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§ 34.07 CANDIDATE FILING FORMS; DEADLINES; FILING OFFICER.
   (A)   Any candidate may place his or her name on the primary election ballot by filing a candidate filing form prescribed by the Secretary of State as provided in division (B) below. If a candidate is an incumbent of any elective office, the filing period for filing the candidate filing form shall be between December 1 and February 15 prior to the date of the primary election. No incumbent who resigns from elective office prior to the expiration of his or her term shall file for any office after February 15 of that election year. All other candidates shall file for office between December 1 and March 1 prior to the date of the general election.
   (B)   Candidate filing forms shall be filed in the office of the Election Commissioner or County Clerk.
(Prior Code, § 34.07) (Ord. 605, passed 7-17-2012)
Statutory reference:
   Filling of vacancy on ballot, see Neb. RS 32-625 and 32-627
   Related provisions, see Neb. RS 32-606 and 32-607
   Withdrawal after filing, see Neb. RS 32-622
§ 34.08 FILING FEE.
   (A)   Except as provided in divisions (D) or (E) below, a filing fee shall be paid to the City Treasurer by or on behalf of each candidate for city office prior to filing for office. The fee shall be placed in the General Fund of the city. No candidate filing forms shall be filed until the proper payment or the proper receipt showing the payment of such filing fee is presented to the filing officer. On the day of the filing deadline, the City Treasurer’s office shall remain open to receive filing fees until the hour of the filing deadline.
   (B)   Except as provided in division (D) or (E) below, the filing fee shall be a sum equal to 1% of the annual salary as of November 30 of the year preceding the election for the office for which he or she files as a candidate.
   (C)   All declared write-in candidates shall pay the filing fees that are required for the office at the time that they present the write-in affidavit to the filing officer.
   (D)   No filing fee shall be required for any candidate filing for an office in which a per diem is paid rather than a salary or for which there is a salary of less than $500 per year.
   (E)   (1)   No filing fee shall be required of any candidate completing an affidavit requesting to file for elective office in forma pauperis.
      (2)    For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
         AVAILABLE RESOURCES. Includes every type of property or interest in property that an individual owns and may convert into cash except:
            1.   Real property used as a home;
            2.   Household goods of a moderate value used in the home; and
            3.   Assets to a maximum value of $3,000 used by a recipient in a planned effort directed towards self-support.
         PAUPER. A person whose income and other resources for maintenance are found under assistance standards to be insufficient for meeting the cost of his or her requirements and whose reserve of cash or other available resources does not exceed the maximum available resources that an eligible individual may own.
   (F)   If any candidate dies prior to an election, the spouse of the candidate may file a claim for refund of the filing fee with the City Council prior to the date of the election. Upon approval of the claim by the City Council, the filing fee shall be refunded.
(Neb. RS 32-608)
§ 34.09 PETITION, WRITE-IN, AND OTHER CANDIDATES FOR GENERAL ELECTION BALLOT; PROCEDURES.
   (A)   (1)   Any registered voter who was not a candidate in the primary election and who was not registered to vote with a party affiliation on or before March 1 in the calendar year of the general election may have his or her name placed on the general election ballot for a partisan office by filing petitions as prescribed in this section and Neb. RS 32-621 or by nomination by political party convention or committee pursuant to Neb. RS 32-627 or 32-710.
      (2)   Any candidate who was defeated in the primary election and any registered voter who was not a candidate in the primary election may have his or her name placed on the general election ballot if a vacancy exists on the ballot under Neb. RS 32-625(2) and the candidate files for the office by petition as prescribed in divisions (B) and (C) below, or files as a write-in candidate as prescribed in Neb. RS 32-615, or is nominated by political party convention or committee pursuant to Neb. RS 32-710.
   (B)   Petitions for nomination shall conform to the requirements of Neb. RS 32-628. Petitions shall state the office to be filled and the name and address of the candidate. Petitions for partisan office shall also indicate the party affiliation of the candidate. A sample copy of the petition shall be filed with the filing officer prior to circulation. Petitions shall be signed by registered voters residing in themunicipality, if candidates are chosen at large, or in the ward in which the officer is to be elected, if candidates are chosen by ward, and shall be filed with the filing officer in the same manner as provided for candidate filing forms in § 34.07. Petition signers and petition circulators shall conform to the requirements of Neb. RS 32-629 and 32-630. No petition for nomination shall be filed unless there is attached thereto a receipt showing the payment of the filing fee required pursuant to Neb. RS 32-608. The petitions shall be filed by September 1 in the year of the general election.
