The regular election of members of the Council shall be held on the first Tuesday in June in odd-numbered years, ward councilmen and councilmen at large to be elected for terms of four years each at alternate elections except at the first election held under this Charter as provided under Article IX. Special elections shall be held at such times as may be fixed by the Council.
The City shall be divided into four wards, by leaving Ward No. 1 substantially as it presently exists, dividing Ward No. 2 into two wards to be designated Nos. 2 and 3 and designating the present Ward No. 3 substantially as it exists as Ward No. 4, the boundaries of which shall be determined by the Council; provided, however, that the wards shall be as nearly equal as may be in area and population, and each ward shall be composed of contiguous territory.
Any qualified elector of the City who has been a resident of the City for at least one year prior to the beginning of the term of office which he seeks may be nominated for the Council by petition. The term "qualified elector" as used in this Charter shall mean a citizen having the qualifications required by law to vote, and who has been a resident of the City for at least six months next preceding the election at which he desires to vote. A petition for this purpose shall be signed by not fewer than twenty-five qualified electors who shall be residents of the ward from which they seek to nominate a candidate, and for nomination of a candidate at large by fifty qualified electors of the City. No elector shall sign more than one petition for persons nominated by wards, and not more than one petition for a person to be nominated at large, and should an elector do so, his signature shall be void except as to the petition first filed. The signatures on the nominating petition need not all be subscribed to one paper, but to each separate paper there shall be attached a signed statement of the circulator thereof, stating the number of signers of such paper and that each signature appended thereto was made in his presence and is the genuine signature or mark of the person whose name it purports to be. With each signature, including the signature of the circulator, shall be stated, the place of residence of the signer, giving the street and number or other description sufficient to identify it. The form of the nominating petition shall be substantially as follows.
"We, the undersigned electors of the ( ward in the)* City of Princeton hereby nominate whose residence is for the office of councilman (at large) (from the ward,)** to be voted for at the election to be held on the day of , 19 and we individually certify that we are qualified to vote for a candidate for the Council and that we have not signed any other nominating petition for that office.
“
Name Street and Address from which last Date of
Number registered (if different) signing
"(Spaces for signature and required data)
" * Where appropriate
"** Cross out one
"Statement of Circulator
"The undersigned is the circulator of the foregoing paper containing signatures. Each signature appended thereto was made in my presence and is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be.
"Signature of Circulator
"Address "
Any signature made earlier than the first day of February next preceding the election shall be void. All nominating papers comprising a petition shall be filed as one instrument with the City Clerk, not later than the first day of April before the election. The City Clerk shall make a record of the exact time at which each petition is filed and shall take and preserve the name and address of the person by whom it is filed. No nominating petition shall be accepted unless accompanied by a signed acceptance of the nomination in substantially the following form:
"Acceptance of Nomination
"I hereby accept the nomination for the Council and agree to serve if elected.
"Signature of Candidate "
All petitions so filed shall be submitted by the Clerk to the Council for its determination as to their sufficiency. If a petition is found insufficient, the Clerk shall return it immediately to the person who filed it with a statement wherein the petition is found insufficient. Within the regular time for filing petitions such a petition may be amended and filed again as a new petition (in which case the time of the first filing shall be disregarded in determining the validity of signatures thereon) or a different petition may be filed for the same candidate.
(Amended 5-14-07.)
The full names of all candidates nominated for the Council as hereinbefore provided, except such as may have withdrawn, died or become ineligible, shall be printed on the official ballots without party designations. If two candidates with the same surname, or with names so similar as to cause confusion, are nominated, the addresses of their places of residence shall be placed with their names on the ballots.
In the printing of the ballots the names of candidates shall be arranged so that each appears first on an equal number of ballots. The ballot shall bear instructions as to the number of candidates for whom the voter is entitled to vote.
Unless voting machines are used, councilmen shall be voted for on ballots separate and distinct from ballots used for any other office or question.
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