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Section 99-05 ARTICLE V. ELECTIONS

Section 5.10. Applicability of general law.

All primaries and elections shall be held and conducted in accordance with Chapter 3 of Title 21 of the O.C.G.A., the Georgia Municipal Election Code as now or hereafter amended.

Section 5.11. Regular elections; time for holding.

The City Council shall cause an election to be held at such places in the City as the City Council shall direct and designate by ordinance prior to each election. The date of all general municipal elections occurring before January 1, 1993, shall be specified by municipal ordinance. All general municipal elections held subsequent to the above date shall be held on the Tuesday next following the first Monday in November in 1993 and on such day biennially thereafter. Notwithstanding any provision of this charter, no term of office to which a person has been elected prior to the effective date of this charter shall be shortened or lengthened except pursuant to the procedures established by state law.

Section 5.12. Use of voting machines.

The use of voting machines in all City elections is hereby authorized in accordance with the provisions of the Georgia Municipal Election Code, as amended including, but not limited to, the use of voting equipment provided by the state to Thomas County as provided for in O.C.G.A. 21-2-300, and by contracting with Thomas County for the use of such voting equipment as provided for in that section. This authorization to use voting machines does not preclude the use of paper ballots where, due to circumstances beyond the control of the City, it will be impractical, impossible, or inadvisable to secure or use voting machines, and the City Council makes declaration of such fact and enters same upon the minutes of any regular or special City Council meeting and thereupon authorizes the use of paper ballots in such election.

Section 5.13. Qualifying; absentee ballots; other provisions.

Except as otherwise provided by this charter, the City Council, by ordinance, may prescribe rules and regulations governing qualifying fees, absentee ballots, write-in votes, challenge of votes, and such other rules and regulations as it deems necessary to fulfill any options and duties under Chapter 3 of Title 21 of the O.C.G.A., the "Georgia Municipal Election Code," as now or hereinafter amended.

Section 5.14. Election by majority vote.

The City Council shall be elected by a majority vote of the votes cast for each position. The procedures and requirements for election of all elected officers of the City shall be in conformity with the provisions of Chapter 3 of Title 21 of the O.C.G.A., the "Georgia Municipal Election Code," as now or hereafter amended.

Section 5.15. Special election; vacancies.

(a) In the event of a vacancy in the membership of the City Council, whether that vacancy is in the office of mayor or any other member, and that vacancy occurs for any reason other than expiration of term, that vacancy shall be filled as provided in this section:

(1) If the unexpired term is six months or less, the remaining members of the City Council, within ten days after the occurrence of the vacancy, shall appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term and until a successor is elected and qualified;

(2) If the vacancy occurs within the first two years of the term of the vacated office and a general municipal election will be held within 180 days but not less than 35 days after the occurrence of that vacancy, then the remaining members of the City Council shall appoint, within ten days after the vacancy occurs, a successor to fill that vacancy until it is filled for the remaining unexpired term by a person who shall be elected at a special election held upon the same date as that general municipal election. The remaining members of the City Council shall order that special election to be held on the same date as that general municipal election and the election superintendent of the City shall issue the call therefor not less than 30 days nor more than 45 days prior to that date. The person elected at such special election to fill that vacancy shall take office within ten days after the results of that election are certified and shall serve out the remaining unexpired term and until a successor is elected and qualified;

(3) If the vacancy occurs at a time other than as provided for in paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection, then within 15 days after the occurrence of said vacancy, the remaining members of the City Council or those remaining shall order that a special election be called and the election superintendent of the City shall issue the call for a special election for the purpose of electing a qualified person to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term. That superintendent shall set the date of that special election for a day not less than 30 nor more than 45 days after the date of the issuance of the call. The person elected to fill that vacancy shall take office within ten days after the results of that election are certified and shall serve out the remaining unexpired term and until a successor is elected and qualified.

(b) The residency requirements set forth in section 5.21 of this charter shall apply to any successor appointed or elected to fill a vacancy pursuant to this section. In all other respects, the special election shall be held and conducted in accordance with the Georgia Municipal Election Code, Chapter 3 of Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, as now or hereafter amended.

Section 5.16. Designation of City Clerk as City registrar, absentee ballot clerk, municipal elections superintendent.

