[Amended 11-14-2016 by Res. No. CR-02-2017]
(a) There shall be a Board of Elections consisting of 10 members who shall be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the Council on or before the first Monday in February of the year immediately preceding a regular City election. Except as provided in Subsection
(c) of this section, the Mayor may fill a vacancy on the Board caused by the departure of a member by resignation or otherwise and such person's term shall begin upon his or her appointment and continue until the last day preceding the first Monday in February of the year preceding a regular City election.
(b) The terms of members of the Board of Elections appointed under Section
701(a) shall begin on the first Monday in February in the year in
which they are appointed and run for four years.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection
(a) of this section, if there exist any vacancies on the Board of Elections within six months of a regular election, or at any point prior to a special election, the City Council shall appoint as many citizens as are required to ensure a complement of 10 members. The Council shall appoint a minimum of two representatives who reside in each ward and have been nominated for appointment by their respective Councilmember. The term of any person appointed by the City Council to fill a vacancy shall begin upon such person's appointment and continue until the last day preceding the first Monday in February of the year preceding a regular City election.
(d) Members of the Board of Elections shall be qualified voters of the
City pursuant to Section 702 of this Charter. The Board shall appoint
one of its members as Supervisor of the Board, and another as Assistant
Supervisor of the Board of Elections; the other eight members shall
be known as judges. No member of the Board shall hold or be a candidate
for any elective office during his or her term of office. Vacancies
on the Board shall be filled by the Mayor with the approval of the
Council for the remainder of the unexpired term. The compensation
of the members of the Board shall be determined by the Council.
Every person who meets all the following requirements may vote
in City elections:
(a) Is a citizen of the United States;
(b) Is at least 18 years of age;
[Amended 11-14-2016 by Res. No. CR-01-2017; 12-11-2017 by Ord. No. CR-03-2018]
(c) Has resided within the corporate limits of the City for the 30 days
immediately preceding the next City election; and
(d) Is registered in accordance with the provisions of this Charter.
[Amended 1-14-2013 by Res. No. CR-04-2013]
Any qualified voter registered to vote in the elections of the
City of Glenarden who may be unavoidably absent from the City or who
is otherwise prevented from being present and personally voting at
the polls on any municipal election day is entitled to vote by absentee
ballot in a manner prescribed by ordinance.
Any person desiring to become a candidate for Mayor or Councilmember
shall, at least 30 days before election, file or cause to be filed
with a member of the Board of Elections a petition stating that he
or she is a candidate for the office, which petition shall be signed
by such candidate and endorsed by at least 15 persons entitled to
vote in the next City election. Upon the filing of such petition,
the candidate shall pay a fee to the Board of Elections. The filing
fee shall be set from time to time by ordinance of the Council and
shall be the same for all candidates. The Board shall certify candidates
for the regular City election at least 25 days prior to the date set
for such election. No person shall file for nomination to more than
one elective City public office or hold more than one elective City
public office at any one time.
[Amended 1-14-2013 by Res. No. CR-02-2013; 3-11-2013 by Res. No. CR-05-2013]
An election for Mayor and Councilmembers, under this Charter,
shall be held on the first Monday in May, in the year 2013, and on
the same day and month in every fourth year thereafter.
[Amended 1-9-2017 by Res.
No. CR-06-2017; 10-10-2017 by Ord. No. CR-01-2018; amended 11-9-2020 by Res. No. CR-02-2021]
(a) Beginning with the election in May 2021 a voting district or ward
system shall be utilized within the City to elect one Councilmember
for each of the three wards. Four Councilmembers and the Mayor shall
be elected at large.
(b) Three individual councilmanic districts/wards are hereby established
within the City and the number of Councilmembers elected to represent
each ward shall be as follows:
(1)
Ward I shall be represented by one Councilmember.
(2)
Ward II shall be represented by one Councilmember.
(3)
Ward III shall be represented by one Councilmember.
(c) The boundaries of the three wards shall be as follows:
(1)
Ward I: all properties within the City that lie west of Martin
Luther King, Jr. Highway.
(2)
Ward II: all properties within the City that lie between Martin
Luther King, Jr. Highway and Brightseat Road.
(3)
Ward III: all properties within the City that lie east of Brightseat
Road.
(d) In addition to the residency requirement in Section 302 of this Charter,
the following residency requirements prevail for ward candidates:
(1)
A candidate shall have resided in the ward from which he or
she is to be a candidate for at least 90 days.
(2)
A change of residence from one ward to another does not negate
the representation from the previous ward until the next regular or
special election.
(3)
In the event of dual residence, a person may be a candidate
from only one ward.
(4)
A candidate may only be elected to represent the ward in which
he or she resides.
It is the duty of the Board of Elections to provide for each
special and general election a suitable place or places for voting
and voting machines. The voting machines for each ward shall show
the names of all councilmanic candidates nominated for elective office
from that ward, as well as the mayoral and at-large councilmanic candidates,
arranged in alphabetical order by office with no party designation
of any kind. The Board of Elections shall keep the polls open from
7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on election days.
All ballots used in any City election shall be preserved for
at least two years from the date of the election.
Any person who holds an elective office under this Charter who
during a term of office is convicted of or enters a plea of nolo contendere
to any crime which is a felony or which is a misdemeanor related to
the official's public duties and responsibilities and involves moral
turpitude for which the penalty may be incarceration in any penal
institution shall be suspended from office and the office shall be
filled in accordance with the Constitution and laws of Maryland and
the provisions of this Charter.
The Council has the power to provide by ordinance in every respect
not covered by the provisions of this Charter for the conduct of registration,
nomination, and elections and for the prevention of fraud in connection
therewith, and for a recount of ballots in case of doubt or fraud.
Any person who (a) fails to perform any duty required of him
or her under the provisions of this article or any ordinances passed
hereunder, (b) in any manner willfully or corruptly violates any of
the provisions of this article or any ordinance passed hereunder or
(c) willfully or corruptly does anything which will or will tend to
affect fraudulently any registration, nomination, or election, shall
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. Any appointed officer or employee
of the City government who is convicted of a violation of the provisions
of this section shall immediately cease to hold such office or employment.