On the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November,
biennially, a regular municipal election shall be held and the registered
voters of the City or wards, as the case may be, shall ballot for
the Mayor, Councilors, School Committee, Wardens and Ward Clerks as
may be necessary to fill the offices provided for by this Charter
whose terms would normally expire.
The Wardens and Ward Clerks shall be and remain residents of
the Ward for which they qualify and hold their offices for two years
and until others have been chosen and qualified in their stead. The
Warden and the Ward Clerk shall be sworn to the faithful performance
of their duties by a person qualified under the statutes of the State
to administer oaths, and a certificate of such oath shall be entered
by the City Clerk on the records of said ward.
The nomination of all candidates for elective offices provided
for by this Charter shall be by petition. The petition of a candidate
for Mayor shall be signed by no fewer than 125 qualified voters of
the City. The petition of a candidate for Councilor-at-Large shall
be signed by no fewer than 50 qualified voters of the City. The petition
of a candidate for a Ward Council seat shall be signed by no fewer
than 25 qualified voters of the respective wards. The petition of
a candidate for School Committee shall be signed by no fewer than
25 qualified voters of the City. The petition of a candidate for Warden
and Ward Clerk shall be signed by no fewer than 20 qualified voters
of the respective wards. The petition of a candidate for the Charter
Revision Commission shall be signed by no fewer than 25 qualified
voters of the respective wards.
Employees of the City of Biddeford or Biddeford School Department
are not eligible to seek or accept nomination, appointment or election
to any elected political office in the City of Biddeford.
The signatures to nomination petitions need not all be affixed
to one nomination petition, but to each separate petition there shall
be attached an affidavit of the circulator thereof stating the number
of signers of each petition, and that each signature appended thereto
was made in his or her presence and is the genuine signature of the
person whose name it purports to be. With each signature shall be
stated the place of residence of the signer, giving the street and
number of the street or their description sufficient to identify the
same. The form of the nomination petition shall be determined by the
City Clerk and shall declare the office in which the candidate is
petitioning for prior to receiving signatures.
The nomination petitions for any one candidate must be assembled
and united into one petition and filed with the City Clerk during
normal business hours not later than 45 days before the date of election.
No nomination shall be valid unless the candidate shall file with
the City Clerk in writing at the time of filing of said nomination
petitions his or her consent accepting nomination, agreeing not to
withdraw, and if elected, to hold office. Nomination, petitions and
consent, once filed, may not be withdrawn. Any challenge to a nomination
petition must be submitted to the City Clerk in writing, setting forth
the specific reasons for the objection, no later than five business
days from its date of filing or it is barred. No person shall be nominated,
nor shall any person consent to being nominated, at the same election
for any other elective office provided for by this Charter, and no
person shall simultaneously hold more than one elective office provided
for by this Charter.
[Amended 11-6-2012]
All official ballots for use in all municipal elections shall
be prepared by the City Clerk and furnished by the City. Ballots for
use in elections under this Charter shall contain the names of the
various candidates with their residence, and the office for which
they are candidates. The candidates for each office shall be grouped
under the title of each office, plainly and distinctly marked. There
shall be as many blank spaces under the name of each office as there
are vacancies to be filled. These spaces may be used by a voter to
write in the name of any person for whom the voter desires to vote.
No stickers shall be used. Such ballots shall also contain such measures
as may be submitted to the voters of the City by the Maine Legislature
or by the City Council and shall be without party mark or designation.
In preparing all ballots for election under this Charter, the
City Clerk shall conduct a random lottery drawing, in a public forum
within 14 days after closing of nominations. The City Clerk shall
then arrange the names of all qualified candidates for each office
based on the outcome of that drawing.
The City Clerk shall cause ballots to be prepared from the arrangement
of the first group of ballots as provided above and to be posted in
public places in each ward and/or voting precinct, and advertised
in a local newspaper at least once no later than 10 days prior to
a municipal election. Sample ballots shall be printed on colored paper
and marked "Sample Ballot" and shall contain the names of the certified
candidates with the residence of each, instructions to voters, and
such measures as may be submitted to the voters by the Legislature
or by the City Council. Such sample ballots shall also be without
party mark or designation.
[Added 11-6-2012]
A write-in candidate shall mean a person whose name does not
appear on the ballot under the office designation to which the voter
may wish to elect the candidate and who has filed a declaration of
write-in candidacy. To be elected as a write-in candidate, a person
must file a declaration of write-in candidacy in the City Clerk’s
Office on a form provided by the City Clerk, on or before close of
business on the 5th day prior to the election.
The laws of the State of Maine relating to the qualifications
of electors, registration, the manner of voting, the duties of election
officials, counting of ballots, and all other particulars in respect
to preparation for conducting and managing elections, so far as they
may be applicable, shall govern all municipal elections in the City
of Biddeford, except as otherwise provided in this Charter.