The City Clerk is hereby designated as the official City registrar to receive from the board of registrars of Thomas County, prior to all City elections, the list of voters residing within the corporate limits of the City who, according to the records of the board, at that time are fully qualified and registered to vote in state and county elections at polling places within the City limits. Unless already accomplished by other duly acting election officials, the City registrar shall, upon receipt of such list, purge same in accordance with the provisions of the Georgia Municipal Election Code and certify such list to the City Clerk as the official voters list to be used in pending elections.

The City Clerk is hereby designated as the absentee ballot clerk and, unless already accomplished by other duly acting election officials, shall conduct such absentee balloting in accordance with the provisions of the Georgia Municipal Election code, as amended.

The City Clerk is hereby designated as municipal elections superintendent and shall conduct all City elections in accordance with the provisions of the Georgia Municipal Election Code, as amended. The superintendent shall serve without compensation. Provided further, however, that such City elections may be conducted by Thomas County election officials in cooperation with and in conjunction with the City's municipal elections superintendent.

In the event of disability or other disqualification of the City Clerk, the City Council may by official declaration of such fact and the entering of same upon the minutes of any regular or special Council meeting thereupon designate such other person as such registrar, absentee ballot clerk, or municipal elections superintendent, and such person shall immediately assume the discharge of all such responsibilities in accordance with the provisions of the Georgia Municipal Election Code, and no such action at any time in the election or run-off process shall be cause to invalidate any subsequent act of such person or persons.

Section 5.17. Registration of voters.

All persons residing in the City who are qualified to vote and have a valid voter registration on file with the board of registrars of Thomas County, for the purpose of voting in state and county elections at polling places within the City limits, shall be the duly qualified and registered voters of the City and entitled to vote in all City elections for which they are not otherwise disqualified.

Section 5.18. Allocation and designation of Council districts.

Councilmembers shall be elected as follows: Two (2) members shall be elected from and by the voters of Council District No. 1 and these Councilmembers shall be designated as representing Council District No. 1, Post 1 and Council District No. 1, Post 2. Two (2) Councilmembers shall be elected from and by the voters of Council District No. 2 and these Councilmembers shall be designated as representing Council District No. 2, Post 1 and Council District No. 2, Post 2. One (1) member shall be elected from and by the voters of the City at large and this Councilmember shall be designated as the Councilmember at large.

Section 5.19. Length of term.

The Councilmembers representing Council District No. 1, Post 1, and Council District No. 2, Post 1, when this charter first becomes effective shall continue to serve out their terms of office, which shall expire December 31, 1991, and upon the election and qualification of their respective successors. The Councilmember at large and the Councilmembers representing Council District No. 1, Post 2 and Council District No. 2, Post 2 when this charter first becomes effective shall continue to serve out their terms of office, which shall expire December 31, 1993, and upon the election and qualification of their successors. The Councilmembers so continued in office shall be the governing authority of the City until their respective successors are elected and qualified pursuant to this charter. After January 1, 1991, successors to each Councilmember whose term of office is to expire shall be elected at the general municipal election immediately preceding the expiration of such terms and shall take office the first day of January following that election for terms of office of four years each and until their respective successors are elected and qualified.

Section 5.20. Councilmembers elected by voters in their district.

Councilmembers elected to represent Council District No. 1 shall be elected only by the qualified voters of the City residing within Council District No. 1; Councilmembers elected to represent Council District No. 2 shall be elected only by the qualified voters of the City residing within Council District No. 2. Councilmembers at large shall be elected by all the qualified voters of the City. Each candidate for election to the City Council shall, in the manner provided by O.C.G.A. Section 21-3-93, clearly, designate the specific office he is seeking. No candidate shall be elected to the office of Councilmember unless such candidate shall have received a majority of the votes cast to fill such office.

Section 5.21. Residency requirement.

In order to be eligible for election as a Councilmember to represent Council District No. 1, a candidate must, in addition to all other requirements imposed by law, be a resident of Council District No. 1; and if a Councilmember representing Council District No. 1 removes his residence from Council District No. 1, his office shall be immediately vacated as provided by O.C.G.A. Section 45.5.1. In order to be eligible for election as a Councilmember to represent Council District No. 2, a candidate must, in addition to all other requirements imposed by law, be a resident of Council District No. 2; and if a Councilmember representing Council District No. 2 removes his residence from Council District No. 2, his office shall be immediately vacated as provided by O.C.G.A. Section 45-5-1. If any Councilmember removes his residence from the City, his office shall be immediately vacated as provided by O.C.G.A. Section 45-5.1.

