[Ord. #856, § 2700]
Except as otherwise provided by the Constitution of the State, the City Charter, or by the provisions of this Chapter, all elections shall be held in accordance with the provisions of the Elections Code of the State applicable to municipal elections.
[Ord. #856, § 2701; Ord. #923]
The Council shall by ordinance order the holding of all primary nominating, general municipal, and special elections. Every such ordinance shall specify the object and time of holding any such election and shall establish the election precincts, designate the polling places therefor, and name the officers of election for each precinct, who shall be residents and qualified electors thereto, to conduct the holding of and make returns of such elections; provided, however, that when two or more municipal elections are consolidated by the City Council it shall not be necessary to set forth the precinct, polling places and officers of election in more than one of the ordinances calling the election, and in case a municipal election is consolidated with a State or County election it shall not be necessary to set forth the precinct, polling places and officers of elections, but reference may be made to the ordinance of the authority calling said election and fixing precincts, polling places and officers of election and unless otherwise designated in the ordinance adopted by the Council calling an election, the voting precincts of such election shall be the precincts provided by law for the holding of State and County elections in said City.
[Ord. #856, § 2702]
The officers of election for each precinct shall consist of at least one inspector, one judge and two clerks and the City Clerk shall select and appoint such officers of election with the approval of the City Council.
[Ord. #856, § 2703]
The Council shall canvass the returns at their next regular or adjourned regular meeting after all returns have been received or accounted for by the City Clerk or at any special meeting held for that purpose.
[Ord. #856, § 2704]
The City Clerk shall employ such persons in addition to the persons regularly employed in his office as may be necessary to assist him in the performance of any duty imposed upon him by the Charter of the City, this Chapter or the Council in connection with the conduct of any election.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Sections 6-6 and 6-7 pertaining to municipal judges, previously codified herein and containing portions of Ordinance No. 856, were repealed in their entirety by Ordinance No. 1864.
[Ord. #856, § 2707; Ord. #1573; Ord. #1864, § 2; Ord. #1925, § 1; Ord. #1927, § 1]
Not earlier than the 113th day nor later than the 86th day before the primary nominating election to be held on the third Tuesday in April, and not earlier than the 10th day before any general municipal election, the City Clerk shall cause a notice of the same to be published at least once in an official newspaper in the City; provided, however, that where a special municipal election is consolidated with a primary nominating election or a general municipal election, notice thereof may be consolidated with the notice of such primary nominating election or general municipal election, otherwise such notice shall be published not earlier than the 60th nor later than the 12th day prior to the holding of such special municipal election. An ordinance calling an election shall be published at least once in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption.
[Ord. #856, § 2708]
The name of no candidate for nomination shall be printed upon the primary nominating election ballot unless a petition for nomination substantially in the form provided in the Election Code for the nomination of candidates for municipal offices shall have been filed with the City Clerk. Provided, however, that the Affidavit of Nominee shall be substantially in the following form:
AFFIDAVIT OF NOMINEE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
as.
COUNTY OF
______________________ being duly sworn, says;
That he is the above-named nominee for the office of __________________________, that he will accept the office in the event of his election, and that he desires his name to appear on the ballot as follows:
(Print name above)
Signature
Subscribed and sworn to before me this ____________ day of ____________, 20_______
Notary Public in and for said County and State.
A candidate who is running for the same elective office as he then holds may at the time of the taking out of his nominating petition, file a written request that immediately underneath his name and not separated therefrom by any line be printed, the word "Incumbent" or the words designating such elective office; and no candidate excepting an incumbent shall have any designation other than his name.
The name of the incumbent shall appear first upon a list of all candidates for any office, and all other candidates for such office shall appear in alphabetical order.
[Ord. #856, § 2709; Ord. #1573]
Each candidate shall be nominated by not less than 20 nor more than 30 qualified electors but only one candidate shall be named in any one nomination paper. No elector may sign more than one nomination paper for the same office, but each seat on the Council shall be deemed a separate office. Any qualified elector may circulate a nomination petition. In the event there are full terms and short terms to be filled, the same must be so specified.
[Ord. #856, § 2710; Ord. #1573; Ord. #1864, § 2; Ord. #1925, § 1; Ord. #1927, § 1]
The nomination petitions shall be presented to the City Clerk not earlier than the 113th day nor later than 5:00 p.m. of the 86th day prior to the primary nominating election.
[Ord. #856, § 2711; Ord. #1864, § 2]
The City Clerk or his/her designee, shall, immediately upon the presentation to him/her of a petition, ascertain and determine whether or not the petition is signed by the requisite number of qualified electors, and shall within five days after the presentation of such petition to him/her, compare the signatures affixed to the nominating petition with those on the affidavit of record on file in the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Office and void any signature on the nomination paper which does not compare with that on the affidavit of record on file with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Office. After such examination has been completed, but within five days of presentation of the nominating petition, the City Clerk shall affix his/her certificate showing the results of said examination.
[Ord. #856, § 2712]
If by the City Clerk's certificate it shall appear that the petition has not been signed by the requisite number of qualified electors it may be amended within five days from the date of said certificate by the further addition of names. Said City Clerk shall within five days after such amendment make like examination of the amended petition and shall certify as to the result of his examination of the amended petition, but no further amendment shall be allowed; and provided, further, that no amendment to such petition shall be allowed after the expiration of the time for filing nomination petitions as herein provided.
