[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the City of
Aberdeen 10-24-1994 by Ord. No. 430-94 (Ch. 3 of the 1990 Code). Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Amended 8-8-2011 by Ord. No. 11-O-07; 2-24-2014 by Ord. No. 14-O-02; 4-24-2023 by Ord. No. 23-O-05]
A certificate of candidacy, as referenced in the City Charter,[1] in a form recommended by the Mayor and approved by the
City Council, shall be submitted by each candidate to the Board of
Elections or its authorized representative during the prescribed time
period. The certificate of candidacy must be accompanied by a fee
of $25. Candidates may withdraw their candidacy no later than 30 days
prior to election, in writing. The candidate must satisfy all qualifications
for office as established in the Aberdeen City Charter. The certificate
of candidacy must state the period during which the candidate has
been domiciled in the City.
[Amended 2-24-2014 by Ord. No. 14-O-02; 3-11-2019 by Ord. No. 19-O-01; 4-24-2023 by Ord. No. 23-O-05]
Within five business days after the last day for filing certificates of candidacy, the Board of Elections shall review the certificates of candidacy to determine whether the candidates are eligible for election to the office which each candidate seeks. Within 10 business days after last day for filing a certificate of candidacy, the Ethics Commission shall review each candidate’s financial disclosure form required by Chapter 43 of this Code and report its findings to the Board of Elections in that same time period. In the event that the Board shall find that the candidate is not eligible for election or that the candidate has not satisfactorily completed the financial disclosure form, the Board shall reject the certificate of candidacy and so advise the candidate. Candidates shall have two business days to remedy and resubmit the financial disclosure form following notification from either the Board of Elections or the Ethics Commission. Failure of a candidate to timely file a corrected financial disclosure form shall result in disqualification of the candidate.
[Amended 8-8-2011 by Ord. No. 11-O-07; 2-24-2014 by Ord. No. 14-O-02; 3-11-2019 by Ord. No. 19-O-01; 4-24-2023 by Ord. No. 23-O-05]
Certificates of candidacy shall be properly completed and filed at Aberdeen City Hall with the City Clerk only or designee no later than 5:00 p.m. local time no earlier than the day after Labor Day and no later than nine business days after Labor Day. Should the closing day fall on a weekend, holiday or day that City Hall is closed, the last prior legal business day for the City of Aberdeen will be considered as the closing day. A candidate’s financial disclosure form shall be filed within the time required by § 43-4B of this Code.
[Amended 3-24-2014 by Ord. No. 14-O-01]
The candidate shall name a treasurer who will be responsible
for receiving and disbursing all campaign funds and shall identify
the name of an established campaign finance account to receive contributions.
The treasurer's name must appear on all campaign materials, advertisements,
etc. No other individual or group may spend money directly to aid
the candidate unless the person/group is identified and so states
that information; all such support should be directed through the
treasurer. The campaign treasurer shall provide to the Board a telephone
number with answering service capabilities, an e-mail address, or
both, that the candidate and/or campaign treasurer will regularly
monitor during the campaign. For printed campaign material, the treasurer’s
name and/or authority line shall appear in such a manner that it is
clearly legible. For each electronic campaign material, including
web pages, social media, and robotic telephone calls, a message acknowledging
that the treasurer and candidate approve of the electronic campaign
material shall be provided in the electronic campaign material. The
treasurer shall provide the Board electronic evidence that this approval
message was included on each electronic campaign material.
[Added 4-24-2023 by Ord. No. 23-O-05]
A.
Any person
who intends to solicit or receive contributions, incur expenses or
loan funds to the person's campaign ("campaign finance activity")
prior to filing a certificate of candidacy shall submit a notice of
candidacy intent declaration to the Board of Elections, but not earlier
than the first business day in August. A person may not engage in
any campaign finance activity until the person has filed a notice
of candidacy intent declaration. A notice of candidacy intent declaration
is not required to be filed by persons who refrain from any campaign
finance activity prior to filing a certificate of candidacy.
B.
A notice
of candidacy intent declaration shall include the name of the candidate,
the address of the candidate's domicile and preferred contact information,
the designation of a campaign treasurer, and the name of an established
campaign finance account to receive campaign contributions.
C.
Subject to the submission of a notice of candidacy intent declaration to the Board of Elections as required by Subsections A and B, prospective candidates may begin engaging in campaign finance activity on or after the first business day in August of the election year in which the candidate intends to be a declared and certified candidate.
A.
A report(s) of all moneys spent and received shall be filed with
the Aberdeen Board of Elections on a form provided by the Board. The
initial and subsequent reports shall be consecutively filed as follows:
[Amended 3-24-2014 by Ord. No. 14-O-01; 4-24-2023 by Ord. No. 23-O-05]
(1)
For
candidates who file a notice of candidacy intent declaration, no later
than the Friday before Labor Day immediately preceding any municipal
election;
(2)
No later than the fourth Tuesday immediately preceding any municipal
election;
(3)
No later than the second Friday immediately preceding any election
which shall be complete through and including the preceding Sunday;
(4)
No later than the third Tuesday after the municipal election; and
B.
