[Ord. No. 98-11§ 1, 1-21-1998]
A regular election for the choice of elective municipal officials
shall be held annually in April on a date established by State Statute
or by ordinance. The Council may by resolution, call, set the time
of, and provide for holding special elections.
All citizens qualified by the constitution and laws of the State
of Missouri to vote in the City and who satisfy the requirements for
registration prescribed by law and the board of election commissioners
of the County of St. Louis shall be qualified voters of the City within
the meaning of this Charter.
Except as otherwise provided by this Charter, the provisions
of the general election laws of the State of Missouri and the regulations
of the board of election commissioners of the County of St. Louis
shall apply to elections held under this Charter. All elections provided
for by the Charter shall be conducted by the election authorities
established by law. For the conduct of City elections, for the prevention
of fraud in such elections, and for the recount of ballots in cases
of doubt or fraud, the Council shall adopt by ordinance all regulations
which it considers desirable, consistent with law and this Charter,
and the election authorities may adopt, and if they adopt, shall publicize
further regulations consistent with law and this Charter.
[Ord. No. 80-7§ 1, 1-23-1980; Ord. No. 96-54§ 1, 8-21-1996]
Nominations of candidates for all elective officials shall be
by petition. No voter shall sign more than one (1) nominating petition
for each office to be filled, and if a voter signs more than one (1)
nominating petition, his signature shall be void except as to the
first (1st) filed of the petitions signed by him. Petitions for Councilman
shall be signed by not less than fifty (50) registered voters who
are entitled to vote for the candidate nominated. Petitions for all
other elective officials shall be signed by not less than one hundred
(100) registered voters of the City.
Said petitions shall be submitted on forms provided by the City
Clerk and shall contain the name and address of the nominee, in form
in which the name is to appear on the ballot, the office for which
he is being nominated, the certification that the signer is a registered
voter, together with a statement of acceptance of the nomination by
the nominee. Upon receipt of said petitions, the City Clerk will enter
the date and time of day received and verify the fact that there is
no duplication of signatures before forwarding to the board of election
commissioners.
Nominating petitions shall be filed with the City Clerk at the
City Hall during regular business hours not earlier than the fourth
(4th) Monday before the last day by which the City Clerk must notify
the Board of Election Commissioners concerning such election nor later
than the day before the last day which the City Clerk must make such
notification. The City Clerk shall notify a candidate of any insufficiency
in a nominating petition within twenty-four (24) hours after the City
Clerk may receive notice from the Board of Election Commissioners
whether or not the nominating petition is sufficient. Within the regular
filing time for filing petitions, new or supplemental petitions may
be filed for the same candidate.
The petition for each candidate nominated shall be preserved
by the City Clerk until the expiration of the term of office for which
he has been nominated.
A regular nominated candidate may upon written application to
the board of election commissioners at least five (5) days before
the election, appoint two (2) persons to represent him as watchers
and challengers as permitted by the board of election commissioners
at each polling place where the voters may cast their ballots for
him. A person so appointed shall have all the rights and privileges
prescribed for watchers and challengers by or under the general election
laws of the State of Missouri. The watchers and challengers may exercise
their rights throughout the voting and until the ballots have been
counted.
A petition, ballot or Charter amendment to be voted on by the
City shall be presented for voting by ballot title. The ballot title
of a measure may differ from its legal title and shall be a clear,
concise statement describing the substance of the measure without
argument or prejudice. Below the ballot title shall appear the following
question: "Shall the above described (petition, ordinance, amendment)
be adopted?" Immediately below such question shall appear, in the
following order, the words "yes" and "no," and to the left of each
square in which by making a cross (x) the voter may cast his vote.
Said ballots shall be prepared and the election conducted according
to the regulations of the board of election commissioners.
The City Clerk shall receive all requests or orders for a special
election and shall submit same to the board of election commissioners.
The City Clerk shall also contact the board of election commissioners
to the end that, if at all possible, any special election may be held
in conjunction with other special elections in the same district so
as to share cost of same.
If for any purpose relating to a general City or special election
or to candidates or issues involved in such elections, any organization,
group or person requests a list of qualified voters of the City, the
department, office, or agency which has custody of that list shall
either permit the organization, group or person to copy the voters'
names and addresses from the list or furnish a copy of same provided
by the board of election commissioners.
[Amend. No. 3, 11-7-1972; Ord. No. 80-2 §1, 1-16-1980]
A. Number of Wards. There shall be four (4) City Council
wards.
B. Districting Commission. The Council shall appoint
five (5) persons, at least one (1) from each City Council ward, and
each a qualified voter as determined from the registration for the
last statewide general election, who shall comprise the districting
commission. The voters chosen shall not be employed by the City in
any other capacity.
C. Report, Specifications. By the first (1st) day of
December, 1981, and every ten (10) years thereafter, or every five
(5) years thereafter should the Federal census be taken every five
(5) years, the districting commission shall file with the City Clerk
a report containing a recommended plan for adjustment, if necessary,
of the Council ward boundaries so that each ward is in compliance
with the following specifications.
1.
Each ward shall be contiguous and compact and shall contain
as nearly as practicable the same number of residents, determined
from the most recent Federal decennial census or other most recent
census, and in no event shall the number of residents in any ward
vary by more than two percent (2%) from the number of residents in
any other ward.
2.
The report shall include a map and a written description of
the wards recommended and shall include a report of the number of
residents in each such ward. Such report shall be drafted as a proposed
ordinance. Once filed with the City Clerk, the report shall be treated
as a proposed ordinance. In the event of any discrepancy, the written
description of ward boundaries shall govern over the map showing such
boundaries.
D. Procedure. The procedure for the Council's consideration
of the report shall be the same as for other ordinances.
E. Failure to Enact Ordinance. The Council shall adopt
the ordinance at least ninety (90) days before the next regular City
election. If the Council fails to do so by such date, the matter shall
be referred to the circuit court of St. Louis County.
F. Effect of Enactment. The new Council wards and boundaries,
as of the date of enactment, shall supersede previous Council wards
and boundaries for all the purposes of the next regular City election,
including nominations. The new wards and boundaries shall supersede
previous wards and boundaries for all other purposes as of the date
on which all Councilmen elected at that regular City election take
office, except that nothing herein contained shall be construed as
terminating the office of any Councilman until his regular term of
office has expired.