[Ord. #856, § 2713]
If either the original or amended petition shall be found to be sufficiently signed as herein provided the same shall be filed by the City Clerk. Said petition when filed shall not be withdrawn or added to and no signature shall be withdrawn after presentation to the City Clerk.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Section 6-15, Judicial Offices Designated, previously codified herein and containing portions of Ordinance No. 856, was repealed in its entirety by Ordinance No. 1864.
[Ord. #856, § 2715; Ord. #1462; Ord. #1517; Ord. #2129, §§ 1, 2]
At the time a nominating petition is taken out by a candidate for any elective office, such candidate shall pay to the City Clerk a processing fee of $300.
If a candidate chooses not to pay the candidate processing fee provided for in this section, such candidate shall, at the time of filing his or her declaration of intention to become a candidate for office, declare in writing, upon a form prepared by the City Clerk, the intention to submit an additional petition containing the signatures of 300 qualified, registered electors of the City supporting his or her candidacy for such office. In the case of a candidate for the office of a member of the Council, such signatures shall also be those of qualified, registered electors of the district from which such person seeks to be elected.
Such petitions and the signatures thereon shall be in addition to the nominating petitions and signatures required by the City Charter, and no name which appears on a candidate's nominating petition and is counted to meet the requisite number of qualified electors which must appear thereon shall be counted as a part of the additional petition. Such petitions shall be prepared in a form substantially similar to those of nominating petitions and shall be issued to those candidates who elect not to pay the processing fee provided for in this section. Such petitions shall be prepared, issued, circulated, signed, filed, checked, certified, supplemented, and otherwise handled within the same times and subject to the same procedures, limitations, and requirements as nominating petitions. In determining the sufficiency of the number of signatures on a candidate's additional petition, the City Clerk shall include thereon those signatures of qualified, registered electors which appear on the candidate's nominating petition but which are in excess of the required 300 signatures and which otherwise meet the requirements of this section.
In the event a candidate who initially chooses not to pay the processing fee determines not to file the additional petition with the City Clerk, such candidate may, at or before the time of filing the nominating petition, pay the full $300 processing fee.
No person who fails to comply with the requirements of this section shall have his or her name placed on the ballot as a candidate for City office.
The $300 processing fee is non-refundable.
[Ord. #856, § 2716]
The City Clerk shall provide all ballots, blanks, and other supplies to be used in any election, and all the necessary expenses therefor shall be paid out of the City Treasury in the same manner and by the same officers as is provided by the City Charter.
[Ord. #856, § 2717]
Sample ballots need not be printed or distributed for a primary nominating, general, or special municipal election, except when such election pertains to an initiative, referendum, or recall measure, or when so instructed by the Council.
[Ord. #856, § 2718]
Except when so instructed by the Council, polling place cards need not be printed or distributed for a primary nominating, general, or special municipal election, unless it is intended, for the holding of that election, to consolidate some of the regular election precincts last established for State or County election purposes, in which event the City Clerk shall prepare polling place cards and mail them to the voters in the same manner as at general elections.
[Ord. #856, § 2720; Added by Ord. #1678]
Each candidate for City Council shall be a resident of the district for which he/she seeks election, for at least 30 days prior to filing their nomination papers.
Each candidate seeking election to the offices of Mayor, City Clerk, City Treasurer and City Attorney shall be a resident of the City of Compton at least 30 days prior to filing their nomination petition.
[Ord. #2290]
A Special Municipal Election on a Charter proposal is not required to be held on the date of an established statewide general election, an established statewide primary election, or a regularly scheduled General Municipal Election, and may be held on any established election date as provided by California Elections Code Section 1000.
[Ord. #2290]
In all particulars not recited in this Ordinance No. 2290 or in a Council resolution ordering a Charter proposal to be submitted to the voters of the City, the Special Municipal Election on such a proposal shall be held and conducted as provided by law for holding municipal elections.
[Added 10-6-2020 by Ord. No. 2325]
Pursuant to Section 1304 of the Charter of the City of Compton, the City Council may, by resolution, authorize municipal elections to be conducted wholly by mail ballots in addition to the Calling Elections; Establishing Election Precincts Ordinance set forth in § 6-2 of this chapter. Such elections shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, the Charter of the City and the Election Code of the State of California, as now exists or may hereafter be amended.
[Added 2-9-2021 by Ord. No. 2330]
On October 8, 2019, the Governor signed Assembly Bill 571, setting campaign limits for elective city offices commensurate with State limits. Assembly Bill 571 also authorizes a city to set its own campaign contribution limits different than the State limits. The purpose of this Section is to comply with the provision of Government Code Section 85702.5 which authorizes a city to impose its own limit on campaign contributions by ordinance or resolution.
[Added 2-9-2021 by Ord. No. 2330]
Except as more specifically provided herein, the definitions set forth in the Political Reform Act of 1974 (Government Code Sections 81000, et seq., as amended) shall govern interpretation of this Section 6-24 and are hereby incorporated by reference.
CITY ELECTION
Shall mean any primary, general, or special election, including a recall election, held within the City of Compton for elective City office or on a City measure. Each primary, general, or special election is a separate election for purposes of this section.
ELECTIVE CITY OFFICE
Shall mean member of the City Council, the Mayor, the City Clerk, the City Treasurer and the City Attorney.
[Added 2-9-2021 by Ord. No. 2330]
The City Council, hereby imposes no limit on the campaign contributions that a candidate for Elective City office may receive for any separate City election.