All City elections shall be conducted and held in conformance
with the provisions of Chapter 115, RSMo.
A.
The Board of Aldermen shall, by ordinance, divide the City into not
fewer than two (2) wards, and two (2) Aldermen shall be elected from
each ward by the qualified voters thereof, at the first election for
Aldermen in Cities adopting the provisions of this Chapter. At such
election for Aldermen, the person receiving the highest number of
votes in each ward shall hold his/her office for two (2) years, and
the person receiving the next highest number of votes shall hold his/her
office for one (1) year; but thereafter each ward shall elect annually
one (1) Alderman, who shall hold his/her office for two (2) years.
A.
A municipal election for the qualified voters of this City shall
be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in April of each
year.
B.
On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in April of even-numbered
years, a municipal election of the qualified voters of the City of
Ellsinore shall be held for the purpose of electing a Mayor who shall
hold his/her office for a term of two (2) years and until his/her
successor is elected and qualified.
C.
The City has chosen to elect Aldermen at large as authorized in Section
79.060.2, RSMo. Under this option, the seats of Aldermen shall be
filled at large as soon as the current terms expire. Each year thereafter,
one-half (1/2) of the Board of Aldermen shall stand for election at
large for a two-year term.
Any person who desires to become a candidate for an elective
City office at the general City election shall file with the City
Clerk, not prior to the hour of 8:00 A.M. on the 17th Tuesday prior
to, nor later than 5:00 P.M. on the 14th Tuesday prior to the next
City municipal election, a written declaration of his/her intent to
become a candidate at said election. The City Clerk shall keep a permanent
record of the names of the candidates, the offices for which they
seek election, and the date of their filing, and their names shall
appear on the ballots in that order.
A.
No
person shall qualify as a candidate for elective public office in
the State of Missouri who has been found guilty of or pled guilty
to a felony under the Federal laws of the United States of America
or to a felony under the laws of this State or an offense committed
in another state that would be considered a felony in this State.
B.
Any
person who files as a candidate for election to a public office shall
be disqualified from participation in the election for which the candidate
has filed if such person is delinquent in the payment of any State
income taxes, personal property taxes, municipal taxes, real property
taxes on the place of residence, as stated on the declaration of candidacy,
or if the person is a past or present corporate officer of any fee
office that owes any taxes to the State.
C.
Each
potential candidate for election to a public office shall file an
affidavit with the Department of Revenue and include a copy of the
affidavit with the declaration of candidacy required under Section
115.349, RSMo. Such affidavit shall be in substantially the form as
set out in Section 115.306, RSMo.
D.
Upon
receipt of a complaint alleging a delinquency of the candidate in
the filing or payment of any State income taxes, personal property
taxes, municipal taxes, real property taxes on the place of residence,
as stated on the declaration of candidacy, or if the person is a past
or present corporate officer of any fee office that owes any taxes
to the State, the Department of Revenue shall investigate such potential
candidate to verify the claim contained in the complaint. If the Department
of Revenue finds a positive affirmation to be false, the Department
shall contact the Secretary of State, or the election official who
accepted such candidate's declaration of candidacy, and the potential
candidate. The Department shall notify the candidate of the outstanding
tax owed and give the candidate thirty (30) days to remit any such
outstanding taxes owed which are not the subject of dispute between
the Department and the candidate. If the candidate fails to remit
such amounts in full within thirty (30) days, the candidate shall
be disqualified from participating in the current election and barred
from refiling for an entire election cycle even if the individual
pays all of the outstanding taxes that were the subject of the complaint.
The City Clerk shall, on or before the 17th Tuesday prior to
any election at which City offices are to be filled by said election,
notify the general public of the opening filing date, the office or
offices to be filled, the proper place for filing, and the closing
filing date of the election. Such notification may be accomplished
by legal notice published in at least one (1) newspaper of general
circulation in the City.
In City elections, the City Clerk shall notify the County Clerk
prior to 5:00 P.M. on the 10th Tuesday prior to any City election
except as noted in Section 115.125, RSMo. The notice shall be in writing,
shall specify that the Board of Aldermen is calling the election,
the purpose of the election, the date of the election, and shall include
a certified copy of the legal notice to be published including the
sample ballot. The notice and any other information required by Section
115.125, RSMo., may, with the prior notification to the election authority
receiving the notice, be accepted by facsimile transmission prior
to 5:00 P.M. on the 10th Tuesday prior to the election, provided that
the original copy of the notice and a certified copy of the legal
notice to be published shall be received in the office of the election
authority within three (3) business days from the date of the facsimile
transmission.