Section 5.22. Boundaries of Council districts.

For purposes of electing members of the City Council, the City is divided into two (2) Council districts as follows:

Council District No. 1. All that portion of the City which lies west of a line through the approximate center of the City, such line being more particularly described as follows: For a point of beginning commence at the intersection of the northerly margin of the right-of-way of Pinetree Boulevard and the center line of the right-of-way of Glenwood Drive, and run south along the center line of Glenwood Drive to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Edgewood Circle; run thence in a southerly direction along the center line of Edgewood Circle to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Mitchell Street; run thence in a southeasterly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of Mitchell Street to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Clay Street; run thence in a southwesterly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of Clay Street to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Broad Street; run thence in a southeasterly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of Broad Street to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Monroe Street; run thence southwesterly along the center line of the right-of-way of Monroe Street to its intersection with the center line of Madison Street; run thence southeasterly along the center line of the right-of-way of Madison Street to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Remington Avenue; run thence in a northeasterly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of Remington Avenue to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Broad Street; run thence in a southeasterly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of Broad Street to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of the former Seaboard Coastline Railroad, now CSX Transportation Inc.; run thence in an easterly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of such railroad to its intersection with the center line of Hansell Street; run thence in a southerly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of Hansell Street to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Metcalf Avenue; run thence in an easterly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of Metcalf Avenue to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Loomis Street; run thence in a southwesterly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of Loomis Street to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of South Street; run thence in a southerly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of South Street to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Augusta Avenue; run thence in an easterly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of Augusta Avenue to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Orange Street; run thence south along the center line of the right-of-way of Orange Street to its intersection with the southerly margin of the right-of-way of Pinetree Boulevard. All property within the limits of the City which lies west of the line described above and all property within the limits of the City due west of a line created by extending in a northerly direction the northern terminus of the line described above, and all property within the limits of the City which lies due west of a line created by extending in a southerly direction the southern terminus of the line described above shall be deemed to lie within Council District No. 1.

Council District No. 2. All that portion of the City which lies east of a line through the approximate center of the City, such line being more particularly described as follows: For a point of beginning commence at the intersection of the northerly margin of the right-of-way of Pinetree Boulevard and the center line of the right-of-way of Glenwood Drive, and run south along the center line of Glenwood Drive to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Edgewood Circle; run thence in a southerly direction along the center line of Edgewood Circle to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Mitchell Street; run thence in a southeasterly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of Mitchell Street to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Clay Street; run thence in a southwesterly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of Clay Street to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Broad Street; run thence in a southeasterly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of Broad Street to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Monroe Street; run thence southwesterly along the center line of the right-of-way of Monroe Street to its intersection with the center line of Madison Street; run thence southeasterly along the center line of the right-of-way of Madison Street to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Remington Avenue; run thence in a northeasterly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of Remington Avenue to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Broad Street; run thence in a southeasterly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of Broad Street to its intersection with the center line of the former Seaboard Coastline Railroad, now CSX Transportation, Inc.; run thence in an easterly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of such railroad to its intersection with the center line of Hansell Street; run thence in a southerly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of Hansell Street to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Metcalf Avenue; run thence in an easterly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of Metcalf Avenue to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Loomis Street; run thence in a southwesterly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of Loomis Street to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of South Street; run thence in a southerly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of South Street to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Augusta Avenue; run thence in an easterly direction along the center line of the right-of-way of Augusta Avenue to its intersection with the center line of the right-of-way of Orange Street; run thence south along the center line of the right-of-way of Orange Street to its intersection with the southerly margin of the right-of-way of Pinetree Boulevard. All property within the limits of the City which lies east of the line described above and all property within the limits of the City due east of a line created by extending in a northerly direction of the northern terminus of the line described above, and all property within the limits of the City which lies due east of a line created by extending in a southerly direction the southern terminus of the line described above shall be deemed to lie within Council District No. 2.

(Ord. of 5-10-93, I(A))

(99-5-16, Amended, 02/09/2004, Prior Text; 99-5-12, Amended, 02/09/2004, Prior Text)