Section 44.

Qualifications of senators and delegates

Any person may be elected to the Senate who, at the time of the election, is twenty-one years of age, is a resident of the senatorial district which he is seeking to represent, and is qualified to vote for members of the General Assembly. Any person may be elected to the House of Delegates who, at the time of the election, is twenty-one years of age, is a resident of the house district which he is seeking to represent, and is qualified to vote for members of the General Assembly. A senator or delegate who moves his residence from the district for which he is elected shall thereby vacate his office.
No person holding a salaried office under the government of the Commonwealth, and no judge of any court, attorney for the Commonwealth, sheriff, treasurer, assessor of taxes, commissioner of the revenue, collector of taxes, or clerk of any court shall be a member of either house of the General Assembly during his continuance in office; and his qualification as a member shall vacate any such office held by him. No person holding any office or post of profit or emolument under the United States government, or who is in the employment of such government, shall be eligible to either house.

Qualifications of senators and delegates; who ineligible; removal from district vacates office

Any person may be elected senator who, at the time of election, is actually a resident of the senatorial district and qualified to vote for members of the General Assembly; and any person may be elected a member of the House of Delegates who, at the time of election, is actually a resident of the house district and qualified to vote for members of the General Assembly. But no person holding a salaried office under the State government, and no judge of any court, attorney for the Commonwealth, sheriff, sergeant, treasurer, assessor of taxes, commissioner of the revenue, collector of taxes, or clerk of any court, shall be a member of either house of the General Assembly during his continuance in office, and the election of any such person to either house of the General Assembly, and his qualification as a member thereof, shall vacate any such office held by him; and no person holding any office or post of profit or emolument under the United States government or who is in the employment of such government, shall be eligible to either house. The removal of a senator or delegate from the district for which he is elected shall vacate his office.

Any person may be elected senator who, at the time of election, is actually a resident within the district, and qualified to vote for members of the general assembly according to this constitution; and any person may be elected a member of the house of delegates who, at the time of election, is actually a resident within the county, city, town, or election district, qualified to vote for members of the general assembly according to this constitution. But no person holding a salaried office under the state government shall be capable of being elected a member of either house of the general assembly. The removal of any person elected to either branch of the general assembly, from the city, county, town, or district for which he was elected, shall vacate his office.

Any person may be elected Senator who at the time of election has attained the age of twenty-five years, is actually a resident within the district, and qualified to vote for members of the General Assembly according to this Constitution. And any person may be elected a member of the House of Delegates who at the time of election has attained the age of twenty-one years, and is actually a resident within the county, city, town or election district, qualified to vote for members of the General Assembly according to this Constitution; but no person holding a lucrative office, no minister of the gospel, priest of any religious denomination, or salaried officer of any banking corporation or company, and no attorney for the commonwealth, shall be capable of being elected a member of either house of the General Assembly. The removal of any person elected to either branch of the General Assembly from the city, county, town or district for which he was elected, shall vacate his office.

Any person may be elected senator, who at the time of election, has attained the age of twenty-five years, and is actually a resident within the district, and qualified to vote for members of the general assembly according to this constitution. And any person may be elected a member of the house of delegates, who at the time of election has attained the age of twenty-one years, and is actually a resident within the county, city, town or election district, qualified to vote for members of the general assembly according to this constitution; but no person holding a lucrative office, no minister of the gospel or priest of any religious denomination, no salaried officer of any banking corporation or company, and no attorney for the commonwealth, shall be capable of being elected a member of either house of assembly. The removal of any person elected to either branch of the general assembly from the county, city, town or district for which he was elected, shall vacate his office.

Any person may be elected a Senator, who shall have attained to the age of thirty years, and shall be actually a resident and freeholder within the district, qualified by virtue of his freehold to vote for members of the General Assembly, according to this Constitution. And any person may be elected a member of the House of Delegates, who shall have attained the age of twenty five years, and shall be actually a resident and freeholder within the county, city, town, borough or election district, qualified by virtue of his freehold to vote for members of the General Assembly, according to this Constitution: Provided, that all persons holding lucrative offices, and Ministers of the Gospel and Priests of every denomination, shall be incapable of being elected members of either House of Assembly.

Every white male citizen of the Commonwealth, resident therein, aged twenty one years and upwards, being qualified to exercise the right of suffrage according to the former Constitution and laws; and every such citizen, being possessed, or whose tenant for years, at will or at sufferance, is possessed, of an estate of freehold in land of the value of twenty-five dollars, and so assessed to be, if any assessment thereof be required by law; and every such citizen, being possessed, as tenant in common, joint tenant or parcener, of an interest in or share of land, and having an estate of freehold therein, such interest or share being of the value of twenty-five dollars, and so assessed to be, if any assessment thereof be required by law; and every such citizen being entitled to a reversion or vested remainder in fee, expectant on an estate for life or lives, in land of the value of fifty dollars, and so assessed to be, if any assessment thereof be required by law; (each and every such citizen, unless his title shall have come to him by descent, devise, marriage or marriage-settlement, having been so possessed or entitled for six months); and every such citizen, who shall own and be himself in actual occupation of a leasehold estate, with the evidence of title recorded two months before he shall offer to vote, of a term originally not less than five years, of the annual value or rent of twenty dollars; and every such citizen, who, for twelve months next preceding, has been a house-keeper and head of a family, within the County, city, town, borough or election district where he may offer to vote, and shall have been assessed with a part of the revenue of the Commonwealth within the preceding year, and actually paid the same - and no other persons - shall be qualified to vote for members of the General Assembly, in the county, city, town or borough, respectively, wherein such land shall lie, or such house-keeper and head of a family shall live. And in case of two or more tenants in common, joint tenants or parceners, in possession, reversion or remainder, having interest in land, the value whereof shall be insufficient to entitle them all to vote, they shall together have as many votes as the value of the land shall entitle them to; and the Legislature shall by law provide the mode in which their vote or votes shall in such case be given: Provided, nevertheless, that the right of suffrage shall not be exercised by any person of unsound mind, or who shall be a pauper, or a non-commissioned officer, soldier, seaman or marine, in the service of the United States, or by any person convicted of any infamous offence.

The other shall be called the Senate, and consist of twenty four members, of whom thirteen shall constitute a House to proceed on Business for whose election the different Counties shall be divided into twenty four districts, and each County of the respective District, at the time of the election of its Delegates, shall vote for one Senator, who is actually a resident and freeholder within the District, or duly qualified according to Law, and is upwards of twenty five years of age; And the Sheriffs of each County, within five days at farthest after the last County election in the District, shall meet at some convenient place, and from the Polls so taken in their respective Counties return as a Senator, the man who shall have the greatest number of Votes in the whole District. To keep up this Assembly by rotation, the Districts shall be equally divided into four Classes, and numbered by Lot. At the end of one year after the General Election, the six members elected by the first division shall be displaced, and the vacancies thereby occasioned supplied from such Class or division, by new Election, in the manner aforesaid. This Rotation shall be applied to each division, according to its number, and continued in due order annually.