HomeMy Public PortalAboutORD10008 BILL NO. 83-8 Amended
SPONSORED BY COUNCILMAN Borgmeyer & GardUn
ORDINANCE NO. /,000
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF JEFFERSON, MISSOURI, AMENDING
CHAPTER 14 OF THE CITY CODE BY DELETING SECTIONS 14-7(b), 14-12,
14-13, 14-17, 14-19, 14-20, 14-23, 14-24 AND 14-25 RELATING TO
ELECTIONS, AND ENACTING IN LIEU THEREOF NINE NEW SECTIONS
PERTAINING TO THE SAME SUBJECT MATTER.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF JEFFERSON,
MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The City Code of the City of Jefferson, Missouri, is
hereby amenUed by deleting Sections 14-7(b), 14-12, 14-13, 14-17,
14-19, 14-20, 14-23, 14-24, and 14-25, relating to elections, and by
enacting in lieu thereof nine new sections pertaining to the same
subject matter, which shall read as follows:
Section 14-7. Conduct of a City election by City Clerk.
b. Notice to County Clerks. No later than 5:00 P.M.
on the Friday after the sixth Tuesday prior to any
election to be conducted by the City Clerk, the City of
Jefferson shall notify the Cole County and Callaway County
Clerks. The notice shall be in writing and shall include
the name of the City of Jefferson and the statement that
the City of Jefferson intends to conduct its own election.
Section 14-12. Nomination of Candidates. Nomination of
candidates for election to elective city offices of the City of
Jefferson shall be made by Declaration of Candidacy filed with
the City Clerk in the form and manner as follows:
a. Affiliation. A candidate for city office may
designate on the Declaration of Candidacy an affiliation
or membership in any political party organized or
recognized under the laws of the State of Missouri. Should
a candidate for city office not desire to so designate a
membership in a political party, the candidate may set
out on the Declaration of Candidacy that the candidate
seeks office as an Independent.
b. Declaration of Candidacy, Form. Any person
desiring to Ee a candidate or city office shall file with
the City Clerk a statement of candidacy in substantially
the following form:
State of Missouri )
County of Cole ) ss
City of Jefferson )
I, , being first duly sworn, say that
1 reside at , in the City of Jefferson,
County of Cole, State of Missouri, and that I
am a qualified voter therein, and that I am a
candidate for nomination for the office of
at the election to be held on the
Tuesday of , 19 . I am eligible to
hold such office and request that my name be
printed upon the official ballot. I will qualify
and serve if elected. I am a candidate for
nomination (1) on the ticket (2) as
an Independent candidate.
(Signed)
Subscribed and sworn to before me this
day of 19
City Clerk
*Strike whichever of (1) or (2) is inapplicable.
c. Endorsement by City Clerk. The City Clerk shall
endorse on each Declaration of andidacy the day and
hour such Declaration was received and filed.
d. Filing Fee. Every candidate for city office,
excluding candidates for membership to the city committee
of any political party and Independent candidates, shall
pay to the treasurer of the city committee of the party of
which the candidate is affiliated the sum of $5.00 and
take a receipt therefor. Each candidate shall file the
receipt and his Declaration of Candidacy concurrently in
the office of the City Clerk. Money derived from the
payment of such fees shall not be used to aid or assist,
directly or indirectly, any candidates in their effort to
secure the nomination for any city office.
e. Independent Candidates to File Nominating
Petitions.
1. When submitted for filing, the Declaration
of Candidacy of an Independent candidate shall
include a petition for nomination.
-2-
2. Each page or a sheet attached to each page
of each petition for the nomination of an Independent
candidate shall:
(a) declare concisely the intention to
nominate an Independent candidate;
(b) state the name and address,
including street and number, of the
Independent candidate;
(c) state the office for which the
candidate is to be nominated;
(d) state that each person who signs the
petition declares that he is a registered
voter in the city or the appropriate
ward.
3. If the Independent candidate is to be
nominated for a city-wide office, then the petition
shall be signed by the number of registered voters
in the city which is equal to at least four percent
(4%) of the total number of voters who voted in the
city at the last general city election, or by 300
registered voters in the city, whichever is greater.
4. If the Independent candidate is to be
AML nominated for the office of Councilman, then the
petition shall be signed by the number of registered
voters in the candidate's ward which is equal to at
least four percent (4%) of the total number of voters
who voted in that ward at the last general city
election, or by 65 registered voters in the
candidate's ward, whichever is greater.
5. The name of each person who files a valid
petition for nomination as an Independent candidate
and a valid Declaration of Candidacy shall be
placed on the official ballot as an Independent
candidate for the office at the next general election
or the special election if the petition nominates a
candidate to fill a vacancy which is to be filled at
a special election.
6. Each sheet of the petition containing
signatures shall be verified in substantially the
following form by the person who circulated the
sheet, by an affidavit thereon and as a part thereof:
-3-
VERIFICATION AFFIDAVIT
State of Missouri )
® County of Cole ) ss
1, , a registered voter of the
Cityy of e erson, being first duly sworn,
say (here shall be legibly printed or
typewritten the name of each signer of
the page) signed this page of the
foregoing petition, and they signed their
names thereto in my presence; I believe
that they have stated their names, street
addresses and city correctly, and that
they are registered voters of (here insert
either the city or the appropriate ward
number).
