Elections, other than special elections, shall be held on the second Tuesday in May of each year an election for Mayor and/or Council regularly occurs. Polls shall be open to qualified voters and public notice provided in accordance with § C4-9 of the City Charter.
[Amended 12-21-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-07]
A. 
City elections may utilize vote-by-mail ballot voting.
B. 
The Council may determine by resolution whether vote-by-mail ballot voting shall be the primary means of voting. In the event the Council determines that vote-by-mail ballot voting shall be the primary means of voting, such an election shall be called a "vote-by-mail election."
C. 
In a vote-by-mail election, at least one polling location shall be kept open on election day for in-person voting. The Board of Elections shall keep any such polling location open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on election day.
D. 
In an election that is primarily vote-by-mail pursuant to § 8-4B of this chapter, the Board of Elections may begin to process the ballots in preparation for counting and tabulation 15 days prior to an election which is primarily vote-by-mail. The process shall be open to the public in accordance with applicable law and regulations and may include opening ballot envelopes, unfolding the ballots, and scanning the ballots. Votes may not be counted or tabulated until the polls close on election day.
A. 
The City Council or Board may provide for one or more early voting days in any election.
B. 
Any early voting day shall be held no more than 15 days prior to the election day established in § 8-3 of this article.
C. 
On a designated early voting day, the polls shall be open to qualified voters at the times and places specified and advertised by the Board, which shall be open a minimum of eight hours if early voting is conducted on a Saturday and at least four hours if early voting is conducted on any other day of the week.
A. 
Generally. In addition to regularly scheduled elections, other special elections shall be held to resolve tie votes in any election and/or to fill vacancies that arise a substantial amount of time before the next regularly scheduled election, which shall be conducted pursuant to this section.
B. 
Runoff elections.
(1) 
If, in any election directed by the Charter, any two or more candidates for the office of Mayor or Councilmember who have received the highest number of votes receive an equal number of votes, or the vote upon any binding referendum results in a tie, a runoff special election between these candidates and/or tied referenda shall be ordered and conducted by the Board.
(2) 
Any runoff special election required by Subsection B(1) of this section shall be held within 75 days of the election in which the tie vote occurred and shall include those offices for which the equal number of votes was cast or referendum questions which resulted in a tie vote.
C. 
Special elections to fill vacancy.
(1) 
If, at any point the office of Mayor and/or one or more seats on the Council become vacant, the Board shall, at the direction of the Council, conduct a vacancy special election to fill the vacancies.
(2) 
Except as provided in the City Charter, any special election shall be held within 75 days of the date the vacancy was created.
(3) 
Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, no special election to fill a vacancy shall be held if the special election can be conducted on any day that is within 150 days of any regularly scheduled City election, and the office shall remain vacant until the regularly scheduled City election.
D. 
Combination special elections. In the event that an additional seat on the Council becomes vacant after a general election, but before a necessary runoff special election is held pursuant to Subsection B of this section, the Board may extend the time for the runoff special election to any day within 75 days of the date the vacancy was created, and both the runoff and the vacancy elections shall be conducted at the same time.
A. 
All individuals wishing to have their name included on a ballot as a candidate for the office of Mayor or Councilmember shall:
(1) 
File an application for candidacy on a form prescribed by the Board on or before 5:00 p.m. on the second Friday in March in the year that the election is to be held;
[Amended 2-2-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-01]
(2) 
Comply with any financial disclosure requirements of Chapter 10, § 10-9, of the City Code.
B. 
The Board shall timely review all applications for candidacy and conduct any necessary investigations to determine the eligibility of each applicant for candidacy, including verifying that candidates are residents of the City.
C. 
The Board may refuse to certify for candidacy any individual who, in any previous election, failed to file all reports required by this chapter or has repeatedly or consistently failed to observe required election procedures.
D. 
The Board shall consider any mitigating circumstances in ruling on whether to certify an application for candidacy.
E. 
Candidates may withdraw their candidacy at any time on or before the Monday following the filing deadline for applications for candidacy set forth in this section. Any candidate who withdraws shall file a disposition of funds report.
A. 
All election judges appointed by the City Council or by the Board shall be registered voters of the City.
B. 
All persons listed in Subsection A of this section shall, before engaging in their duties, take the oath set forth in § C12-1 of the City Charter and Article I, § 9, of the Maryland Constitution.