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Help & SupportArticle III: Elections
Sec. 22. Municipal elections defined.
A general municipal election shall be held in the City of Boulder on the first Tuesday in November of every odd numbered year, and shall be known as the general municipal election. All other municipal elections shall be known as special municipal elections. (Amended by Ord. No. 7412 (2005), § 2, adopted by electorate on March 8, 2005.)
Sec. 23. Nomination by petition-requirements of petitions.
All elective officers of the city shall be nominated by petition which shall consist of the candidate's consent, the prayer and signatures of the petitioners, and the city clerk's certificate of petition. Each petition shall be on a separate paper, of uniform size, to be provided by the city clerk, and shall contain the name of but one candidate. No elector shall sign petitions for more candidates than the number of places of that particular designation to be filled at the election; and should an elector do so, said elector's signature shall be void as to the petition or petitions which said elector last signed.*
Sec. 24. Candidate's affidavit of consent.
Before any petition is filed with the city clerk, the candidate whose name appears on said petition shall appear before the city clerk and take the oath (or affirmation) which appears on the form of petition herein set forth.
Sec. 25. Requirements for signing petitions.
Before signing a petition of nomination, each person shall take oath (or affirmation) before the city clerk that the representations set forth in the petition are true and shall sign such person's name thereto in a space designated by the city clerk, together with such person's residence, street and number, place of business, and the date of signing.*
Sec. 26. City clerk's certificate of petition.
When a petition of nomination shall have been signed by not less than twenty-five and not more than thirty-five qualified and duly registered electors, and not later than the seventy-first day before the pending municipal election, the city clerk shall check such petition with the official registration list, determine its sufficiency, and, if sufficient, shall append the clerk's certification of petition, and file the completed petition in the clerk's office, together with the date and certificate of the filing thereof. The petition may be amended to correct or replace signatures which the clerk finds not in apparent conformity with the requirements of this charter and any applicable ordinance at any time prior to the sixty-sixth day before the election. (Amended by Ord. No. 3925 (1973), § 1, adopted by electorate on September 11, 1973. Further amended by Ord. No. 5576 (1993), § 1, adopted by electorate on November 2, 1993.)*
Sec. 27. Form of nomination petition.8
CANDIDATE'S CONSENT
State of Colorado, )
County of Boulder, ) ss.
City of Boulder. )
I, (name of candidate), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am a registered elector of the City of Boulder and that on the date of the next general municipal election, I will be not less than twenty-one years of age and will have been a resident of the City of Boulder for one year immediately prior thereto and that if legally nominated, I will stand as candidate for council member at the general municipal election to be held on _________________ , A.D.________.
____________________________________________
(Candidate's signature)
Subscribed and sworn to before me this ________day
of________________, A.D. ______.
____________________________________________
City Clerk
(CITY SEAL)
ELECTORS' PETITION
We, the undersigned electors of the City of Boulder, hereby nominate _________________, whose residence is _________________, whose place of business is at _________________, for office of _________________, to be voted upon at the election to be held in the City of Boulder on the _______day of _________________, ______, and we individually swear (or affirm) that we are registered to vote for a candidate for the above office, and that we have not signed more nomination petitions of candidates for this office than there are persons to be elected thereto; and we further swear (or affirm) that we join in this petition for the nomination of the above named person upon the condition that the said ______________________ has not become a candidate as the nominee or representative of, nor because of any promised support from, any political party, or from any person or firm or combined interests in any measure or franchise.
No. |
Names of Electors |
Residence |
Date of Signature |
Check Mark by Clerk |
1. |
||||
2. |
||||
3. |
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35. |
CITY CLERK'S CERTIFICATION OF PETITION
State of Colorado, )
County of Boulder, ) ss.
City of Boulder. )
I hereby certify that each and every person whose signature appears on this petition personally appeared before me on the day and date set opposite such person's name, was duly sworn as to the matters set forth in said petition, and signed such person's name as petitioner for the purpose above set forth; and I further certify that I have examined the official registration list of persons qualified to vote at the next ensuing municipal election named in such petition; that (state the number) of the above petitioners appear as duly registered electors in the City of Boulder; and that to the best of my knowledge and belief this petition is __________ sufficient.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and the seal of the City of Boulder this (twenty-second day before election) day of _________________ , A.D.______.
___________________________________________
City Clerk
(CITY SEAL)*
(Amended by Ord. No. 3925 (1973), § 1, adopted by electorate on September 11, 1973. Further amended by Ord. No. 6006 (1998), § 2, adopted by electorate on November 3, 1998. Further amended by Ord. No. 7801 (2011), § 2, adopted by electorate on November 1, 2011.)
Sec. 28. Time of completing the petition.
A petition of nomination shall be completed and filed in the office of the city clerk not earlier than ninety-one nor later than seventy-one days before the election. (Amended by Ord. No. 3925 (1973), § 1, adopted by electorate on September 11, 1973. Further amended by Ord. No. 5576 (1993), § 1, adopted by electorate on November 2, 1993.)
Sec. 29. Withdrawal from nomination.
Any person having been duly and regularly nominated as herein provided, may, prior to the sixty-sixth day preceding the election for which such person has been nominated, withdraw from such nomination by filing with the city clerk a sworn statement of such withdrawal. (Amended by Ord. No. 3925 (1973), § 1, adopted by electorate on September 11, 1973. Further amended by Ord. No. 5576 (1993), § 1, adopted by electorate on November 2, 1993.)*
Sec. 30. Preservation and filing of petitions.
