(a) The secretary and/or president of a group of any five qualified voters residing in the City of Lewisburg may call a convention for the purpose of nominating candidates for the offices of Mayor and Councilmember by posting and publishing notice of the name of the nominating party and the date, time and place of the convention, in the manner hereinafter provided, at least three days prior to the convention. The Secretary and President shall be appointed from within the group of five qualified voters residing in the City of Lewisburg. The Convention must be held on or before the first Tuesday of March prior to each election of City Officers.
(b) Such notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation three days prior to the convention in the City of Lewisburg, Greenbrier County, West Virginia, and shall be posted on the front of City Hall. The notice shall be paid for by the party conducting the convention. Each such notice shall include the name of the nominating party and be signed by the qualified voters calling for the convention. The convention shall be conducted in a parliamentary manner and Robert's Rules of Order (latest edition) shall govern all proceedings before the convention. The President shall call the convention to order. The Secretary shall keep minutes of the convention. Within twenty-four hours from the adjournment of the convention, the secretary of the convention shall certify to the City Clerk the candidates nominated for the offices of Mayor and Councilmember by providing a list of those present at the convention and the votes taken for the offices.
(c) Procedure After Certification. Within ten days after the filing of a nominating petition, the City Clerk shall notify the nominating party and candidate and the person who filed the petition whether or not it satisfies the requirements prescribed by this Charter. If a petition is found insufficient, the City Clerk shall return it immediately to the person who filed it with a statement certifying wherein it is found insufficient. Within the regular time for filing petitions, such a petition may be amended and filed again as a new petition or a different petition may be filed for the same candidate. The City Clerk shall keep on file all petitions found sufficient and certificates of announcement of candidacy at least until the expiration of the term for which the candidates are nominated in those petitions and certificates were filed.
(d) Form of Petitions. A nominating petition for the office of Mayor or Councilmember shall be substantially in the following form:
NOMINATING PETITION
We, the undersigned qualified voters of the City of Lewisburg, organized as the _______________ party, hereby nominate ______________________, whose residence is _____________________________________, for DESIGNATE OFFICE to be voted for at the election to be held on the __ day of June, 20__; and we individually certify that we are qualified voters of the city and that we have not signed nominating petitions for any other candidates for that office.
Name: _______________________________________________________
Street and Number and City:______________________________________
Date of Signing: ________________________________
(spaces for signatures and required data)
CERTIFICATE OF CIRCULATOR
The undersigned is the circulator of this petition paper, which contains ___________signatures. Each signature affixed thereto was made in my presence and is, I believe, the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be.
Signature of circulator: __________________________________________
Address:______________________________________________________
Date: __________________________________________
ACCEPTANCE OF NOMINATION
I hereby accept the nomination for a member of the city council and agree to serve if elected.
Signature: _____________________________________________________
Date: ___________________________________________
(e) Withdrawal of Candidacy. Any candidate wishing to withdraw his or her candidacy shall notify the City Clerk in writing of the same in accordance with the requirements of general statutory law.
(f) Write-In Candidates. A write-in candidate's certificate of announcement of candidacy shall be filed with the City Clerk no later than the fourteenth day before the election. In those cases where a nominated candidate dies or is disqualified or removed from the ballot by a court, the deadline shall be the fifth day before the election, or the day following the occurrence of the vacancy, whichever is later.