§ 2.56.070. Community councils—Election of members.

A.

Members of community councils shall be elected by nonpartisan secret ballot. Nomination and election procedures, notice requirements and terms of office shall be specified in the bylaws of each council.

B.

Community council bylaws shall include at least the following minimum requirements regarding elections:

1.

All elections of council representatives must be free and open to all registered voters in the community council area provided, no individual may vote more than once in any given election. Upon the approval of the county council, voting may be open to property owners in any community council district where a substantial proportion of the developed land is owned by persons who reside elsewhere, such as summer recreational properties.

2.

Elections for community council representatives shall be held only on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November in each even numbered year.

3.

At least sixty days prior to an election the community council shall designate one community council member or designee, who is not standing for re-election, to serve as the election officer for the year in which a community council election is conducted and shall inform the county's community council liaison in writing, of the appointment and the election officer's name, address, and telephone number. That election officer may solicit the assistance of community council members or other persons not standing for re-election to serve as assistants.

4.

Notices and flyers shall be prepared, posted and published sufficiently in advance of any community council election to adequately inform prospective council candidates of election and candidate nomination procedures.

5.

At least thirty days prior to an election the community council shall provide an appropriate notice of each election. The notice shall be posted in at least one prominent place in each voting district in the community council area and forwarded to the county community's council liaison. Notices shall include the date, times and polling place locations for the community council election. The county clerk, with the assistance of the county community council liaison, shall publish notice of the election in a newspaper of general circulation at least two weeks before election day.

6.

The community council shall, in its bylaws, institute a fair and equitable candidate nomination process, to be administered by the election officer and designed to freely permit and encourage citizens to become candidates for community council office. All candidates shall be registered voters in the community council area. Upon the approval of the county council, candidates may be property owners in any community council district where a substantial proportion of the developed land is owned by persons who reside elsewhere, such as summer recreational properties.

7.

Community councils shall prepare a sufficient number of ballots listing candidates for community council office. Candidates shall be listed in alphabetical order, by last name, and the ballot shall contain only the names of candidates. No titles or indication of incumbency shall appear on the ballot. Write-in candidates may be permitted as provided by the bylaws.

8.

The community council shall put in place and enforce appropriate regulations to ensure the secrecy and security of the voting process, including providing for a secret vote, secure ballot boxes, and a secure and orderly vote tabulation process supervised by the election officer. No proxy voting shall be permitted.

9.

Within seven days after an election, the election officer shall prepare an official written declaration of election results, including total votes cast for each candidate, and shall cause the declaration to be filed with the clerk of the county council. A list of all community council members, holding office as of January 1st, shall be provided to the county's community council liaison not later than December 15th of the previous year.

C.

The county council may assist and monitor community council elections to ensure compliance with this section when the county council deems it necessary or appropriate.

D.

The county council may, for good cause shown, waive election bylaw requirements upon written community council request.

(Ord. 1501 § 2, 2002: Ord. 1492 § 4, 2002: Ord. 1473 (part), 2001: Ord. 1422 § 7, 1998: Ord. 1358 § 2, 1996: Ord. 1171 § 2, 1991: Ord. 919 § 1 (part), 1985: prior code § 25-1-7)