Signature of Affiant
Subscribed and sworn to before me this
day of 19
Notary Public
My commission expires;
7. Any person who is a registered voter of the
City of Jefferson may sign a. petition for the
nomination of an Independent candidate for a
city-wide office. Any person who is a registered
voter of the ward may sign a petition for the
nomination of an Independent candidate for
Councilman from that ward. No person shall sign a
name other than his own to any petition, knowingly
sign more than once on the same petition, sign any
petition when he knows he is not a registered voter
in the applicable ward at the time of signing such
petition, subscribe to more than one nomination for
one office at any election. Any person who
subscribes to more than one nomination for one office
at any election shall have his name stricken from
each of those petitions.
8. The election authority shall have specific
authority to determine the validity of signatures on
petitions filed with that office and shall have
authority not to count those which are, in the
election authority's opinion, forged or fraudulent or
the signatures of persons who are not registered
voters. The election authority shall check each
signature on the petition against the registration
records, and shall certify the total number of valid
signatures on the pages. Only valid signatures shall
be counted on any petition page.
-4-
f. Write-in Votes. Write-in votes shall be allowed in
primary and genera elections. Write in votes shall be
counted only for candidates who have filed a declaration
of intent to be a write-in candidate with the proper
election authority prior to 5:00 P.M. on the Friday
immediately preceding any election day. The election
authority shall furnish a list to the election judges and
counting teams prior to election day of all write-in
candidates who have filed such declaration. This
subdivision shall not apply to elections wherein candidates
are being elected to an office for which no candidate has
filed.
Section 14-13. Filing Deadline, Receipt, Verification for
Primary Election and Unopposed Candidates.
a. Declarations of candidacy for city offices and
petitions for the nomination of an Independent candidate
must be filed with the City Clerk not later than 5:00 P.M.
on the Thursday before the seventh Tuesday prior to the
primary election. The City Clerk shall check each
Declaration of Candidacy to certify that the Declaration of
Candidacy is lawfully made. Within forty-eight hours after
the filing deadline (not counting weekends) the City Clerk
shall determine whether a city primary is needed.
b. If only one person has filed a Declaration of
Candidacy for a party nomination to any city office, then
Alm such person shall be the nominee of that political party
IF to the office declared for, and no primary election shall
be required for that candidate.
C. If there are two or more candidates for the
nomination to a city office from the same political party,
then the names of those candidates shall be placed upon a
primary ballot.
Section 14-17. Candidates' Names on Ballot. Names of
candidates for each office shall be placed on the ballot in the
order in which the Declaration of Candidacy is filed with the
City Clerk.
Section 14-19. Election Day. All City elections shall be
held on a Tuesday. The City general election day shall be the
first Tuesday in April of each year. Except as otherwise
provided by state law, other authorized City election dates
shall be the first Tuesday after the first Monday in February
or March, April, June, August or November. The County Clerk
shall make the selection of either the February or March
election date, but not both dates for the City elections. If a
primary election is required, it will be held in February.
-5-
Section 14-20. Primary Election Day, Ballots.
a. The City primary day shall be held on the first
® Tuesday after the first Monday in February.
b. At any City primary election, there shall be as
many ballots as there are political parties having more
than one candidate for the nomination to any office to be
filled at the succeeding election. The names of all
candidates seeking the nomination for the same office
shall appear on the appropriate party ballot, under the
appropriate title of the office, in the same order as the
Declarations of such candidates were filed with and
received by the City Clerk.
Section 14-23. Vacancy, How Filled.
a. When any vacancy shall happen in the office of
Mayor, by death, resignation, removal from the City,
removal from Office, refusal to qualify or otherwise, the
President Pro Tem of the Council shall act as Mayor until
the next regular election.
b. If a vacancy occurs in any other elective office,
the Mayor, or the person exercising the office of Mayor,
shall recommend a person to fill the vacancy from the
political party of the person who previously held the
office. The Council shall approve the person recommended
by the Mayor. The successor shall serve until the next
regular election.
Section 14-24. Certification of Results of General and
Primary Elections. As soon as is practical after eac ity
election, the City Clerk shall verify the count and certify the
results of the election to the City Council. If a primary election
is held, the person receiving the greatest number of votes as a
candidate of a political party for the nomination to a City
office for which there is a contest shall be the candidate of
such political party for such office at the following general
election. In the case of a tie between two candidates of the
same political party for nomination to an office, such
candidates shall determine by lot, in such manner as the
candidates may select, in the presence of the Mayor and the
City Clerk, which of the candidates shall be the nominee. In a
general election, the candidates receiving the most votes for
their respective offices shall take office upon verification of the
election results at the first regular Council meeting following
the election. The City Clerk shall issue to each person elected
to office a certificate of election.
Section 14-25. Tie Vote, General Election. Whenever there
is a tie in tFie election of a Council man, t e matter shall be
determined by the Council.
-6-
Section 2. Effective Date. This ordinance shall be in full force
and effect from and after its passage and approval.
Passed - 5-8 Approved
re ding Officer Mayor /
ATTEST:
01ty Clerk