Except as otherwise provided by law, there shall be a regular City election each year on the first Saturday in May to elect candidates for expired terms of office or to fill vacancies due to resignations or removal from office, as needed, provided that the Council shall, if authorized by State law, declare unopposed candidates elected.
(Ordinance 4402 adopted 2/2/90; Ordinance 4420 adopted 5/7/90; Ordinance 5443 adopted 2/15/00; Ordinance 5463 adopted 5/9/00; Ordinance 5807 adopted 2/17/04)
(A) 
Any person having the qualifications required by this Charter and desiring to become a candidate for a place on the Council, shall be entitled to have his or her name placed on the official ballot, if the person files with the City Secretary in accordance with the filing period set forth in the Texas Election Code a petition or petitions designating the place sought by the candidate and properly signed by qualified voters of the City of Garland equal to, or in excess of, the minimum number prescribed by state law.
(B) 
Each petition circulated on behalf of each proposed candidate shall designate the office to be filled by such candidate and the name of the candidate shall be placed on the petition before any signatures are placed on the petition.
(C) 
One or more such petitions shall be circulated and signed for each nominee or candidate. Each candidate shall sign such petition and file it with the Office of the City Secretary in person, or, in lieu of personally filing the petition, the candidate may have filed with the City Secretary an affidavit stating that the person is a candidate for the position on the Council as designated in the petition and accepts the nomination.
(D) 
Nominating petitions shall be signed and filed in the Office of the City Secretary during regular office hours not earlier than ninety-one (91) days nor later than sixty-two (62) days before the election, unless otherwise set by state law; provided that if the last day of filing falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday declared by the City Council, the petitions may be filed on the next succeeding regular business day. Any petitions filed on the last day for filing must be received in the Office of the City Secretary no later than 5:00 p.m., and any petition received after 5:00 p.m. on the last day of filing shall be void and shall not be accepted. Any candidate may withdraw his or her nomination not later than four (4) days succeeding the last day for filing nomination petitions by filing an affidavit in the Office of the City Secretary of the City of Garland, stating that the candidate refuses the nomination and directing that the name be withdrawn from the ballot.
(E) 
The City Secretary shall as quickly as possible examine each such petition and check the qualifications of the signers thereto. If a petition is found insufficient, the City Secretary shall, upon discovering such insufficiency, immediately deliver to the person who filed it a statement certifying wherein the petition is found insufficient. Within the regular time for filing petitions, a new petition may be filed for the same candidate. The petition of each candidate nominated to be a member of the Council shall be preserved by the City Secretary until the expiration of the term of office for which the candidate has been nominated. It is the intent of this section that all provisions contained herein comply with the election laws of the State of Texas as they currently exist or are hereafter amended. In the event of conflict between the provisions of this section and State law, the State law shall prevail.
(Ordinance 5807 adopted 2/17/04; Ordinance 6991, prop. BB, adopted 5/15/18)
Run-off elections shall be held following the regular election on a date authorized by State law.
(Ordinance 4763 adopted 4/5/94; Ordinance 4777 adopted 5/10/94; Ordinance 4953 adopted 3/19/96; Ordinance 4968 adopted 5/7/96; Ordinance 5807 adopted 2/17/04)
The City Secretary shall make up the official ballot from the names presented to him/her in the manner herein set out. The order in which the names of the candidates for each district shall appear on the ballot shall be determined by lot in a drawing held under the supervision of the City Secretary. The election shall be held in conformity with the election laws now in force in the City of Garland or those that may be hereafter enacted. The candidates for Councilmembers or Mayor receiving a majority of all votes cast, as provided in Section 3 hereof, for the position of Councilmember or Mayor under the district number under which his/her name appears, shall be the duly elected Councilmember or Mayor to hold said position.
Voting devices deemed most efficient, reliable and practical by the Dallas County Elections Administrator or as otherwise provided by state law shall be used for voting in all City elections and referenda.
The term of Office of Mayor and Councilmen [Councilmember] shall begin upon taking the oath of office as soon as practicable after the canvass and declaration of election as herein provided.
Except as otherwise provided by law, returns of all municipal elections, both general and special, shall be made by the election officers to the Council no less than eight (8) days nor more than eleven (11) days after the date of the election, at which time the Council shall canvass and declare the results of such election, ordering a new election when such election is required by reason of a tie vote.
(Ordinance 5807 adopted 2/17/04)
Any member or all members of the Council (including the Mayor) may be recalled and removed from office by the electors qualified to vote for a successor of such incumbent by the following procedure:
(A) 
A statement of intent to initiate recall proceedings signed by one or more voters qualified to vote for a successor to the member being recalled, naming the member and stating specific grounds for the recall must be presented to the City Secretary, who shall mark the statement with the date received and retain it for office files.
(B) 
Within five (5) working days, not including the date of submission, after receiving a statement of intent for each official whose removal is sought, the City Secretary shall prepare and have available at City Hall for delivery to the person who submitted the statement of intent, a sufficient number of sequentially-numbered petition forms. Each form shall:
(i) 
bear the seal of the City Secretary affixed to the front of the petition;
(ii) 
name the member intended to be recalled;
(iii) 
state the grounds for the recall as they appear on the statement of intent;
(iv) 
provide space for each signatory’s: (a) printed name, (b) address of residence, (c) signature, (d) date of signing, (e) voter registration number or date of birth; and
(v) 
contain an affidavit to be signed by the person circulating the petition form swearing that each signature on the respective petition form is that of the person whose name it purports to be.
