The regular elections to elect a mayor and city council members shall be held as heretofore prescribed. The council may by appropriate ordinance or resolution order special elections, fix the dates and give notice of same, and provide all means for holding such special elections, as prescribed by state law.
The council shall make all regulations which it considers needful or desirable, not inconsistent with this charter or the laws of the State of Texas, for the conduct of municipal elections, for the prevention of fraud in such elections. Municipal elections shall be conducted by the appointed election officials, who shall also have power to make such regulations not inconsistent with this charter, with any regulations made by the council or the laws of the State of Texas.
Any qualified voter of the city who is otherwise qualified to hold elective office under this charter may have his name printed upon the official ballot for the particular office at any election by filing his sworn application as required by the Election Code of the State of Texas.
The names of all candidates for the office of mayor or council member as hereinbefore provided, except such as may have withdrawn, died or become ineligible, shall be printed on the official ballots without party designations and otherwise in accordance with state law. If two candidates with the same surnames, or with names so similar as to be likely to cause confusion have made application to have a place on the ballot, the addresses of their places of residence shall be placed with their names on the ballot. The order of the names on the ballot shall be determined by drawing lots.
At the regular election, or any special election held to fill vacancies in the office of mayor or council member, the candidates for the office of mayor or a numbered council member’s place on the city council, or the number to be elected, who shall have received the highest number of votes cast at such election for each office to be filled shall be declared elected. In the event of a tie vote, the respective candidates so tied shall cast lots to determine who shall be the duly elected mayor or council member.
All city elections shall be governed, except as otherwise provided by the charter, by the laws of the State of Texas governing general and municipal elections, so far as same may be applicable thereto; and in event there should be any failure of the general laws or this charter to provide for some feature of the city elections, then the city council shall have the power to provide for such deficiency, and no informalities in conducting a city election shall invalidate the same, if it be conducted fairly and in substantial compliance with the general laws, where applicable, and the charter and ordinances of the city.
Returns of the elections, general and special, shall be made by the election officers to the city council at a regular or called meeting and in accordance with state law at which time the council shall canvass and declare the results of such election.