[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Seward
as Ch. 1, Art. 8, of the 1976 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 1-20-1976 by Ord. No. 1043; 1-17-1978 by Ord. No. 1119; 4-5-2005 by Ord. No. 21-05]
A.
All municipal issues and offices shall be combined on the statewide
primary and general election ballots whenever possible. The issuance
of separate ballots shall be avoided in a statewide election if municipal
offices or issues can reasonably be combined with the nonpartisan
ballot and state law does not require otherwise. All municipal elections
involving the election of officers shall be held in accordance with
the Election Act and in conjunction with the statewide primary or
general election. (Neb. RS 32-556)
B.
When the municipality holds an election in conjunction with the statewide
primary or general election, the election shall be held as provided
in the Election Act. Any other election held by the municipality shall
be held as provided in the Election Act unless otherwise provided
by the charter, code, or bylaws of the municipality. (Neb. RS 16-302.01,
32-505, 32-4, 147)[1]
[Amended 10-20-1981 by Ord. No. 38-81]
A.
When more than one person becomes a candidate by filing, petition,
or write-in procedures for the same position in the primary, the County
Clerk, in preparing the official ballot for the general election,
shall place thereon the names of the persons who received the greatest
number of votes in the primary, but in no event shall the names on
the general election ballot be more than twice the number of vacancies
to be filled at the general election.
B.
The County Clerk shall place the names of the candidates on the general
election ballot in the direct order according to the number of votes
received at the primary election. If no primary election was held,
the names of the candidates shall be placed upon the general election
ballot in the order of their filing.
(Neb. RS 16-302.01)
The candidates shall be placed on the general election ballot and the candidates receiving the greatest number of votes shall be elected to terms of the longest duration, and those receiving the next greatest number of votes shall be elected to the remaining term or terms. The term of office of all such member shall commence on the first regular meeting of December following their election. Any vacancy on the Council resulting from causes other than expiration of the term shall be filled by vote of the remaining members as provided in Chapter 85, Part 1, § 85-1.3, of the Seward Municipal Code. (Neb. RS 16-302.01)
The name of a candidate shall not be printed upon the official
ballot for the election of elective officials unless he shall have
filed a written application with the County Clerk at least 60 days
prior to the primary election requesting that his name be placed upon
the official ballot for such election. (Neb. RS 32-601 et seq.)
Prior to the filing of any nomination papers, there shall be
paid to the Municipal Treasurer a filing fee which shall amount to
1% of the annual salary for the office for which the candidate will
file; provided that there shall be no filing fee for any candidate
filing for an office in which a per-diem is paid rather than a salary,
or an office for which there is a salary of less than $500 per year.
No nominating papers shall be filed until the proper Municipal Treasurer's
receipt, showing the payment of the filing fee, shall be presented
to the election officer with whom the nomination papers are to be
filed. (Neb. RS 32-608)
[Amended 9-18-1984 by Ord. No. 33-84; 10-6-1998 by Ord. No. 30-98]
A.
Placement of name on general election ballot.
(1)
Any registered voter who was not a candidate in the primary election
may have his or her name placed on the general election ballot for
a partisan office by filing petitions as prescribed in this section
and Neb. RS 32-616(1) or by nomination by political party convention
or committee.
(2)
Any candidate who was defeated in the primary election and any registered voter who was not a candidate in the primary election may have his or her name placed on the general election ballot if a vacancy exists on the ballot under Subsection (1) of Neb. RS 32-616(2) and the candidate files for the office by petition as prescribed in this section.
B.
Number of signatures required.
(1)
The number of signatures of registered voters needed to place the
name of a candidate upon the nonpartisan ballot for the general election
shall be at least 10% of the total number of registered voters voting
for Governor or President of the United States at the immediately
preceding general election in the municipality, not to exceed 2,000.[1]
(2)
The number of signatures of registered voters needed to place the
name of a candidate upon the partisan ballot for the general election
shall be at least 20% of the total vote for Governor or President
of the United States at the immediately preceding general election
within the municipality, not to exceed 2,000.
C.
Petitions for nomination shall conform to the requirements of Neb.
RS 32-628. Petitions shall state the office to be filled and the name
and address of the candidate. Petitions for partisan office shall
also indicate the party affiliation of the candidate. Petitions shall
be signed by registered voters residing in the municipality and shall
be filed with the filing officer in the same manner as provided for
candidate filing forms in Neb. RS 32-607. Petition signers and circulators
shall conform to the requirements of Neb. RS 32-629 and 32-630. No
petition for nomination shall be filed unless there is attached thereto
a receipt showing payment of the required filing fee. The petitions
shall be filed by September 1 in the year of the general election.
