Whenever a valid certification petition has been filed, the Employee Relations Officer shall request the State Conciliation Service to call and conduct a secret ballot election in accordance with its own procedures and pursuant to the elections procedures set forth in this Part.
(a) 
If a challenging petition is filed in accordance with Section 9054 hereof, and is accompanied by proof of employee approval equal to at least ten percent (10%) of the employees within the representation unit, the State Conciliation Service shall include such challenging employee organization on the ballot.
Whenever the State Conciliation Service calls an election pursuant to this Chapter, the following procedures shall apply:
(a) 
The election ballot shall include the choice of "no organization".
(b) 
Employees entitled to vote in a representation election shall be those employees within the representation unit whose name appeared on the payroll records immediately prior to the date of the election.
(c) 
An employee organization shall be certified by the Employee Relations Officer as the recognized employee organization for the representation unit if any of the following conditions prevails:
(1) 
That employee organization has received the vote of a numerical majority of all the employees eligible to vote in the unit for which the election is held;
(2) 
More than fifty percent (50%) of the total number of employees in the unit eligible to vote have voted in the election, and the employee organization receives a numerical majority of all votes cast in the election;.
(3) 
In an election involving three or more choices, where none of the choices receives a majority of the votes cast, and where more than fifty percent (50%) of the total number of employees in the unit eligible to vote have voted in the election, a run-off election shall be conducted between the two choices receiving the largest number of votes cast, the rules governing an initial election being applicable to a run-off election.
A decertification petition may be filed with the Employee Relations Officer by employees or by an employee organization to determine whether or not a recognized employee organization continues to represents a majority of the employees in the representation unit. Such petition must be accompanied by proof of employee approval equal to at least thirty percent (30%) of the employees within the representation unit. The time periods for a petition to be filed with the Employee Relations Officer are, 1) after the first full year of recognition if no written agreement has been negotiated; 2) within the period commencing ninety (90) days and ending sixty (60) days immediately prior to the expiration date of a written agreement; or 3) any time after written agreements have been in effect for five (5) or more years.
Nothing in this Part shall prohibit the City from seeking decertification if it appears to the City Manager that such action is warranted because of substantial changes in City functions, organizational structure or classifications. In such a case the Employee Relations Officer shall arrange for a secret ballot election in the manner provided for in Section 9067; provided, however, that no such election shall be held until the employee organization then recognized as the representative of the unit or units involved has been given at least 30 days notice of the date which the election will be held. Any employee organization wishing to be listed on the ballot must submit petitions for a place thereon and proof, as defined in Section 9003(g), that the employee organization represents at least 30% of the total number of employees in the representation unit or units affected by the election.
Whenever a valid decertification petition has been filed pursuant to Section 9065 hereof, the Employee Relations Officer shall request the State Conciliation Service to conduct an election to determine whether or not the incumbent recognized employee organization shall be decertified and, where the petition was filed by an employee organization, whether such organization shall be recognized. Such election shall be conducted in accordance with the procedures and regulations of the State Conciliation Service and the election procedures of this Article.
The costs of conducting elections under this Article, if any, shall be borne in equal shares by the City and the affected employee organization(s).
In the event that the State Conciliation Service is unable or unwilling to provide any of the services required of it by this Article, the American Arbitration Association or another impartial third party agreed to by the City and the affected employee organization(s) shall be selected to perform those services.