the day before each election to receive the ballots, ballot boxes, poll books, registration records and forms and all other supplies and materials for conducting the election at the respective precincts and to deliver the same, such receipt and delivery to be made in the manner prescribed by W.Va. Code § 3-1-24.
(e) Between the twenty-fifth and the tenth days next prior to the date of the election, the Ballot Commissioners shall prepare from the lists and certificates of announcements a sample official ballot, placing thereon the names of all the candidates for office. At least ten days before an election to fill any public office at which the voters of the city are entitled to vote the City Clerk shall cause to be published the sample official ballot as a Class II-O legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of W.Va. Code §§ 59-3-1 et seq., and the publication area for such publication shall be the city. The second publication shall be on the last day upon which each newspaper is published before the election.
(f) The provisions of W.Va. Code Ch. 3 with respect to the duties of Ballot Commissioners so far as applicable, shall apply to city elections.