[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. 
Names on Ballots. The names of all candidates nominated for municipal office shall appear as designated on the petition for candidacy, except those who have withdrawn, died, or become ineligible. They shall be printed on the official ballots without party designation or symbol by the board of election commissioners. If two (2) or more candidates have the same surname or surnames so similar as to be likely to cause confusion their residence addresses shall be printed with their names on the ballot.
B. 
Rotation. The names of the candidates shall be arranged in the order of the time and date of filing, as specified and printed by the board of election commissioners. The Council may request the board of election commissioners to rotate the names of the candidates by placing the names on the ballot in alphabetical order of their surnames for the first (1st) fifty (50) ballots. The second (2nd) fifty (50) ballots shall appear in the same order except that the first (1st) name of the candidate on the top of the first (1st) fifty (50) ballots shall appear last. In each succeeding group of fifty (50) ballots the names shall appear in the same order immediately preceding, except that the first (1st) name of the candidate on the top of the preceding fifty (50) ballots shall appear last.
If voting machines are used, the names of candidates shall, insofar as possible, be rotated on the different machines to accomplish the same purpose as that accomplished by the rotation of names on printed ballots.
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. 
Majority. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes for each office shall be declared elected, as per the results forwarded to the City Clerk by the board of election commissioners.
B. 
Tie Vote. If two (2) or more candidates receive an equal number of votes for the same office, another election between the candidates so tied shall be held within thirty (30) days after the original election.
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.