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Sec. 422. Nominating Petition.
 
   (a)   Form and Requirements. The City Clerk shall prepare and furnish a Nominating Petition to each candidate who has filed a valid Declaration of Intention. The Nominating Petition shall specify the name of the office and the name of the candidate to be nominated, and shall otherwise comply with the requirements of the City Election Code. In order to qualify a candidate for placement on the primary nominating ballot, the Nominating Petition shall be signed by at least 500 registered voters of the City, in the case of nomination to an office elected at large, or of the Council district or Board district in the case of nomination to the City Council or Board of Education. Only signatures of registered voters living within the Council district or Board district, as the case may be, shall be counted in determining the sufficiency of those petitions. Voters may sign more than one petition for a candidate for the same office. A petition presented to the City Clerk shall not be valid if it contains blanks for more than one thousand signatures.
 
   (b)   Filing and Certification. Nominating Petitions shall be filed with the City Clerk not more than 115 days and not less than 90 days prior to the primary nominating election. No Nominating Petition shall be filed with the City Clerk until any filing fee requirement has been satisfied. The City Clerk shall examine the Nominating Petition, and determine whether it contains the requisite number of signatures of qualified registered voters, in accordance with procedures contained in the City Election Code. When the City Clerk has completed the examination of the petition, the Clerk shall prepare a dated certificate showing the result of the examination.
 
   (c)   Supplementing the Petition. The City Election Code shall govern the process by which and circumstances under which an insufficient Nominating Petition may be supplemented. However, no supplement to a Petition shall be allowed after the expiration of the time for filing the Nominating Petition set forth in the Charter, and no signature may be withdrawn from a Nominating Petition after its presentation to the Clerk.
 
SECTION HISTORY
 
Amended by: Charter Amendment R § 4, approved March 5, 2002, effective April 12, 2002.
 
 
Sec. 423. Withdrawal of Nominating Petition.
 
   Within three days after the expiration of the time for filing a Nominating Petition, any person for the nomination of whom a petition has been filed, may cause his or her name to be withdrawn from nomination by filing a request in writing with the City Clerk. No name so withdrawn shall be printed on the primary nominating election ballot. If after a withdrawal, or by the death or other disqualification of any person for the nomination of whom a petition has been filed, only one candidate remains for any given office, then other nominations for that office may be made by filing petitions within ten days after the expiration of the time for the filing of Nominating Petitions, but no supplement to any Petition shall be allowed.
 
 
Sec. 424. Primary Nominating Election Ballot.
 
   The ballot for any primary nominating election conducted by the City Clerk shall be as follows:
 
   (a)   Order of Placement. The names of candidates who have qualified for placement on the ballot, except candidates who have withdrawn or died or otherwise been disqualified, together with any measures or propositions as ordered by the Council or otherwise required by law, shall appear on the ballot. The offices to be filled shall be arranged on the ballot as follows: Mayor, City Attorney, Controller, member of the Council, member of the Board of Education, followed by any other offices to be filled in the order determined by the Council. Measures and propositions shall appear on the ballot in the order determined by the Council.
 
   (b)   Nonpartisan Ballot. There shall be nothing on any ballot indicative of the party affiliation, source of candidacy or support of any candidate.
 
   (c)   Write-in Candidates. Each ballot shall provide an opportunity for voters to write-in, for each office on the ballot, the name of any person whose name does not appear on the ballot and for whom the voter wishes to vote.
 
SECTION HISTORY
 
Amended by: Charter Amendment 1, approved March 3, 2015, effective April 2, 2015; Charter Amendment 2, approved March 3, 2015, effective April 2, 2015.
 
 
Sec. 425. Results of Primary Nominating Election.
 
   (a)   In the event that any candidate receives a majority of the votes cast for an office at the primary nominating election, that candidate shall be elected to the office.
 
   (b)   In the event no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast for an office, the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes for the office shall be the candidates, and the only candidates, for that office whose names shall appear on the ballots to be used at the general municipal election.
 