(Neb. RS 156, 32-504, 32-535, 32-616 through 32-618)
"Electors" shall mean every person of the constitutionally prescribed
age or upwards, who shall have the right to vote for all officers
to be elected to public office, and upon all questions and proposals
lawfully submitted to the voters at any and all elections authorized
or provided for by the Constitution or the laws of the State of Nebraska,
except school elections; provided that no person shall be qualified
to vote at any election unless such person shall be a resident of
the state and shall have been properly registered with the election
official of the county. (Neb. RS 17-602, 32-110, 32-115, 32-301 et
seq., 32-313)
[Amended 4-7-1981 by Ord.
No. 12-81; 7-7-1981 by Ord. No. 27-81; 8-6-1991 by Ord. No. 20-91; 10-16-2001 by Ord. No. 27-01; 8-2-2011 by Ord. No. 14-11; 11-16-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-29]
A.
The municipality shall redistrict as often as necessary using the
most recent Federal Census to ensure that each ward is substantially
equal in population. The municipality shall stand divided into the
following wards as set forth herein:
(1)
First Ward: all that portion of the City lying and being situated
north of the line drawn along the center of Hillcrest Drive beginning
at the center of the intersection of Hillcrest Drive and First Street
in the City, and extending east to the Corporate boundary line of
said City, and east of a line drawn along the center of First Street
and then extending north to the Northern Corporate boundary line of
said City.
(2)
Second Ward: all that portion of the City lying and being situated
within the following described boundary line: beginning at a point
to where the center line of Moffitt Street intersects the West Corporate
Limits, thence east following the center line of Moffitt Street to
the center line of Tenth Street, thence north along the center line
of Tenth Street to the center line of Lincoln Street, thence east
following the center line of Lincoln Street to the center line of
Fifth Street; thence north along the center line of Fifth Street to
the center line of Hillcrest Drive, thence east along the center line
of Hillcrest Drive to the center line of First Street, thence north
along the center line of First Street extended to a point of intersection
with the North Corporate Limit, thence generally west along the North
Corporate Limit to a point of intersection with the West Corporate
Limit, thence generally south along the West Corporate Limit line
to the point of beginning.
(3)
Third Ward: all that portion of the City lying south of a line beginning
on the West Corporate boundary line of the City at a point where the
center line of Moffitt Street extended west would intersect with the
West Corporate boundary line, thence east along the center of Moffitt
Street to the intersection of Moffitt Street and Tenth Street, thence
north along the center of Tenth Street to the center of the intersection
of Tenth Street and Lincoln Street; thence east along the center line
of Lincoln Street to the intersection of Lincoln Street and Third
Street; thence south along the center line of Third Street to the
center line of Seward Street; thence east along the center line of
Seward Street extended east to the Corporate boundary line.
(4)
Fourth Ward: all that portion of the City lying and being situated
within the following described boundary line: beginning at a point
to where the center line of Hillcrest intersects the East Corporate
Limits, thence west along the center line of Hillcrest Drive to the
center line of Fifth Street, thence south along the center line of
Fifth Street to the center line of Lincoln Street, thence east along
the center line of Lincoln Street to the center line of Third Street,
thence south along the center line of Third Street to the center line
of Seward Street, thence east along the center line of Seward Street
and the center line of Seward Street extended to a point of intersection
with the East Corporate Limit, thence generally north along the East
Corporate Limit line to the point of beginning.
[Amended 10-21-1980 by Ord. No. 31-80[1]]
The Mayor and City Council shall divide the City into not less than three wards, as compact in form and equal in population as possible, the boundaries of which are defined in § 32-1.8 above. Each ward shall constitute an election district; provided that when any ward shall contain greater than 500 legal voters, the Mayor and City Council may divide such ward into two or more election districts. (Neb. RS 16-104)
The County Clerk shall provide printed ballots for every general
municipal election, and the expense of printing and delivering the
ballots and cards of instruction shall be a charge upon the municipality.
(Neb. RS 32-801 et seq., 32-805)[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original § 1-814 of the 1976 Code,
Elections; Certificate of Nomination or Election, as amended, which
immediately followed this section, was repealed 4-5-2005 by Ord. No.
21-05.
In any general election, where the person who received the highest
number of votes is ineligible, disqualified, deceased, or for any
other reason is unable to assume the office for which he was a candidate,
and the electorate had reasonable notice of such disability at the
time of the election, the candidate in such election who received
the next highest number of votes shall be declared elected, and shall
be entitled to the certificate of election; provided that any candidate
so declared elected received not less than 35% of the total number
of votes cast for such office in the election. If any of the qualifications
of this section are not met by the candidate to be declared elected,
or reasonable notice of the winner's ineligibility is not available
to the voters, a vacancy in such office shall be declared to exist
at the time of commencement of the term and shall be filled as prescribed
by law. (Neb. RS 32-560 through 32-574)
[Amended 9-18-1979 by Ord. No. 1191; 9-18-1984 by Ord. No. 33-84; 8-4-2004 by Ord. No. 18-04]
A.
