[Ord. No. 2944 § 11, 7-8-1974]
The Council shall provide by ordinance all regulations which
it deems necessary or desirable, not inconsistent with this Charter
or statute, for the conduct of elections, for the prevention of fraud
therein, and for the recount of ballots in case of doubt or fraud.
Municipal elections shall be nonpartisan.
[Ord. No. 2944 § 13, 7-8-1974; Ord. No. 4162 § 1, 8-23-1982; Ord.
No. 4903 § 1, 5-23-1988]
Nominations of candidates for all elective offices shall be
by petition. Petitions for Councilmen and municipal judge shall be
signed by not less than two hundred (200) registered voters who are
entitled to vote for the candidate so nominated. Petitions for all
other elective officials shall be signed by not less than five hundred
(500) registered voters of the City.
Said petitions shall be submitted on forms provided by the City
Clerk and shall contain the name and address of the nominee, the form
in which the name is to appear on the ballot, the office for which
he is being nominated, the certification that the signer is a registered
voter, together with a statement of acceptance of the nomination by
the nominee.
Nominating petitions shall be distributed by and/or filed with
the City Clerk at the City Hall during regular business hours not
earlier than ninety (90) days nor later than sixty (60) days before
an election. The City Clerk, upon being informed by the Board of Election
Commissioners of the County of St. Louis that the nominating petition
filed by a candidate is sufficient or not sufficient, shall notify
the candidate immediately upon receipt of the same. If a petition
is found insufficient the City Clerk shall return it to the person
filing it with a statement certifying wherein the petition is insufficient.
Within the regular filing time for filing petitions, new or supplemental
petitions may be filed for the same candidate.
[1]
Editor's Note—Ord. No. 4162, § 1 of which
amended this section, adopted August 23, 1982, was approved at an
election held November 2, 1982. Ord. No. 4903, also amending this
section, adopted May 23, 1988, was approved at an election held August
2, 1988.
The regular election for all elective officers shall be held
on the first Tuesday in April. The year in which elections for a specific
office shall be held shall be determined by the length of term of
such office. By resolution the Council may call and provide for holding
special elections.
The Council shall have the power to prescribe the form of ballot
and may, not inconsistent with statute, provide for the use of machines
for voting or for counting the votes, provided, however, that the
names of the candidates shall be placed on the ballot in the order
in which the nominating petitions are filed.
If two (2) or more candidates receive an equal and the highest
number of votes for the same office, another election between the
candidates so tied shall be at the next date available under the law.
If a vacancy shall occur in any elected office within one hundred
eighty (180) days of the expiration of the term of said office, the
Mayor, with the approval of a majority of the members of the Council,
shall fill said vacancy by appointment for the balance of the term.
If a vacancy shall occur in any elected office more than one
hundred eighty (180) days prior to the expiration of the term of said
office, the Council shall, within ten (10) days after the occurrence
of such vacancy, call an election to fill said office for the unexpired
term thereof. Such election shall be held at the next election date
available under the law following the occurrence of the vacancy and
shall be conducted in the same manner as provided for regular elections.
