The regular City Election shall be held annually on the uniform election date occurring in or about the month of May, at which time officers will be elected to fill those offices the terms of which expire that year or which have otherwise become vacant, as provided in Section 3.04 of this Charter. The City Council may, by resolution, order a special election, fix the date and place for holding same and provide all means for holding such special election. The special election shall be held on the uniform election date occurring in or about the month of May.
Any qualified person may have his or her name placed on the official ballot as a candidate for the office of Mayor or Council member by filing with the City Secretary within the time required by law, a sworn application in substantially the following form:
I, _____, do hereby declare that I am a candidate for the office of _____, and request that my name be printed upon the official ballot for that particular office in the next City election. I am _____ years of age, a qualified voter of the City of Forest Hill, a citizen of the United States, and by the date of the election for the office I seek, I will have been a resident of the City of Forest Hill for at least one (1) year. My voter registration number is _____. I am aware of the Texas nepotism law.
At the time of filing for the office I seek, I am (check one):
_____ NOT IN ARREARS in the payment of any taxes or other liabilities due the City of Forest Hill;
_____ IN ARREARS in the payment of any taxes or other liabilities due the City of Forest Hill.
(Signature)
Such information shall be verified before an officer qualified to administer oaths. The City Secretary shall check the voter registration number against county records and shall not place the person’s name on the ballot if the information contained therein shows that registration number is incorrect or shows such person to have a residence other than Forest Hill for the requisite time.
(Ordinance 2012-02-003 adopted 2/23/12, prop. 8)
The election judges and other necessary election officials for conducting all such elections shall be appointed by the City Council. The election judges shall conduct the elections, determine, record and report the results as provided by the laws of the State of Texas. The City Council shall meet, open the returns, canvass and officially declare the results of the election as to questions and candidates at the time and in the manner provided by state law. The Mayor shall issue certificates of election to candidates elected as herein before provided.
In the event no candidate for a given office has received a simple majority of all votes cast for any given place, the Mayor shall, on the first day following the completion of the official canvass, call a runoff election to be held at the time and in the manner provided by state law. At the runoff election, the ballot shall list the names of the two candidates receiving at the first election the first and second highest number of votes for a given office, in that order. Should one of such candidates withdraw, die or become ineligible, a second election shall not be held, and the other candidate shall be declared elected to office. Any tie shall be decided by lot.
Every officer of the City shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, take and subscribe to the oath of office as prescribed by the Constitution of the State of Texas.