West Virginia House of Delegates

The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature. The House has 100 members elected for two year terms and is currently controlled by Democrats by a 68-32 margin. Female delegates hold a greater proportion of seats in the House than do female senators in the West Virginia Senate. However, as the Census Bureau reports that females account for more than half of West Virginia's residents, women are greatly underrepresented in the House.

Speaker

The Speaker of the House is selected by its members. In contrast to the tradition of the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Speaker must vote unless excused. The House rules state that in some cases, he or she is not required to vote unless the House is equally divided, or unless his vote, if given to the minority, will make the division equal. In the latter case, the question is lost.

As of the 1st Session of the 77th Legislature, Robert S. Kiss served as Speaker of the House, a position he has held since January 1997 (73rd Legislature). He is the 54th Speaker of the House of Delegates.