(C) 
A Person accepting the petition forms provided by the City Secretary shall acknowledge delivery by signing a receipt bearing the date of delivery which shall be retained by the City Secretary for office files. A petitioner shall take delivery of the prepared petition forms within three (3) working days of notification that they are available. In the event a petitioner does not take delivery of the prepared petition forms within three (3) working days, the statement of intent to initiate recall proceedings shall be deemed to be withdrawn.
(D) 
The petition must be fully and properly completed and signed by qualified voters entitled to vote for a successor to each member sought to be removed, equal in number to twenty-five (25) percent of the number of votes cast at the last regular municipal election for that office which is the subject of the petition; provided, that not less than eight hundred (800) signatures shall be required in the case of the Councilmembers and not less than two thousand (2,000) signatures shall be required in the case of the Mayor.
(E) 
Within thirty (30) days of the delivery date, as indicated on the receipt signed at the time of receiving the petition, the completed petition forms with all required information and signatures provided on the petition forms, must be filed with the City Secretary for verification. In the event the petition (i) is not signed by the required number of qualified voters, (ii) does not contain a fully executed affidavit required by above Section (B), and (iii) is not filed within the prescribed delivery period, it shall be invalid. Petitions on forms other than those provided by the City Secretary shall be invalid. The City Secretary shall provide additional sequentially-numbered petition forms promptly on request of the initiators of the recall if the original supply is inadequate and if the request is made within the original thirty-day period.
(F) 
Within ten (10) working days from the filing of the petition, the City Secretary shall examine same and, from the list of qualified voters, ascertain whether or not the petition is signed by the requisite number of qualified voters, and, if requested to do so, the Council shall allow extra help for that purpose. The City Secretary shall attach to the petition a certificate showing the results of such examination. The City Secretary shall not make a determination of the authenticity of the signatures or investigate whether an individual resides at an address purported on the petition form. If by the City Secretary’s certificate, the petition is shown to be insufficient, the petition shall be returned to the person or persons who filed the statement of intent. Persons accepting delivery must acknowledge delivery by signing a receipt bearing the date of delivery which will be retained by the City Secretary for office files. Petitioners must take delivery of the prepared petition forms within three (3) working days of notification, not including the date of notification, that they are available. In the event a petitioner does not take delivery of the petition within three (3) working days, the statement of intent to initiate recall proceedings shall be deemed to be withdrawn. The petition shall be invalid unless amended and refiled within ten (10) working days from the date of accepting delivery by obtaining additional signatures. The City Secretary shall, within ten (10) days after any such amendment is filed, make like examination of the amended petition and, if the City Secretary’s certificate shall show same to be insufficient, that petition shall be invalid and shall be returned to the person filing same and shall not be subject to amendment.
(G) 
If a sufficient number of petition forms shall be found to contain the required number of qualified signatures, the City Secretary shall, after being properly posted as an item on the agenda, submit the certificate indicating the results of the examination to the Council at the Council meeting immediately following the completion of the examination by the City Secretary. Upon receipt of the certificate by the Council, the Mayor or Councilmember named in the recall petition shall have ten (10) working days to elect to either resign or be placed on the ballot for a recall election. In the event the Mayor or Councilmember named in the recall petition fails to resign within ten (10) working days, including the date of the Council meeting on which the petition was submitted, the Council shall order and fix a date for holding the recall election on the next election date allowed by state law after forty (40) days from the date of the City Secretary’s certificate. In the event the Mayor or Councilmember that is the subject of the recall resigns, their respective seat shall be considered vacant for purposes of holding a recall election. The resigning officer shall continue to serve in their position until such time as their successor is sworn in to office.
(H) 
If a recall election is required, the Council shall make or cause to be made publication of notice and provide the holding of such election and the same shall be conducted, returned and the results thereof declared in all respects as other City elections. Any officer so elected shall hold office only during the unexpired term of the officer’s predecessor. Any person sought to be removed may be a candidate to succeed himself or herself, and, unless that person requests otherwise in writing, the City Secretary shall place that person’s name on the official ballot without nomination. The names of other candidates for such position shall be placed on the official ballot by petition in the same manner as provided for in other portions of this Charter. At such election, if such person other than the incumbent is elected, the incumbent shall thereupon be deemed removed from the office upon the qualification of the incumbent’s successor. If the incumbent is elected at such election, the incumbent shall continue in office and shall not be subject to any other recall for any grounds existing prior to the filing of the statement of intent to initiate recall proceedings.
(Ordinance 4402 adopted 2/20/90; Ordinance 4420 adopted 5/5/90; Ordinance 6991, prop. CC, adopted 5/15/18)
Should the Council fail or refuse to order an election as provided in this Article XII, as provided in Article XIV (relating to initiative and referendum) or as otherwise provided or required by law, when all requirements for such election have been complied with by the citizens in conformity with this Charter and other applicable law, then any Court of competent jurisdiction, upon proper application being made therefor, may order such election and enforce the carrying into effect the provisions of this Charter.
(Ordinance 6095, sec. 2, adopted 3/20/07; Ordinance 6131 adopted 5/21/07)
Any qualified voter of the City may seek judicial relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to order the discharge of any such duties as may be provided in this Charter to be discharged by the City Secretary or by the Council, or either of them, relating to an election to office, an election for the recall of a member of the Council, or an election for an initiative or referendum.
(Ordinance 6095, sec. 2, adopted 3/20/07; Ordinance 6131 adopted 5/21/07)