(a)
Regular Elections. The regular City elections shall
be held on the first (1st) Tuesday in April or such day in April as
may be mandated by State law or the St. Louis County Board of Election
Commissioners.
(b)
Special Elections. The Council may by ordinance
order special elections, fix the time for such elections and provide
for holding such elections.
(c)
Conduct Of Elections. All City elections shall be non-partisan and governed by the provisions of this Charter and applicable State law. The Council by ordinance may further regulate elections, subject to the provisions of the Charter and applicable State law. If the regular election date is changed by State law, regular elections shall be held on dates as close as practicable to the dates established by Article VIII, Section 8.1, of this Charter.
(d)
Financial Disclosure. In addition to complying with
all State campaign disclosure requirements, all candidates filing
for elected offices must make a full disclosure to the City of all
campaign funding contributions. These financial disclosure reports
are to be public record and are required to be filed thirty (30) days
before the election, again seven (7) days before the election and
yet again seven (7) days after the election. No persons will be sworn
into office until they have filed the first (1st) two (2) of these
reports. Failure to file the third (3rd) report will cause automatic
suspension from office.
Declaration of candidacy for elected City offices shall be made
with the City Clerk at City Hall in the form and manner prescribed
by ordinance. Any City employee desiring to seek elective position
shall take a general leave of absence without pay from his or her
position for a period running from the filing period for the elective
office through the date of losing the election or to the date of installation
as an elected official in the City, whichever is later. Any City employee
shall resign his or her position in the City, regardless of whether
the person is appointed or elected to the City office.
The City Clerk shall cause the names of the qualified candidates
to appear on all ballots in the order in which the candidates filed
for office. The candidates shall appear on the ballot without party
designation.
(a)
Voting. At the City election for Mayor each voter shall be entitled to vote for one (1) candidate. At the City election for Council Members each voter shall be entitled to vote for one (1) candidate to represent the district in which the voter resides, except as otherwise provided in Article VIII, Section 8.5, of this Charter.
(b)
Council Members. Upon receipt of the results of
the City election, the Council shall notify the candidates who have
been elected to the position of Council Member. The number of candidates,
equal to the number of Council Member positions to be filled in the
Council, receiving the highest number of votes shall be certified
elected. In the event of a tie such tie shall be resolved by a special
run-off election between the candidates who have tied, which special
election shall be held within seventy-five (75) days of the certification
of the election results or at the next available election date provided
by law.
(c)
Mayor. Upon receipt of the results of the City election
the Council shall certify the Mayoral candidate receiving the highest
number of votes to be elected to the office of Mayor. In the event
of a tie such tie shall be resolved by a special run-off election
between the candidates who have tied, which special election shall
be held within seventy-five (75) days of the certification of the
election results or at the next available election date provided by
law.
At a regular election any official may be elected who would
not ordinarily be elected in such year if by death, resignation, removal
from the City or other cause there exists a vacancy in any office
to be filled by such election. Such an official may also be elected
if the interim appointment of any person filling a vacancy in office
by appointment shall terminate so that a successor need be elected
to fill the unexpired portion of the term of office of the original
holder of such office. If two (2) Council Members are to be elected
from any district at a regular election where only one (1) Council
Member normally would be elected, there shall be placed on the ballot
two (2) separate offices for election: one (1) office for the unexpired
term and one (1) office for the full three (3) year term which would
appear regardless of any vacancy referred to above. No person shall
be allowed to file his candidacy for more than one (1) of the offices
of Council Member referred to above.
There shall be three (3) Council districts, bounded and numbered
the same as the wards which exist at the time of adoption of this
Charter. The Council may by ordinance increase the number of districts
up to a maximum of five (5). District boundaries shall be established
by ordinance within one hundred eighty (180) days of receipt of the
final data for each decennial census or at other more frequent intervals
as may be determined by the Council. Districts shall be comprised
of compact and contiguous territory and shall contain, as nearly as
possible, an equal number of inhabitants.