For purposes of this section, "filing clerk" means the Election Commissioner
or County Clerk. (Neb. RS 32-1301)
B.
Positions subject to recall.
(1)
The Mayor, a member of the City Council, and any other elected
official of the City may be removed from office by recall pursuant
to Neb. RS 32-1301 to 32-1309.
(2)
The recall procedure and special election provisions of such
sections shall apply to members of the City Council who are elected
by ward. Only registered voters of such member's ward may sign a recall
petition or vote at the recall election. The recall election shall
be held within the member's ward. When a member of the City Council
is nominated by ward in the primary election and elected at large
in the general election, the recall provisions shall apply to the
registered voters at the general election. (Neb. RS 32-1302)
C.
Recall petition.
(1)
A petition demanding that the question of removing the Mayor,
a member of the City Council, or any other elected official of the
City be submitted to the registered voters shall be signed by registered
voters equal in number to at least 35% of the total vote cast for
that office in the last general election, except that for an office
for which more than one candidate is chosen, the petition shall be
signed by registered voters equal in number to at least 35% of the
number of votes cast for the person receiving the most votes for such
office in the last general election. The signatures shall be affixed
to petition papers and shall be considered part of the petition.
(3)
The petition papers shall be procured from the filing clerk.
Prior to the issuance of such petition papers, an affidavit shall
be signed and filed with the filing clerk by at least one registered
voter. Such voter or voters shall be deemed to be the principal circulator
or circulators of the recall petition. The affidavit shall state the
name and office of the official sought to be removed, shall include,
in typewritten form in concise language of 60 words or less, the reason
or reasons for which recall is sought, and shall request that the
filing clerk issue initial petition papers to the principal circulator
for circulation. The filing clerk shall notify the official sought
to be removed by any method specified in Neb. RS 25-505.01 or, if
notification cannot be made with reasonable diligence by any of the
methods specified in Neb. RS 25-505.01, by leaving a copy of the affidavit
at the official's usual place of residence and mailing a copy by first-class
mail to the official’s last known address. If the official chooses,
he or she may submit a defense statement in typewritten form in concise
language of 60 words or less for inclusion on the petition. Any such
defense statement shall be submitted to the filing clerk within 20
days after the official receives the copy of the affidavit. The filing
clerk shall notify the principal circulator or circulators that the
necessary signatures must be gathered within 30 days from the date
of issuing the petitions.[2]
(4)
The filing clerk, upon issuing the initial petition papers or
any subsequent petition papers, shall enter in a record, to be kept
in his or her office, the name of the principal circulator or circulators
to whom the papers were issued, the date of issuance, and the number
of papers issued. The filing clerk shall certify on the papers the
name of the principal circulator or circulators to whom the papers
were issued and the date they were issued. No petition paper shall
be accepted as part of the petition unless it bears such certificate.
The principal circulator or circulators who check out petitions from
the filing clerk may distribute such petitions to persons who may
act as circulators of such petitions.
(5)
Petition signers shall conform to the requirements of Neb. RS
32-629 and 32-630. Each signer of a recall petition shall be a registered
voter and qualified by his or her place of residence to vote for the
office in question.
(Neb. RS 32-1303)
D.
Each petition paper shall conform to the requirements of Neb. RS
32-1304.
E.
Filing of petition papers.
(1)
The principal circulator or circulators shall file, as one instrument,
all petition papers comprising a recall petition for signature verification
with the filing clerk within 30 days after the filing clerk issues
the initial petition papers to the principal circulator or circulators.
(2)
Within 15 days after the filing of the petition, the filing
clerk shall ascertain whether or not the petition is signed by the
requisite number of registered voters. No new signatures may be added
after the initial filing of the petition papers. No signatures may
be removed unless the filing clerk receives an affidavit signed by
the person requesting his or her signature be removed before the petitions
are filed with the filing clerk for signature verification. If the
petition is found to be sufficient, the filing clerk shall attach
to the petition a certificate showing the result of such examination.
If the requisite number of signatures has not been gathered, the filing
clerk shall file the petition in his or her office without prejudice
to the filing of a new petition for the same purpose.
(Neb. RS 32-1305)
F.
If the recall petition is found to be sufficient, the filing clerk
shall notify the official whose removal is sought and the City Council
that sufficient signatures have been gathered. The Council shall order
an election to be held not less than 30 days nor more than 75 days
after the notification of the official whose removal is sought above;
except that if any other election is to be held in the City within
90 days after such notification, the Council shall provide for the
holding of the recall election on the same day. All resignations shall
be tendered as provided in Neb. RS 32-562. If the official whose removal
is sought resigns before the recall election is held, the Council
may cancel the recall election if the Council notifies the County
Clerk of the cancellation at least 16 days prior to the election;
otherwise the recall election shall be held as scheduled. (Neb. RS
32-1306)[3]
G.
