Chapter 3. Elections
Section 3.1 Qualifications of electors
The residents of the city having the qualifications of electors
in the State of Michigan shall be electors of the city.
Section
3.2. Election procedures.
The
election of all city officers shall be on a non-partisan basis.
The general election statutes shall apply to and control
as near as may be, all procedures relating to registration and
city elections, except as such statutes relate to political
parties or partisan procedure and except as otherwise provided
in this charter.
Section
3.3. Notice of election.
The
Clerk shall give public notice of the time and place of holding
each city election and of the officers to be elected and the
questions to be voted upon, in the same manner as is required
by statute for the giving of public notice of general elections
in the state.
Section
3.4. Voting hours.
The
polls at all elections shall be opened and closed at the time
prescribed by law for the opening and closing of polls at state
elections, subject to the statutory right of the council to
adjust these hours to local time.
Section 3.5 Wards and precincts.
The City of Milan shall consist of one ward. The precincts
into which the City is divided on the effective date of this
charter shall remain the precincts of the City until changed
pursuant to this charter. The council shall from time to time
establish convenient election precincts.
Section 3.6 Regular city elections
A regular City election shall be held on the Tuesday succeeding
the first Monday in November of every odd-numbered year.
Section 3.7. Elective officers and terms of office.
The elective officers of the City shall be a Mayor and six
(6) councilmen, all of whom shall be nominated and elected from
the City at large.
At each regular City election, there shall be elected a Mayor
for a term of office of two (2) years, three (3) councilmen
for a term of office of four (4) years and such additional councilmen
as may be required to fill vacancies pursuant to the provisions
of Section 5.6 of this Charter. All such terms of office shall
commence at 12:00 noon on January 1 following the regular city
election at which they were elected.
A vacancy in the office of Mayor shall be filled in accordance
with Section 5.6 of this Charter.
Section
3.8. Special elections
Special
city elections shall be held when called by resolution of the
council at least forty days in advance of such election or when
required by this charter or by statute.
Any resolution calling a special election shall set forth
the purpose of such election.
No more special elections shall be called in any one
year than permitted by statute.
Section
3.9. Election commission.
The Election
Commission is hereby created consisting of the Clerk, Attorney
and the Assessor. The
members shall serve without compensation.
The Clerk shall be the chairman.
The Commission shall appoint the board of Election Inspectors
for each precinct and have charge of all activities and duties
required of it by state law and this charter relating to the
conduct of election is in the city.
The compensation of election personnel shall be determined
in advance by the Council.
In any case, where the election procedure is in doubt,
the Election Commission shall prescribe the procedure to follow.
Section
3.10. Primary elections.
Nonpartisan
primary elections shall be held on the Tuesday following the
first Monday in August of each odd-numbered year.
If, upon
the expiration of the time for filing nomination petitions for
any elective City office, valid petitions have been filed for
no more than twice the number of candidates for the respective
offices to be elected at the following regular City elections,
then no primary shall be held with respect to such offices.
If no primary is to be held for one
(1) or more offices, the Clerk shall publish notice of
the fact and reason therefore as part of, or at the time provided
for, the publication of notices for such primary election.
Candidates
equal in number to twice the number of persons to be elected
to each City office at the next subsequent regular City election
who receive the highest number of votes at any such primary
election shall be declared the nominees for election to the
respective offices for which they are candidates.
The nomination petitions for any office for which no
primary election was held shall be certified by the Clerk to
the Election Commission as nominees for the next subsequent
regular City election.
Section
3.11. Nominations
The method
of nomination of all candidates for the City elections shall
be by petition. Such
petitions for each candidate shall be signed by not less than
twenty (20) or more than thirty-five (35) registered electors
of the City. No
person shall sign his name to a greater number of petitions
for any (1) office than there are persons to be elected to said
office at the following regular city election.
where the signature of any individual appears on more
petitions than he is so permitted to sign, such signatures shall
be counted only to the extent that he is permitted to sign in
the order of the respective dates and hour of filing the petitions
containing such signatures.
