[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Commission
of the City of South Pasadena 6-8-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-04.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed
former Ch. 22, Elections, adopted 2-25-1992 by Ord. No. 92-04, as
amended, and reserved former §§ 22-1 through 22-14.
[Amended 9-20-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-07]
City elections shall be conducted in accordance
with the provisions of the Florida Election Code, Florida Statutes
Chapter 97 et seq., except that the City shall not comply with F.S.
§ 101.655 dealing with supervised voting by absent electors
in certain facilities, when the City election is not held in conjunction
with a County-wide election. The City shall not follow the provisions
of F.S. § 101.657 to the extent that section requires early
voting at City Hall. Nothing in this section shall prohibit early
voting in municipal elections at locations provided by the County
supervisor of elections.
[Amended 10-11-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-11]
General elections shall be held as provided
in the City Charter. Special elections shall be held as provided in
the City Charter, City Code and at any other time or for any other
purpose that the City Commission deems necessary. Commission members
elected at any City election shall be sworn into office as soon as
practicable following certification of the election results by the
Canvassing Board.
A.
The City Canvassing Board shall consist of the City
Clerk, the City Attorney and the Director of Public Safety. If for
any reason any one of these three officials is unable to fulfill his
or her assigned duties as a Canvassing Board member, the Director
of Finance and the Director of Community Improvement, in order, shall
serve as alternates for the Canvassing Board.
B.
The City Canvassing Board shall perform the duties
outlined in the Florida Election Code for elections where City offices
and issues appear on the ballot and the Pinellas County Canvassing
Board is not willing to serve. The Pinellas County Canvassing Board
is authorized to act as the Canvassing Board for the City and shall
be responsible for performing all duties set forth in the Florida
Election Code for any City election in which the Pinellas County Canvassing
Board is willing to serve.
[Amended 10-14-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-10]
In the event a properly registered candidate
dies, withdraws or is removed from the ballot for any reason following
the cutoff date for candidate registration and the result is that
less than two candidates remain for any office, the registration period
for candidates for the office shall immediately reopen and remain
open for a period of 15 days. In the event that the last day of qualifying
for the vacancy falls after the County Supervisor of Election's deadline
for submission of ballot language, the entire City election shall
be postponed. The City Commission shall immediately set a date for
a special election that shall be no less than 30 days and no more
than 60 days following the date set for the original election. Incumbent(s)
shall be entitled to remain in office until the special election is
held. Resignations that were to take effect on the original election
date shall be deemed effective on the revised election date.
Ballots for municipal elections shall contain
the following and be printed in the following order and format:
A.
The candidates, if any, shall be listed alphabetically
based upon their last names.
B.
In the event one or more write-in candidates have
qualified, the ballot shall make provisions for a write-in vote.
C.
Referendum questions involving Charter changes approved
by the City Commission (if applicable) shall be listed by printing
the approved ballot language in chronological order, starting with
the question approved first by the City Commission or, if approved
by the same ordinance, in the order in which they appear in said ordinance.
D.
Other referendum questions approved by the City Commission
(if applicable) shall be listed by printing the approved ballot language
in chronological order, starting with the question approved first
by the City Commission.
E.
Citizen's initiative and referendum questions (if
applicable) shall be listed with Charter amendments first and ordinance
amendments second and in chronological order starting with the first
to receive a Clerk's certificate of sufficiency, in each category.
Prior to each municipal election, the City Commission
shall adopt a resolution announcing the offices to be elected and
the qualifying dates (if applicable), and the date of the election.
The resolution shall also state the location of the polling places
and the hours for balloting.
The City Clerk is responsible for conducting
municipal elections and is authorized to contract with the Pinellas
County Supervisor of Elections or any other qualified organization
to assist the City in all aspects of the election process. The City
Clerk is authorized to employ Election Board members and to contract
for the use of polling places.
Absentee ballots shall be available exclusively
through the Office of Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections. No
absentee ballots will be made available at City Hall. No City employee,
including the City Clerk, shall have any direct role in the procurement
of absentee ballots on behalf of any third person voting in a City
election unless that person is a relative of the City employee.
[Amended 5-13-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-04; 10-11-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-11]
For regular City elections, qualifying shall
begin on the first business day of November and end 14 days later.
Both the opening and closing of qualifying shall be at the hour of
12:00 noon. When special elections are held, the qualifying periods
shall be as set forth in the resolution calling for the election.