   (C)   (1)   The number of signatures of registered voters needed to place the name of a candidate upon the nonpartisan ballot for the general election shall be at least 10% of the total number of registered voters voting for Governor or President of the United States at the immediately preceding general election in the municipality or in the ward in which the officer is to be elected, not to exceed 2,000.
      (2)   The number of signatures of registered voters needed to place the name of a candidate upon the partisan ballot for the general election shall be at least 20% of the total vote for Governor or President of the United States at the immediately preceding general election within the municipality or in the ward in which the officer is to be elected, as appropriate, not to exceed 2,000.
(Prior Code, § 34.09) (Ord. 604, passed 7-17-2012)
Statutory reference:
   Related provisions, see Neb. RS 32-616 through 32-618
§ 34.10 RECALL PROCEDURE.
   (A)   For the purpose of this section, the following definition shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
      FILING CLERK. The Election Commissioner or County Clerk.
   (B)   (1)   The Mayor, any member of the City Council, and any other elected official of the city may be removed from office by recall pursuant to this section.
      (2)   The recall procedure and special election provisions of this section shall apply to members of the City Council who are elected by ward. Only registered voters of such member’s ward may sign a recall petition or vote at the recall election. The recall election shall be held within the member’s ward. When a member of the City Council is nominated by ward in the primary election and elected at large in the general election, the recall provisions shall apply to the registered voters at the general election.
   (C)   (1)   A petition demanding that the question of removing the Mayor, a member of the City Council, or any other elected official be submitted to the registered voters shall be signed by registered voters equal in number to at least 35% of the total vote cast for that office in the last general election, except that for City Council office for which more than one candidate is chosen, the petition shall besigned by registered voters equal in number to at least 35% of the number of votes cast for the person receiving the most votes for such office in the last general election. The signatures shall be affixed to petition papers and shall be considered part of the petition.
      (2)   Petition circulators shall conform to the requirements of Neb. RS 32-629 and 32-630.
      (3)   The petition papers shall be procured from the filing clerk. Prior to the issuance of such petition papers, an affidavit shall be signed and filed with the filing clerk by at least one registered voter. Such voter or voters shall be deemed to be the principal circulator or circulators of the recall petition. The affidavit shall state the name and office of the official sought to be removed, shall include in typewritten form in concise language of 60 words or less the reason or reasons for which recall is sought, and shall request that the filing clerk issue initial petition papers to the principal circulator for circulation. The filing clerk shall notify the official sought to be removed by any method specified in Neb. RS 25-505.01 or, if notification cannot be made with reasonable diligence by any of the methods specified in Neb. RS 25-505.01, by leaving a copy of the affidavit at the official’s usual place of residence and mailing a copy by first class mail to the official’s last known address. If the official chooses, he or she may submit a defense statement in typewritten form in concise language of 60 words or less for inclusion on the petition. Any such defense statement shall be submitted to the filing clerk within 20 days after the official receives the copy of the affidavit. The principal circulator or circulators shall gather the petition papers within 20 days after the receipt of the official’s defense statement. The filing clerk shall notify the principal circulator or circulators that the necessary signatures must be gathered within 30 days from the date of issuing the petitions.
      (4)   The filing clerk, upon issuing the initial petition papers or any subsequent petition papers, shall enter in a record, to be kept in his or her office, the name of the principal circulator or circulators to whom the papers were issued, the date of issuance, and the number of papers issued. The filing clerk shall certify on the papers the name of the principal circulator or circulators to whom the papers were issued and the date they were issued. No petition paper shall be accepted as part of the petition unless it bears such certificate. The principal circulator or circulators who check out petitions from the filing clerk may distribute such petitions to persons who may act as circulators of such petitions.
      (5)   Petition signers shall conform to the requirements of Neb. RS 32-629 and 32-630. Each signer of a recall petition shall be a registered voter and qualified by his or her place of residence to vote for the office in question.
   (D)   Each petition paper shall conform to the requirements of Neb. RS 32-1304.
   (E)   (1)   The principal circulator or circulators shall file, as one instrument, all petition papers comprising a recall petition for signature verification with the filing clerk within 30 days after the filing clerk issues the initial petition papers to the principal circulator or circulators as provided in division (C) above.
      (2)   Within 15 days after the filing of the petition, the filing clerk shall ascertain whether or not the petition is signed by the requisite number of registered voters. No new signatures may be added after the initial filing of the petition papers. No signatures may be removed unless the filing clerk receives an affidavit signed by the person requesting his or her signature be removed before the petitions are filed with the filing clerk for signature verification. If the petition is found to be sufficient, the filing clerk shall attach to the petition a certificate showing the result of such examination. If the requisite number of signatures has not been gathered, the filing clerk shall file the petition in his or her office without prejudice to the filing of a new petition for the same purpose.