Nomination
petitions shall be filed with the Clerk up to 4:00 p.m. eastern
standard time, of the seventh Tuesday preceding such regular
City primary election.
The clerk
shall, prior to every City election, publish notice of the last
day permitted for filing nomination petitions and of the number
of persons to be nominated or elected to each office at least
one (1) week, and not more than three (3) weeks, before such
day.
Section
3.12. Form of petition.
The form
of petition shall be substantially as that designated by the
Secretary of State for the nomination of
nonpartisan judicial officers. A supply of official petition
forms shall be provided and maintained by the Clerk.
Section
3.13. Approval of petitions
The Clerk
shall accept only nomination petitions which conform with the
form provided and maintained by him and which, considered together,
contain the required number of valid signatures for candidates
having those qualifications required for the filing of a petition.
When a petition is filed by persons other than the person
whose name appears thereon as candidates, it may be accepted
only when accompanied by the written consent of the candidate.
The Clerk shall, forthwith after the filing of a petition,
notify in writing any candidate whose petition is then known
not to met [sic] the requirements of this section, but this
failure to so notify any candidate shall in no way prevent a
final determination that the petition does not meet such requirements.
The names
of the candidates for the respective elective City offices who
file valid and sufficient nomination petitions shall be certified
by the Clerk to the election Commission to be placed upon the
ballot for the next subsequent City election or the next City
election for the filling of vacancies in office, as the case
may be.
The names
of the candidates and the titles of the respective offices they
seek shall further be certified to the
county Clerk within five (5) days after the last day for filing
petitions, and certification of nominees shall be made to the
County
Clerk within five (5) days after
the date of the primary election.
Section
3.14. Public inspection
of petitions.
All nomination
petitions shall be open to public inspection in the office of
the Clerk.
Section
3.15. Form of ballot
The form,
printing and numbering of ballots or the preparation of the
voting machines used in any City election shall conform as nearly
as may be to the provisions of statute, except that no party
designation or emblem shall appear.
In all City elections, the names of qualified candidates
or nominees for each office shall be listed under a separate
heading and shall be rotated systematically in the manner prescribed
by statute for rotation of names.
If two
or more candidates for the same office have the same or similar
surnames, the Election Commission shall print the occupation
and residence address under the respective names of each such
candidates on the ballots (or on labels or slips to be placed
on voting machines when used) provided;; that for any of such
candidate who is an incumbent of such office, the occupation
shall be designated as “Incumbent”.
Except as provided in this section, there shall be no
supplementary identification of candidates on the ballot.
Section
3.16. Canvass of
votes.
A four
member Board of Canvassers is hereby established in accordance
with election statutes, members of said Board to be qualified
and registered electors of the City and shall have filed with
the City a formal application for appointment to said Board.
Selection of the members shall be made by the City Council
in the manner provided by statute.
Section
3.17. Tie vote.
If, at
any City election, there shall be no choice between candidates
by reason of two or more persons having received an equal number
of votes, then the City Council shall name a date for the appearance
of such persons for the purpose of determining the election
of such candidates by lot as provided by statute.
Section
3.18. Recount.
A recount
of the votes cast at any City election for any office or upon
proposition may be had in accordance with election statutes.
Unless otherwise required by statute, (1) a recount petition
shall be filed with the Clerk by four o’clock in the afternoon
on the second full day after the Board of Canvassers has made
its official report (2) any counter-petition shall be filed
by four o’clock in the afternoon on the next full day thereafter,
and (3) no officer shall be qualified to take office until the
final determination of any recount of the votes cast for such
office.
Section
3.19. Recall.
Any elected
official may be recalled from office by the electors of the
City in the manner provided by statute.
A vacancy created by such recall shall be filled in the
manner prescribed by this charter and by statute.