Within 60 days following the November 2015 Aberdeen municipal election,
each candidate in that election and in prior Aberdeen municipal elections,
shall do one of the following with respect to all campaign funds then
remaining after all campaign expenses have been paid and all loans
to the campaign have been repaid. As used in this subsection, "campaign
funds" includes all campaign funds contributed to the candidate for
the November 2015 election and for all prior Aberdeen municipal elections.
Remaining campaign funds shall be:
[Amended 8-8-2011 by Ord. No. 11-O-07; 3-24-2014 by Ord. No. 14-O-01]
C.
Within 60 days following all subsequent Aberdeen municipal elections, all campaign funds then remaining after all campaign expenses have been paid and all loans to the campaign have been repaid shall be returned to contributors or donated as provided in Subsection B of this section.
[Amended 3-24-2014 by Ord. No. 14-O-01]
D.
Any candidate
elected to the office which he/she seeks who shall fail to file any
report required by this section to be filed before a general election
shall not be administered the oath of office or be permitted to serve
until such report has been filed.
[Added 3-24-2014 by Ord.
No. 14-O-01]
A.
A limitation of no more than $1,000 in cash, gifts or in-kind services
may be contributed by one person or organization to each individual
candidate. The contributor and any amount will be reported on the
candidate's financial report.
B.
No candidate shall accept any anonymous contribution in excess of
$5 in cash from any one individual or source, nor shall he/she accept
more than a total of $300 in cash in anonymous contributions in connection
with any election. Any anonymous contribution received by a candidate
in excess of the limits stated herein shall be promptly paid over
to the City to be used for any lawful purpose.
C.
Campaign
contributions may be used only for the following purposes:
[Added 3-24-2014 by Ord.
No. 14-O-01]
(1)
Printing
of signs.
(2)
Printing
of campaign materials.
(3)
Mailing
of campaign materials.
(4)
Costs
associated with production of electronic campaign materials.
(5)
Costs
associated with distributing electronic campaign materials.
(6)
Creation
and maintenance of campaign website and/or social media.
(7)
Meals
for campaign workers.
(8)
Renting
of tents and/or other supplies for rallies, and for election day poll-watching
locations.
(9)
Costs
associated with production and placing print media advertisements.
(10)
Costs
associated with outdoor advertising.
(11)
Costs
of garments for campaign workers.
(12)
Cost
of attending functions where exposure will aid in the candidate’s
election process.
[Amended 8-8-2011 by Ord. No. 11-O-07]
A.
Campaign signs should be removed within one week after the election.
B.
Campaign signs shall not be displayed on City property, State of
Maryland rights-of-way, or utility poles or in such a way as to present
a danger to person or property or to limit the visual field of drivers
or pedestrians and cannot impede public rights-of-way.
A.
On the day of the municipal election, candidates may not position
themselves, their supporters or their campaign signs closer than a
distance of 100 feet from the entrance to the polls, except for personal
voting. The Board of Elections shall be responsible for the demarcation
of this distance. No campaign materials shall be permitted within
the polling place on that date.
B.
The Board of Elections shall promulgate rules and regulations regarding
the conduct of elections not otherwise provided herein.
A.
Any person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not
more than $1,000 or be imprisoned for not more than six months, or
both, in the discretion of the court.
[Amended 8-23-2010 by Ord. No. 10-O-12]
C.
In addition to the penalties above, the Board of Elections may seek
injunctive relief against any violation of the provisions of this
chapter.
Any and all matters concerning these provisions or the violation
thereof shall be under the duly authorized Board of Elections for
the City or as otherwise provided for in the City Charter. These provisions
are in addition to those found in the City Charter.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The Report of Campaign and Election Contributions
and Expenditures form which appeared at the end of this chapter was
deleted 8-8-2011 by Ord. No. 11-O-07.
[Added 4-24-2023 by Ord. No. 23-O-05]
A.
Absentee ballots, which may be referred to as mail-in ballots for the purposes of this section, may be requested by eligible registered voters of the City of Aberdeen through the Harford County Board of Elections. The City must provide notice of application availability, the deadlines for requesting and casting a mail-in ballot, and the methods for casting a mail-in ballot as specified in Subsections B and C of this section.
B.
Mail-in
ballots may be mailed to the City of Aberdeen Board of Elections at
the City's mailing address at City Hall. In order to be accepted,
a mailed ballot must be postmarked by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day and
must be received at City Hall by the final canvassing of ballots on
the Friday immediately following Election Day.
C.
In addition to casting a mail-in ballot by mail as provided by Subsection B, a mail-in ballot may also be cast by depositing it in a secure drop box located at City Hall designated by the City Board of Elections for that purpose, or by hand delivering it to the designated City polling site on Election Day. In order to be counted, a mail-in ballot cast as provided in this Subsection C must be deposited in the drop box or delivered to the designated polling site no later than 8:00 p.m. on Election Day or by the close of polls, whichever is later.
