(A) Filing fees.
(1) Any candidate for the office of City Commissioner or Mayor except as otherwise provided by this section shall at the time of qualifying pay to the City Clerk a filing fee in the amount of 3% of the annual salary of the office sought. The amount of the annual salary shall be computed by multiplying 12 times the monthly salary authorized for such office as of May 1 immediately preceding the first day of qualifying.
(2) No qualifying fee shall be returned to the candidate unless he withdraws his candidacy before the last day to qualify. If a candidate dies prior to an election and has not withdrawn his candidacy before the last day to qualify, his qualifying fee shall be returned to his designated beneficiary.
(B) Alternative means of qualifying for candidates unable to pay filing fee.
(1) Any registered elector seeking to qualify for the office of City Commissioner or Mayor who is unable to pay the filing fee prescribed in division (A) above, without imposing an undue burden on his or her personal resources or on resources otherwise available to him or her may qualify to have his or her name placed on the ballot for the election by means of the petitioning process prescribed in this division. Any person using this petitioning process shall file an oath or affirmation with the Clerk stating he or she intends to qualify for the office sought and stating that he or she is unable to pay the filing fee for that office without imposing an undue burden on his or her personal resources or on resources otherwise available to him or her. Such oath or affirmation shall be filed prior to noon of the 28th day preceding the first day of the qualifying period. The Clerk shall prescribe the form to be used in the administrating and filing of such oath or affirmation. No signature shall be obtained by the candidate on any nominating petition until he or she has filed the oath or affirmation required in this division.
(2) Upon receipt of the written oath or affirmation from a candidate, the Clerk shall provide the candidate with petition forms in sufficient numbers to facilitate the gathering of signatures pursuant to this division. Such forms shall be prescribed by the Clerk.
(3) A candidate for the office of City Commissioner or Mayor seeking to qualify pursuant to this section shall obtain the signatures of a number of the qualified electors equal to 3% of the registered electors of the city as shown by the compilation by the Supervisor of Elections for the last preceding general election.
(4) Each petition shall be submitted prior to noon of the 28th day preceding the first day of the qualifying period to the Clerk, who after copying same shall forward each original petition to the Supervisor of Elections. The Supervisor of Elections shall check the names and shall, upon payment of the cost of checking the petitions or filing the oath or affirmation as prescribed in this subsection, certify to the Clerk no later than noon of the last Tuesday in the May prior to the election, the number shown as registered electors of the city. The Clerk shall determine whether or not the required number of signatures has been obtained and shall notify the candidate. If the required number of signatures has been obtained and the candidate has during the time prescribed for qualifying for office filed his or her qualifying papers with the Clerk, such candidate shall be entitled to have his or her name printed on the general election ballot. Should the petitions on their face show that less than 3% of the registered electors of the city as shown by the compilation by the Supervisor of Elections for the last preceding general election have been obtained, then the Clerk shall not forward said petitions to the Supervisor of Elections for certification. In such a case, the Clerk shall notify the candidate, in writing, of the reason the petitions were not forwarded to the Supervisor of Elections.
(C) Verification of signatures on petitions.
(1) As determined by the Supervisor of Elections based upon local conditions, the checking of names on petitions may be based on the most inexpensive and administratively feasible of either of the following methods of verification:
(a) A name-by-name signature-by-signature check of the number of authorized signatures on the petitions; or
(b) A check of a random sample of names and signatures on the petition. The sample must be such that a determination can be made as to whether or not the required number of signatures have been obtained with a reliability of at least 99.5%. The Supervisor of Elections may require as a condition precedent to the use of the random sampling verification method that petitions bear an additional number of names and signatures not to exceed 15% of the names and signatures otherwise required. If the petitions do not meet such criteria, then the use of the verification method described in this division (b) shall not be available to the Supervisor of Elections.
(2) When a candidate submits petitions which contain at least 15% more than the required number of signatures, he or she may require that the Supervisor of Elections use the random sampling verification method of certifying the petition.
(3) A name on a petition which name is not in substantially the same form as a name on the voter's registration book shall be counted as a valid signature if, after comparing the signature on the petition with the signature of the alleged signor as shown on the registration books, the Supervisor of Elections determines that the person signing the petition and the person who registered to vote are one and the same. No signature shall be counted towards the number of signatures required unless it is on a petition form prescribed by the Clerk.
(4) The Supervisor of Elections shall be paid the then applicable rate for each signature checked or the actual cost of checking such signature, whichever is less, by the candidate or person authorized by such candidate submitting the petition. However, if a candidate cannot pay such charges without posing an undue burden on his or her personal resources or upon the resources otherwise available to him or her, he or she shall, upon written certification of such inability given under oath or affirmation to the Supervisor of Elections, be entitled to have the signatures verified at no charge. If such candidate has filed the oath or affirmation prescribed in division (B), he or she shall not be required to file a second oath in order to have the signatures verified at no charge. In the event the candidate is entitled to have the signatures verified at no charge, the Supervisor of Elections shall submit the total number of such signatures checked to the Clerk. The Clerk shall cause the Supervisor of Elections to be reimbursed from the general revenue fund in an amount equal to the then applicable rate for each name checked or the actual cost of checking such signatures, whichever is less. In no event shall such reimbursement of costs be deemed or applied as extra compensation for the Supervisor of Elections.
(5) The candidate, an announced opponent, a representative of a designated political committee, or person, party or other organization submitting the petition which does not wish to accept the results of a verification pursuant to this division (1)(a) may require a complete check of the names and signatures pursuant to this division (1)(a). If any such candidate, announced opponent, representative of a designated political committee, or person, party or organization submitting the petition requires such complete check and the result is not changed as to the success or lack of success of the petitioner in obtaining the requisite number of valid signatures, then such candidate, announced opponent, representative of a designated political committee, person or party, or organization submitting the petition shall pay to the Supervisor of Elections for the complete check an amount calculated at the then applicable rate for each additional signature check or the actual cost of checking such additional signatures, whichever is less. Such petition shall be retained by the Supervisor of Elections for a period of one year following the election for which such petitions are circulated.
(D) Reimbursement out of funds in campaign account. Prior to expending funds on deposit in his or her campaign account to advocate his or her election, a candidate who filed an oath or affirmation stating that he or she was unable to pay, without imposing an undue burden on his or her personal resources or on resources otherwise available to him or her, any filing fee, election assessment, or fee for verification of petition signatures established by this section or state law shall reimburse the city and the state for such waived fees and assessments. Such reimbursement shall be made first for the cost of signature verification.
('72 Code, § 2-12.2) (Ord. O-85-49, passed 11-6-85; Am. Ord. O-2007-14, passed 6-20-07; Am. Ord. O-2010-20, passed 6-2-10; Am. Ord. O-2012-08, passed 4-18-12)