City and County Elections. | |
Terms of Elective Office. | |
Vacancies. | |
Instant Runoff Elections. | |
Special Municipal Elections. | |
Elections Commission. | |
Department of Elections. | |
Use of Other City Employees and Officers. | |
Nomination. | |
Qualification. | |
Election Material Mailed to Voters. | |
Posting of Ballot Counts at Polls. | |
Determination of Election Results. | |
Filing Fees. | |
Election of Board of Education. | |
(a) Except in the case of an appointment or election to fill a vacancy, the term of office of each elected officer shall commence at noon on the eighth day of January following the date of the election.
(b) Subject to the applicable provisions of Section 13.102, the elected officers of the City and County, and members of the Board of Education and of the Governing Body of the Community College District, shall be elected as follows:
(1) The following officials shall be elected at the general municipal election in 2024 and every fourth year thereafter: Mayor, Sheriff, District Attorney, City Attorney, Treasurer, four members of the Board of Education, and four members of the Governing Board of the Community College District.
(2) The following officials shall be elected at the general municipal election in 2022 and every fourth year thereafter: Assessor-Recorder, Public Defender, three members of the Board of Education, and three members of the Governing Board of the Community College District.
(3) The election and terms of office of members of the Board of Supervisors shall be governed by Section 13.110.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Charter, including Section 3.101, the term of office for Mayor, City Attorney, District Attorney, Sheriff, and Treasurer that began at noon on January 8, 2020 shall end at noon on January 8, 2025. This five-year term for the office of Mayor shall be deemed a single term for the purposes of term limits under Section 3.101.
(Amended November 1996; March 2002; Proposition E, Approved 11/8/2005; Proposition D, Approved 11/6/2012; Proposition H, Approved 11/8/2022)
(a) If the office of Assessor-Recorder, City Attorney, District Attorney, Public Defender, Sheriff, Treasurer, or Member of the Board of Supervisors, Board of Education or Governing Board of the Community College District becomes vacant because of death, resignation, recall, permanent disability, or the inability of the respective officer to otherwise carry out the responsibilities of the office, the Mayor shall appoint an individual qualified to fill the vacancy under this Charter and state laws.
(b) If the Office of Mayor becomes vacant because of death, resignation, recall, permanent disability or the inability to carry out the responsibilities of the office, the President of the Board of Supervisors shall become Acting Mayor and shall serve until a successor is appointed by the Board of Supervisors.
(c) Any person filling a vacancy pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of this Section shall serve until a successor is selected at the next election occurring not less than 120 days after the vacancy, at which time an election shall be held to fill the unexpired term, provided that (1) if an election for the vacated office is scheduled to occur less than one year after the vacancy, the appointee shall serve until a successor is selected at that election or (2) if an election for any seat on the same board as the vacated seat is scheduled to occur less than one year but at least 120 days after the vacancy, the appointee shall serve until a successor is selected at that election to fill the unexpired term.
(d) If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast at an election to fill a vacated office, the two candidates receiving the most votes shall qualify to have their names placed on the ballot for a municipal runoff election at the next regular or otherwise scheduled election occurring not less than five weeks later. If an instant runoff election process is enacted for the offices enumerated in this Section, that process shall apply to any election required by this Section.
(Added November 2001)
(a) For the purposes of this section: (1) a candidate shall be deemed "continuing" if the candidate has not been eliminated; (2) a ballot shall be deemed "continuing" if it is not exhausted; and (3) a ballot shall be deemed "exhausted," and not counted in further stages of the tabulation, if all of the choices have been eliminated or there are no more choices indicated on the ballot. If a ranked-choice ballot gives equal rank to two or more candidates, the ballot shall be declared exhausted when such multiple rankings are reached. If a voter casts a ranked-choice ballot but skips a rank, the voter's vote shall be transferred to that voter's next ranked choice.
(b) The Mayor, Sheriff, District Attorney, City Attorney, Treasurer, Assessor-Recorder, Public Defender, and members of the Board of Supervisors shall be elected using a ranked-choice, or "instant runoff," ballot. The ballot shall allow voters to rank a number of choices in order of preference equal to the total number of candidates for each office; provided, however, if the voting system, vote tabulation system or similar or related equipment used by the City and County cannot feasibly accommodate choices equal to the total number of candidates running for each office, then the Director of Elections may limit the number of choices a voter may rank to no fewer than three. The ballot shall in no way interfere with a voter's ability to cast a vote for a write-in candidate.
(c) If a candidate receives a majority of the first choices, that candidate shall be declared elected. If no candidate receives a majority, the candidate who received the fewest first choices shall be eliminated and each vote cast for that candidate shall be transferred to the next ranked candidate on that voter's ballot. If, after this transfer of votes, any candidate has a majority of the votes from the continuing ballots, that candidate shall be declared elected.
(d) If no candidate receives a majority of votes from the continuing ballots after a candidate has been eliminated and his or her votes have been transferred to the next-ranked candidate, the continuing candidate with the fewest votes from the continuing ballots shall be eliminated. All votes cast for that candidate shall be transferred to the next-ranked continuing candidate on each voter's ballot. This process of eliminating candidates and transferring their votes to the next-ranked continuing candidates shall be repeated until a candidate receives a majority of the votes from the continuing ballots.
(e) If the total number of votes of the two or more candidates credited with the lowest number of votes is less than the number of votes credited to the candidate with the next highest number of votes, those candidates with the lowest number of votes shall be eliminated simultaneously and their votes transferred to the next-ranked continuing candidate on each ballot in a single counting operation.
(f) A tie between two or more candidates shall be resolved in accordance with State law.
(g) The Department of Elections shall conduct a voter education campaign to familiarize voters with the ranked-choice or, "instant runoff," method of voting.
(h) Any voting system, vote tabulation system, or similar or related equipment acquired by the City and County shall have the capability to accommodate this system of ranked-choice, or "instant runoff," balloting.
(i) Ranked choice, or "instant runoff," balloting shall be used for the general municipal election in November 2002 and all subsequent elections. If the Director of Elections certifies to the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor no later than July 1, 2002 that the Department will not be ready to implement ranked-choice balloting in November 2002, then the City shall begin using ranked-choice, or "instant runoff," balloting at the November 2003 general municipal election.
If ranked-choice, or "instant runoff," balloting is not used in November of 2002, and no candidate for any elective office of the City and County, except the Board of Education and the Governing Board of the Community College District, receives a majority of the votes cast at an election for such office, the two candidates receiving the most votes shall qualify to have their names placed on the ballot for a runoff election held on the second Tuesday in December of 2002.
(Added March 2002)
(Former Section 13.102 added November 1996; repealed March 2002)
Special municipal elections may be called in accordance with state laws.
The date of any special municipal election shall be fixed by the Board of Supervisors not less than 105 nor more than 120 days from the date of calling such election; however, no special municipal election shall be held within 105 days of any general municipal or statewide election. The Board of Supervisors may consolidate a special municipal election with a general municipal or statewide election.
The Board of Supervisors shall maintain a fund sufficient to pay all costs and expenses of the City and County with respect to a special municipal election, and such fund shall be used solely to pay the costs of such an election. Upon payment of any such costs or expenses, an appropriation shall be made in the next succeeding annual appropriations ordinance sufficient to reimburse the fund.
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