House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, has requested a special session for House members on Aug. 10 to consider measures to expel Del. Elliott Pritt, R-Fayette, to consider. (Photo by Perry Bennett/West Virginia Legislative Photography)
West Virginia House Speaker Roger Hanshaw delivered a letter to Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s office Friday morning requesting a special session for members to consider the expulsion of Del. Elliott Pritt to vote.
Pritt, R-Fayette, was arrested on Wednesday in Oak Hill and Charged with enticement of a minor as a federal felony. He is being held at the Carter County Detention Center in Kentucky and has not yet entered a plea.
According to a Criminal complaint The family of a 15-year-old girl reported that the child was sexually abused by Pritt.
Pritt, a public school teacher, communicated with the girl online using Robolox and Snapchat before asking her to meet him in his classroom at Oak Hill High School to engage in sexual activity, which occurred five to 10 times, according to the complaint.
Pritt told the girl not to tell anyone what happened between them, the complaint says. The inquest heard he told her in a message: “It would be on the news. It would be terrible. For both of us. I would lose my whole life.”
He has not yet resigned from the House of Representatives and represents the 50th District.
Hanshaw, R-Clay, and the West Virginia State Republican Party have already called on Pritt to resign his seat. Many Republican and Democratic members of the House of Representatives also called for his resignation.
“According to Article 6, Section 19 of the Constitution of the State of West Virginia, The undersigned members, representing the required three-fifths of the West Virginia House of Delegates, request that the House be called into special session on Monday, August 10th, 2026, for the limited purpose of considering and implementing a resolution to expel Delegate D. Elliott Pritt from the West Virginia House of Delegates,” Hanshaw wrote in a letter to Gov. Patrick Morrisey.
A long list of Republican House members signed the letter in support of the special session.
The Legislature must meet to vote on formal punishment for Pritt.
Lawmakers are already expected to be in Charleston for interim legislative sessions on Aug. 10.
If Morrisey does not call a special session, he would have to approve a requested special session with a three-fifths majority in both chambers.
Senate Democrats made their own request for a special session “as soon as possible” on Friday afternoon.
“Although lawmakers are scheduled to meet in interim sessions in Charleston beginning August 9, the seriousness of the allegations against Representative Pritt and the resulting inappropriateness of his continued status as a member of the Legislature require a rapid response,” Democratic members of the Senate wrote in a letter. “…The full House of Representatives should have the opportunity to follow suit and pass a resolution to expel Del. Pritt immediately.”
Del. Evan Worrell, a member of House leadership, also said yesterday requested a special meeting consider taking action against Pritt, including expulsion if he does not resign.
Hanshaw has relieved Pritt of all official duties in the House, including his role as deputy majority leader.
Pritt was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2022 as a Democrat switched to the Republican Party in 2023.
So Pritt has not removed himself as a candidate on the ballot for the November election in his district.
State Schools Superintendent Michele Blatt suspended Pritt’s teaching certification due to the charges against him. Blatt said the state superintendent will permanently revoke his certification if Pritt is ultimately convicted or pleads guilty to those charges.
- 3:58 p.mThis story has been updated to include a statement from the Senate Minority Caucus.
