8.31 Elections. General municipal elections shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November in the odd-numbered years. The ballot, or ballot labels on voting machines, used in the elections of officers of the Municipality, shall be without party mark or designation. The names of all candidates for any Municipal office shall be placed upon the same ballot, or the same voting machine, and shall be rotated in the manner provided by the laws of the State of Ohio.
In the event no candidate is issued a certificate of election by the Board of Elections before the commencement of the new Mayoral term on January 1 of the year immediately following the runoff election, then, immediately following the organizational meeting of Council as described in Section 3.23, the President of Council shall temporarily assume the office of Mayor with all the powers, duties and responsibilities of the office until a Mayor-elect is issued a certificate of election by the Board of Elections, at which time the Mayor-elect shall assume the office of Mayor and serve the remainder of the term of four (4) years as defined in Section 2.12.
Whenever it becomes the duty of Council to call an election on initiated or referred ordinances or on a question of recall, such election shall take place within sixty (60) to ninety (90) days of the filing of the initial petition at a primary or general election if one occurs during that period or, if not, at a special election, except that no special election may be called within thirty (30) days of a primary or general election. (Amended 11-6-90; 11-2-21)
8.32 Petitions. Unless modified by or necessarily inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter, the general laws of Ohio shall govern the form, circulation and filing of all petitions. The voting precinct shall be listed in the space allotted for ward or district on all petitions. The provisions of this Section shall have no application to the form, circulation and/or filing of petitions which propose Charter amendments.
Within ten (10) days after the filing of any petition, the Director of Elections or the Clerk of Council, as the case may be, shall examine each part of the petition to see if it is sufficient and in proper form, and certify his findings to the Board of Elections or to the Council, as the case may be. If any petition is found insufficient or incorrect in form or substance, the petitioners shall be notified of the findings, including what particulars have been found defective.
Any petition with the required number of valid signatures may be amended for other defects within a ten (10) day grace period after the notification and refiled upon additional forms in the manner provided for filing the original, including the repayment of filing fees, if any.
The sufficiency of the number of signatures on any petition shall be determined as being the required percentage of the number of electors voting in the last general Municipal election.
(Amended 11-4-08)
8.33 Official Notice. On or before the scheduled distribution of any form of absentee ballot by the Board of Elections for any election at which an initiated or referred ordinance, recall of an elected official, or Charter amendment is to be submitted, the Clerk of Council shall have printed and mailed to each elector an official notice containing a full text of any such ordinances with their respective ballot titles, or the ballot title for a recall election; provided, however, that notice of Charter amendments may be given by newspaper advertising in accordance with the general laws of the State. The validity of the election result on such ordinances or recall shall not be questioned because of errors or irregularities in such mailing or newspaper advertising. (Amended 11-4-75; 11-3-15)