   (c)   In the event that two or more persons receive an equal number of votes as candidates for an office at the primary nominating election, so that the result of the election does not determine which of the persons are entitled to be nominated as candidates, the Council shall draw lots to determine which of the persons shall be the candidate or candidates for the office. The lots shall be drawn at the next regular Council meeting occurring later than five days after the declaration of the result of the election, in the manner the Council prescribes. However, if a recount of the ballots with respect to the office in question is timely requested, lots shall not be drawn until and unless the recount also fails to result in a determination of which persons are entitled to be nominated as candidates for the office.
 
 
Sec. 426. General Election Ballot.
 
   The ballot for any general election conducted by the City Clerk shall be in the same general form as for the primary nominating election, so far as applicable, and without any indication as to the party affiliation, source of candidacy or support of any candidate.
 
SECTION HISTORY
 
Amended by: Charter Amendment 1, approved March 3, 2015, effective April 2, 2015; Charter Amendment 2, approved March 3, 2015, effective April 2, 2015.
 
 
Sec. 427. Death or Disqualification of Candidate.
 
   In the event of the death, resignation or other disqualification of any candidate nominated at a primary nominating election, the person who received the next highest number of votes for that office at the primary nominating election shall be deemed a candidate and, if practicable, his or her name shall be printed on the ballot to be used at the general municipal election.
 
 
 
RECALL
 
 
Sec. 430. Subject of Recall.
 
   Any incumbent of an elected office, whether elected by vote of the people or appointed to fill a vacancy, may be removed from office by the registered voters of the City of Los Angeles, or the registered voters of the School District in the case of removal of a member of the Board of Education. The removal of the incumbent shall be known as the recall.
 
 
Sec. 431. Recall Petition.
 
   A recall petition shall comply with the provisions of the Charter and the City Election Code. The following shall apply to all recall petitions:
 
   (a)   To qualify for presentation to the City Council, a recall petition shall be signed by registered voters equal in number to at least 15% of the registered voters eligible to vote for the office, the incumbent of which is sought to be removed. The 15% shall be computed upon the number of registered voters on the date of filing with the City Clerk of the Notice of Intention to circulate the petition described in subsection (b) of this section. If the recall petition concerns removal of a member of Council, or member of the Board of Education, the 15% shall be computed upon the total number of registered voters within the Council district or Board district from which the Council member, or member of the Board of Education was elected. Only signatures of registered voters living within the Council district or Board district, as the case may be, shall be counted in computing the 15%, and only voters residing within the district shall be entitled to vote at the election. All names signed to a petition must have been secured within the time period described in subsection (d), and any signature affixed outside of this time period shall not be counted in determining the sufficiency of the petition.
 
   (b)   Before submitting a recall petition for signatures, its proponents shall publish a Notice of Intention and a Statement of Reasons (Statement) for the proposed recall. No such notice shall be effective if published: (1) before the officer has held his or her current term of office for three months, or (2) within six months of the expiration of the current term of office, or (3) within six months after a recall election at which the officer was retained in office. The Statement shall be served on the officer to be recalled and on the City Clerk, and shall otherwise comply with requirements of the City Election Code. The sufficiency of the Statement shall not be subject to review by the Council; however, the petition, when circulated, shall have attached to it an affidavit of one or more of the proponents that all of the facts contained in the Statement are true.
 
   (c)   The officer whose recall is sought, or anyone acting upon his or her behalf, may publish an Answer to the Statement (Answer) in accordance with the requirements of the City Election Code. If an Answer is published, it shall be served on the proponent of the recall and on the City Clerk, and shall otherwise comply with requirements of the City Election Code. The Statement and Answer are intended solely for the information of the voters and no insufficiency in their form or substance shall affect in any manner the validity of the proceedings taken under the Charter.
 
   (d)   Within the time after the publication and service of the Statement as provided in the City Election Code, the petition demanding the recall of the officer may be circulated for signatures. The petition shall contain a copy of the Statement and any Answer, and shall otherwise be in a form prescribed by the City Election Code. Signatures shall be secured and the petition filed within 120 days from the first day to circulate.
 
   (e)   Except as otherwise provided, the provisions of this Article relating to the form and to the mode of signing initiative petitions, and to the filing, examining, certifying, supplementing, presenting to the Council and the retaining thereof, shall apply to any petition filed with the City Clerk under this section. The sufficiency or insufficiency of any recall petition shall not be subject to review by the Council.
 
 
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