The city clerk shall preserve and file in the clerk's office for a period of six years all petitions of nomination and all certificates, acceptances, and withdrawals belonging thereto.*
The city clerk shall prior to the date upon which ballots are distributed to registered electors certify a list of the candidates so nominated for office at such election, whose names are entitled to appear upon the ballot as being the list of candidates nominated as required by this charter, together with the offices to be filled at such election, designating whether such election shall be for a full or unexpired term; and the clerk shall file in the clerk’s office said certified list of names with residence and business addresses and the offices so to be filled, and the clerk shall cause to be published a notice calling such election, in one daily newspaper of general circulation and published in the City of Boulder, which notice shall contain a list of said names of candidates, with residence, place of business, the offices to be filled, the time when and the places at which such election shall be held. (Amended by Ord. No. 3925 (1973), § 1, adopted by electorate on September 11, 1973. Further amended by Ord. No. 4773 (1983), § 1, adopted by electorate on November 8, 1983. Further amended by Ord. No. 5576 (1993), § 1, adopted by electorate on November 2, 1993. Further amended by Ord. No. 7801 (2011), § 2, adopted by electorate on November 1, 2011.)*
Sec. 32. General election regulations.
The provisions of any and all laws of the State of Colorado now or hereafter in force, except as the council may otherwise by ordinance provide, or as may be otherwise herein provided, relating to the qualification and registration of electors, the manner of voting, the duties of election officers, and all other particulars in respect to the management of elections, insofar as the same may be applicable, shall govern all municipal elections; provided, that the city council, exclusive of such members thereof as are candidates at the then pending election, shall constitute the general canvassing and election board and shall meet and duly canvass the election returns, as certified by the precinct or district election officials, which returns and certifications shall be in accordance with the provisions of this charter.
The city clerk or a duly authorized assistant shall act as secretary of the board of canvassers, and shall spread the result on a record kept for the purpose, and shall issue such certificates, under the seal of the city, as the circumstances may warrant and necessitate. (Amended by Ord. No. 7801 (2011), § 2, adopted by electorate on November 1, 2011.)*
In all general and special municipal elections held in the City of Boulder for any purpose whatsoever, the ballots or votes may be cast, registered, recorded, and counted by means of voting machines. The provisions of any and all state laws now or hereinafter in force relating to the use of voting machines at elections, except as the council may otherwise by ordinance provide, shall govern the management of voting machines in elections.
All the provisions of this charter relating to elections and any and all laws of the State of Colorado now or hereafter in force and not inconsistent with the provisions of this charter shall apply to all elections held in election districts or precincts where voting machines are used. Any provisions of this charter heretofore in force which conflict with the use of voting machines as herein set forth shall not apply to precincts in which an election is conducted by the use of voting machines. Nothing in this charter, however, shall be construed as prohibiting the use of separate paper ballots, if need be, for the purpose of conducting any special or general municipal election in the City of Boulder. (Repealed by Ord. No. 1474 (1947), § 1, adopted by electorate on November 4, 1947. Re-enacted by Ord. No. 1826 (1954), § 1, adopted by electorate on October 26, 1954. Further amended by Ord. No. 7801 (2011), § 2, adopted by electorate on November 1, 2011.)9*
Sec. 34. Placement of candidates on ballot.
The members of the city council shall be elected by votes cast by registered electors as provided by the laws of the State of Colorado and the charter and ordinances of the City of Boulder. The order of the candidates on the form of ballot shall be determined by lot. (Repealed and re-enacted by Ord. No. 1474 (1947), § 1, adopted by electorate on November 4, 1947. Amended by Ord. No. 7801 (2011), § 2, adopted by electorate on November 1, 2011.)*
There shall be but one list of candidates for both the full regular terms to be filled and any parts of terms to which there is a vacancy which is to be filled. The candidates having the highest number of votes to the number that there are full regular terms to be filled shall be declared elected to those terms. If there is a vacancy term or terms to be filled, then the candidate or candidates having the next highest number of votes to the number that there are vacancy terms to be filled shall be declared elected, the one having the highest number of votes to fill the longest vacancy term and the one having the next highest to have the next longest vacancy term, until all vacancy terms are filled. There shall be no choice or preference between voting for candidates, but all votes shall be of equal value, and every voter shall be allowed to vote for as many council members as there are council members to be elected. (Repealed and re-enacted by Ord. No. 1474 (1947), § 1, adopted by electorate on November 4, 1947.)*
Sec. 36. Expenditure of money on elections.
(Amended by Ord. No. 2263 (1959), § 1, adopted by electorate on November 3, 1959.)*
(Repealed by Ord. No. 5219 (1989), § 1, adopted by electorate on November 7, 1989.)
* Indicates those sections in which reference to gender were neutralized by Ord. No. 4602, November 3, 1981.
8 This section should also have been amended by Ord. No. 1978 (1956), § 1, adopted by electorate on October 2, 1956, which changed the residency requirements for councilmembers from five to three years.
9 This section was enacted as Section 32 in Ord. No. 1826 but was codified as Section 33 in the Code of the City of Boulder, 1955.