   (F)   (1)   If the recall petition is found to be sufficient, the filing clerk shall notify the official whose removal is sought and the City Council that sufficient signatures have been gathered. Notification of the official sought to be removed may be by any method specified in Neb. RS 25-505.01 or, if notification cannot be made with reasonable diligence by any of the methods specified in Neb. RS 25-505.01, by leaving such notice at the official’s usual place of residence and mailing a copy by first class mail to the official’s last known address.
      (2)   The City Council shall order an election to be held not less than 30 nor more than 75 days after the notification of the official whose removal is sought under division (F)(1) above, except that if any other election is to be held in the city within 90 days after such notification, the City Council shall provide for the holding of the recall election on the same day. All resignations shall be tendered as provided in Neb. RS 32-562. If the official whose removal is sought resigns before the recall election is held, the City Council may cancel the recall election if the City Council notifies the Election Commissioner or County Clerk of the cancellation at least 16 days prior to the election, otherwise the recall election shall be held as scheduled.
      (3)   If the City Council fails or refuses to order a recall election within the time required, the election may be ordered by the district court having jurisdiction over a county in which the elected official serves. If a filing clerk is subject to a recall election, the Secretary of State shall conduct the recall election.
   (G)   The form of the official ballot at a recall election held pursuant to division (F) above shall conform to the requirements of Neb. RS 32-1307.
   (H)   (1)   If a majority of the votes cast at a recall election are against the removal of the official named on the ballot or the election results in a tie, the official shall continue in office for the remainder of his or her term but may be subject to further recall attempts as provided in division (I) below.
      (2)   If a majority of the votes cast at a recall election are for the removal of the official named on the ballot, he or she shall, regardless of any technical defects in the recall petition, be deemed
removed from office unless a recount is ordered. If the official is deemed removed, the removal shall result in a vacancy in the office which shall be filled as otherwise provided in this section and Neb. RS 32-567 to 32-570.
      (3)   If the election results show a margin of votes equal to 1% or less between the removal or retention of the official in question, the Secretary of State, Election Commissioner, or County Clerk shall order a recount of the votes cast unless the official named on the ballot files a written statement with the filing clerk that he or she does not want a recount.
      (4)   If there are vacancies in the offices of a majority or more of the members of the City Council or any other governing body at one time due to the recall of such members, a special election to fill such vacancies shall be conducted as expeditiously as possible by the Secretary of State, Election Commissioner, or County Clerk.
      (5)   No official who is removed at a recall election or who resigns after the initiation of the recall process shall be appointed to fill the vacancy resulting from his or her removal or the removal of any other member of the same governing body during the remainder of his or her term of office.
   (I)   No recall petition shall be filed against an elected official within 12 months after a recall election has failed to remove him or her from office or within six months after the beginning of his or her term of office or within six months prior to the incumbent filing deadline for the office.
(Prior Code, § 34.10) (Ord. 603, passed 7-17-2012)
Statutory reference:
   Related provisions, see Neb. RS 32-1301, 32-1302, 32-1303, 32-1305, 32-1306, 32-1308, and 32-1309
§ 34.11 EXIT POLLS.
   (A)   No person shall conduct an exit poll, a public opinion poll, or any other interview with voters on election day seeking to determine voter preference within 20 feet of the entrance of any polling place or, if inside the polling place or building, within 100 feet of any voting booth.
   (B)   (1)   No poll watcher shall interfere with any voter in the preparation or casting of such voter’s ballot or prevent any election worker from performing the worker’s duties.
      (2)   A poll watcher shall not provide assistance to a voter as described in Neb. RS 32-918 unless selected by the voter to provide assistance as provided in Neb. RS 32-918.
      (3)   A poll watcher shall not engage in electioneering as defined in Neb. RS 32-1524 while engaged in observing at a polling place.
      (4)   A poll watcher shall maintain a distance of at least eight feet from the sign-in table, the sign-in register, the polling booths, the ballot box, and any ballots which have not been cast, except that if the polling place is not large enough for a distance of eight feet, the judge of election shall post a notice of the minimum distance the poll watcher must maintain from the sign-in table, the sign-in register, the polling booths, the ballot box, and any ballots which have not been cast. The posted notice shall be clearly visible to the voters and shall be posted prior to the opening of the polls on election day. The minimum distance shall not be determined to exclude a poll watcher from being in the polling place.
(Neb. RS 32-1525) Penalty, see § 10.99