The form of the official ballot at a recall election shall conform
to the requirements of Neb. RS 32-1307.
H.
Recall election results and effect.
(1)
If a majority of the votes cast at a recall election are against the removal of the official named on the ballot or the election results in a tie, the official shall continue in office for the remainder of his or her term but may be subject to further recall attempts as provided in Subsection I of this section.
(2)
If a majority of the votes cast at a recall election are for
the removal of the official named on the ballot, he or she shall,
regardless of any technical defects in the recall petition, be deemed
removed from office unless a recount is ordered. If the official is
deemed removed, the removal shall result in a vacancy in the office
which shall be filled as otherwise provided in this section and state
law.
(3)
If the election results show a margin of votes equal to 1% or
less between the removal or retention of the official in question,
the Secretary of State, Election Commissioner, or County Clerk shall
order a recount of the votes cast unless the official named on the
ballot files a written statement with the Election Commissioner or
County Clerk that he or she does not want a recount.
(4)
If there are vacancies in the offices of 1/2 or more of the
members of the City Council at one time due to the recall of such
members, a special election to fill such vacancies shall be conducted
as expeditiously as possible by the Secretary of State, Election Commissioner,
or County Clerk.[4]
(5)
No official who is removed at a recall election or who resigns
after the initiation of the recall process shall be appointed to fill
the vacancy resulting from his or her removal or the removal of any
other member of the same governing body during the remainder of his
or her term of office.
(Neb. RS 32-1308)
I.
No recall petition shall be filed against an elected official within
12 months after a recall election has failed to remove him or her
from office or within six months after the beginning of his or her
term of office or within six months prior to the incumbent filing
deadline for the office. (Neb. RS 32-1309, 32-1401 through 32-1408)
[Amended 9-18-1984 by Ord. No. 33-84; 10-7-1997 by Ord. No. 47-97; 8-4-2004 by Ord. No. 18-04]
A.
Procedure.
(1)
Except as provided in Neb. RS 77-3444, any issue to be submitted to the registered voters at a special election by the City shall be certified by the City Clerk to the Election Commissioner or County Clerk at least 50 days prior to the election. A special election may be held by mail as provided in Neb. RS 32-952 through 32-959. Any other special election shall be subject to Subsection B of this section.
(2)
In lieu of submitting the issue at a special election, the City
may submit the issue at a statewide primary or general election or
at any scheduled county election, except that no such issue shall
be submitted at a statewide election or scheduled county election
unless the issue to be submitted has been certified by the City Clerk
to the Election Commissioner or County Clerk by March 1 for the primary
election and by September 1 for the general election.
(3)
After the Election Commissioner or County Clerk has received
the certification of the issue to be submitted, he or she shall be
responsible for all matters relating to the submission of the issue
to the registered voters, except that the City Clerk shall be responsible
for the publication or posting of any required special notice of the
submission of such issue other than the notice required to be given
of the statewide election issues. The Election Commissioner or County
Clerk shall prepare the ballots and issue ballots for early voting
and shall also conduct the submission of the issue, including the
receiving and counting of ballots on the issue. The election returns
shall be made to the Election Commissioner or County Clerk. The ballots
shall be counted and canvassed at the same time and in the same manner
as the other ballots. Upon completion of the canvas of the vote by
the County Canvassing Board, the Election Commissioner or County Clerk
shall certify the election results to the City Council. The canvass
by the County Canvassing Board shall have the same force and effect
as if made by the City Council. (Neb. RS 32-559)[1]
B.
Any special election under the Election Act shall be held on the
first Tuesday following the second Monday of the selected month unless
otherwise specifically provided. No special election shall be held
under the Election Act in April, May, June, October, November, or
December of an even-numbered year unless it is held in conjunction
with the statewide primary or general election. (Neb. RS 32-405, 32-559)
[Amended 9-18-1984 by Ord. No. 33-84]
Any person seeking elected office in the municipality shall
be a registered voter prior to holding such office and in addition
shall have reached the age of majority.
[Amended 10-1-1985 by Ord. No. 14-85]
No person shall conduct an exit poll, public opinion poll, or
any other interview with voters on election day seeking to determine
voter preference within 20 feet of the entrance of any public place
room or, if inside the public place building, within 100 feet of any
voting booth. (Neb. RS 32-1525)
[Amended 4-5-2005 by Ord.
No. 21-05]
No later than January 5 of each even-numbered year, the City
Council shall certify to the Election Commissioner or the County Clerk,
on forms prescribed by such official, the name of the City, the number
of officers to be elected, the length of the terms of office, the
vacancies to be filled by election and length of remaining term, and
the number of votes to be cast by a registered voter for each office.
(Neb. RS 32-404)
