City of Aberdeen, MD
Harford County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Chapter 36 Elections
[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]
A certificate of candidacy, as referenced in the City Charter,[1] in a form approved by the City Manager, 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.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Charter § VII, Elections and Board of Elections.
[Amended 2-24-2014 by Ord. No. 14-O-02]
Within 72 hours after the filing of a certificate of candidacy, the Board of Elections shall review the certificate of candidacy to determine whether the candidate is eligible for election to the office which he/she seeks. The Ethics Commission concurrently shall review the 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.
[Amended 8-8-2011 by Ord. No. 11-O-07; 2-24-2014 by Ord. No. 14-O-02]
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 65 calendar days prior to the election and no later than 35 calendar days prior to the election. 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. 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.
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:
(1) 
No later than the fourth Tuesday immediately preceding any municipal election;
(2) 
No later than the second Friday immediately preceding any election which shall be complete through and including the preceding Sunday;
(3) 
No later than the third Tuesday after the municipal election;
(4) 
No later than January 31 following a municipal election, the candidate shall file a final report with the Board. That report shall give a full account of how any surplus funds were disposed of in compliance with § 36-5B.[1]
[Amended 3-24-2014 by Ord. No. 14-O-01]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection A(5), (6) and (7), all pertaining to any cash balance or deficit, and which immediately and respectively followed this subsection, were repealed 3-24-2014 by Ord. No. 14-O-01.
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]
(1) 
Returned to the original contributors either in total or in a pro rata share;
(2) 
Donated to a 501(c)(3) organization that has its principal place of business in Aberdeen; or
(3) 
Donated to an organization that supports Aberdeen-based public schools, such as, but not limited to:
(a) 
PTA or PTSO;
(b) 
Band boosters; and
(c) 
Sport boosters.
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.
C. 
Candidates shall be subject to the requirements contained in the Aberdeen Ethics Law, Chapter 43 of this Code.
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]
B. 
In addition to the penalty cited in Subsection A, a violation of § 36-5, Reporting and disposition of contributions and expenditures, shall disqualify the person from registering for elective office until disposition of excess campaign funds has been made in accordance with § 36-5.
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.