(a) Petitions. Candidates for election to the office of Mayor or to the City Council shall be nominated by petition. However, incumbents are exempt from the petition process. Any citizen of the State of West Virginia who is a resident of the City of Westover entitled to vote may be nominated for election (1) as Mayor by a petition signed by 90 or more qualified voters, provided that such petition shall have a minimum of 30 signatures from each of the three wards, or (2) as a councilmember at large by a petition signed by 45 or more qualified voters of the City, provided that such petition shall have a minimum of 15 signatures from each of the three City wards, or (3) as a ward councilmember by a petition signed by 30 or more qualified voters of the ward for which the candidate is nominated. Any eligible person who seeks to be a write-in candidate to an office shall file a write-in candidate’s certificate of announcement with the appropriate petitions and submit to the Municipal Clerk/Recorder at least 49 days prior to election. The signatures to a nominating petition need not be all affixed to one paper, but to each separate paper of a petition there shall be attached an affidavit executed by its circulator stating the number of signers of the paper, that each signature on it was affixed in his or her presence and that he or she believes each signature to be the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be. The signatures shall be executed in ink or indelible pencil. Each signer shall indicate next to his or her signature the date of his or her signing and the place of his or her residence. (Amended 11-18-13.)
(b) Filing and Acceptance.
(1) All candidates for office shall file a certification of announcement between the second Monday of January and the last Saturday in January at midnight, before the election. These dates and deadlines are subject to change by the Secretary of State’s Office and the City will follow their regulations. (Amended 6-21-23.)
(2) All separate papers constituting a nominating petition shall be assembled and filed with the City Clerk as one instrument. The filing period ends thirteen (13) weeks before the election, and public notice of the candidates’ filing times and requirements should be made two (2) weeks before the filing period. The City Clerk shall make a record of the exact time when each petition is filed. No nominating petition shall be accepted unless accompanied by a signed acceptance of the nomination.
(3) Candidate filing fee for the office of Mayor shall be $25.00, and $10.00 for candidates filing for council offices. (Amended 1-5-98.)
(c) Procedure after Filing. Within ten days after the filing of a nominating petition, the City Clerk shall notify the candidate and the person who filed the petition whether or not it satisfied 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 copies of all petitions found sufficient at least until the expiration of the term for which the candidates are nominated in those petitions. The original applications and petitions shall be certified by the City Clerk and turned over to the Clerk of Monongalia County by the deadline set by law. (Amended 6-21-23.)