Election Handbook - Municipal Association of South Carolina

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Sample partisan election ordinance Section 1. Election method Pursuant to Section 5-15-20, the mayor shall be elected at large and council members shall be elected ________________.* *Must select one of the following: 1. Members of the council elected from the municipality at large 2. One member elected from each ward of the municipality by the qualified electors of the ward. Candidates seeking office from a particular ward shall be residents of the ward during their entire term of office. 3. Some members elected from wards as provided for in (2) and the remainder elected from the municipality at large. 4. Members are required to be residents of particular wards but be elected from the municipality at large. 5. Some members may be required to be residents of particular wards, and others may be residents of the municipality without regard to a particular ward and all members shall be elected from the municipality at large. All regular and special elections for the office of mayor and council must be held pursuant to S.C. Code 5-15-70. Candidates may qualify for election on a partisan basis or by petition. Section 2. Terms of office The office of mayor shall be for the term of [TWO OR FOUR YEARS]. The office of councilmember shall be for the term of [TWO OR FOUR YEARS STAGGERED]. (If districts are used, add provisions to specify which district seats will be filled for indicated terms.) Section 3 Nominations for Office A) Nominations by political party People wishing to be placed on the ballot for office may file their Statement of Intention of Candidacy along with their Statement of Economic Interest with the respective political party as follows: 1. Opening date for primary filing shall be at noon on (enter opening date for party filing). 2. Closing date for primary filing shall be at noon on (enter the closing date for party filing). 3. Political party primaries for nominating candidates shall be held at the scheduled polling places and conducted by the respective political party on (enter date for primary election). 4. Primary runoff, if necessary, shall be held two weeks later on (enter date for primary runoff). 5. Political party conventions for nominating candidates shall be held on (enter date for convention). 6. Political party primaries or conventions must certify nominees to the municipal election commission no later than (enter date that is no later than 60 days before the general election or no later than noon, 45 days before the special election). B) Nominations by petition Candidates wishing to qualify by petition must file their petition along with their Statement of Economic Interest with the municipal clerk no later than 75 days before the general election or no later than noon, 60 days before the special election. 35
Section 4. Election Commission All general and special elections shall be conducted by a Municipal Election Commission composed of three electors who shall be residents of the municipality appointed by the Council for terms of six years, staggered so that the term of one member expires each [______]-numbered year at least 90 days prior to the regular election. The Election Commission shall have the powers and duties specified in S.C. Code 5-15-100. Section 5. Election date and notice General elections for the offices of mayor and members of council shall be held in [____]-numbered years on the [_____] Tuesday in [_______]. In the event of a tie vote for any office, a runoff election shall be held two weeks following the election pursuant to S.C. Code 5-15-125. Special elections to fill vacancies shall be held pursuant to S.C. Code 7-13-190 and 5-15-70. Two public notices of a general or special election shall be given which shall include the location of polling places set by council. The first notice shall be given at least 60 days prior to the election. The second notice shall be given no later than two weeks after the first notice. Section 6. Method of determining results of election In partisan elections, the person securing the highest number of votes for mayor shall be declared elected and the council members shall be elected by the following method: * *Must select one of the following to conform to Section 1: 1. When all council members are to be elected at large, the people receiving the highest number of votes in number equal to the number to be chosen shall be declared elected. 2. When the councilmembers are to be elected from each ward and are required to be residents of that ward, the person receiving the highest number of votes in that ward shall be declared elected. 3. When some councilmembers are to be elected from each ward and required to be residents of that ward and the remainder of the councilmembers to be elected at large, those people receiving the highest number of votes in each ward shall be declared elected and those people running at large who receive the highest number of votes in number equal to the number to be chosen at large shall be declared elected. 4. When all council members are to be elected at large, but required to reside in a particular ward, the person receiving the highest number of votes for the seat to be filled shall be declared elected. 5. When all council members are to be elected at large, but some are required to be residents of particular wards and other council members may not be so required, the person receiving the highest number of votes for the seat to be filled shall be declared elected. Section 7. Filing fees The filing fee for the office of mayor shall be $ ____________. The filing fee for council shall be $ ____________. If there is no filing fee, state that there is no filing fee for mayor or council. Section 8. Time of taking office Newly elected officers shall be qualified to take office at any meeting of council at least 48 hours after an uncontested election. Incumbents shall remain in office until protests are finally determined and successors are qualified and take office. 36
Page 2 and 3: Municipal Election Commission Handb
Page 4 and 5: Training available to municipal ele
Page 6 and 7: 2. Elect a chairperson. 3. Review s
Page 8 and 9: Public notice The municipal electio
Page 10 and 11: State Ethics Commission filing form
Page 12 and 13: days after filing closes to submit
Page 14 and 15: 5 days prior to an election Assembl
Page 16 and 17: Provisional (challenged) ballots Th
Page 18 and 19: Canvassing the votes and certifying
Page 20 and 21: Certifying election results After c
Page 22 and 23: Protests Candidates file municipal
Page 24 and 25: Nonpartisan primary and general ele
Page 26 and 27: Example: A city councilmember is ap
Page 28 and 29: Transfer of authority to county ele
Page 30 and 31: Sample county transfer ordinance Au
Page 32 and 33: Consolidation of precincts For the
Page 34 and 35: Sample nonpartisan election ordinan
Page 38 and 39: Sample nonpartisan public notice (E
Page 40 and 41: Sample petition (available at www.s
Page 42 and 43: Sample nonpartisan statement of int
Page 44 and 45: Sample partisan ballot 43
Page 46 and 47: Sample poll manager’s oath (Use m
Page 48: Canvass sheet-certification of cand

Election Handbook - Municipal Association of South Carolina

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