Transcript Cities and Large Towns2015

Cities & Large Towns
South Bend
Dale Simmons
Co-General Counsel
Indiana Election Division
Paoli
CITY AND LARGE TOWN
ELECTIONS: OVERVIEW
MUNICIPAL ELECTION RULES BROKEN
DOWN INTO TWO MAJOR CATEGORIES:
Cities
and Large Towns include all Cities
and all Towns with a population of 3,500 or
more (IC 3-10-1; IC 3-10-6)
Small
Towns are those with a population of
less than 3,500 (IC 3-8-5; IC 3-10-7)
Population
is measured by census
population, not by registered voters
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
OFFICES UP FOR ELECTION
 CITIES:
Mayor, City-County Council (Indy),
Common Council, City Clerk and City Judge
(if created)
 LARGE
TOWNS: Town Council, Town ClerkTreasurer and Town Judge (if created)
√ Note: All city offices up in 2015 but check for
possible staggered terms ordinances for some
large towns
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
THREE GOOD QUESTIONS
 Who
is responsible for conducting the election?
 How
are candidates nominated in a municipal
election year?
 Who
pays for the election?
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
WHO RUNS THE ELECTION FOR CITIES AND
LARGE TOWNS?
County election board, county executive, circuit
court clerk, and members of political parties same
rights and duties in municipal elections as they do
in primaries and elections in general election
years (IC 3-10-6-8)
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
Nominating Candidates- Different Forms
 Democrats
and Republicans file a declaration for
the May 5, 2015 primary (CAN-42 and CAN-12)
 Petition
candidates file petitions and consent
(CAN-44, CAN-45 and CAN-12)
 Libertarian
Party nominates candidates at a
convention (CAN-22 and CAN-12)
 Write-in
candidates (CAN-51 and CAN-12)
There are no write-in candidates for primary
Write-in candidates names are not printed on the
November 3, 2015 municipal election ballot
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
Primary Deadlines & Forms
 Primary
Filing Period: January 7, 2015- noon
Friday, February 6, 2015 (CAN-42 & CAN-12)
Primary Withdrawal Deadline: Noon Monday,
February 9, 2015 (CAN-43)
 Challenges:
Must file by noon Friday, February
13, 2015 (CAN-1) and decided by noon
Thursday, February 26, 2015
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
IS A PRIMARY REQUIRED?
 If
no candidate files for a party for any office
then that party may not hold a primary
 If
no contest within a party, but at least 1
candidate filed, then that party may hold a
primary if that party’s County Chairman files a
written “notice” to hold primary no later than
noon February 13, 2015
(IC 3-10-6-4)
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
IS A PRIMARY REQUIRED?

General Rule: If a party has a contested race, or
elects to have a primary when there are no
contests, all of the party’s candidates are on ballot.

Exception to General Rule- Limited Primary:
1) Only contested race for any party is for singlemember council districts (only the voters in that
district vote for candidate from that district) and
2) No contest in any party to be voted on by everyone
in city or town
Then CEB may, by unanimous vote, have a primary
election only in the contested council districts (IC 310-6-4(g))
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
WHAT IF WE HAVE NO PRIMARY OR
MUNICIPAL ELECTION?
 Election
Certification: Unopposed candidates
certified as nominated or elected whether or not
election is held (IC 3-10-6-4(e); IC 3-12-5-3)
 Campaign
Finance: All candidates must file preprimary or pre-municipal report whether or not there
is a primary or municipal election (IC 3-9-5-9(d))
 Voter
Registration: Registration does not close in
parts of county where no primary or municipal
election is held
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
Other Candidates- Forms and Deadlines
 New
D and R Post-Primary ballot vacancy forms
(CAN-47,48, 49 and 12)
Detail on ballot vacancy procedures and deadlines
will be covered at the Spring Clerk Conferences
 Post-Primary
withdrawal deadline noon July 15
(CAN-46 form)
 Post-Primary
Challenges for ballot vacancy,
petition, and write-in candidates listed in calendar
(CAN-1)
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS IN TWO COUNTIES
 Candidate
Declarations, with the required CAN-12,
must be filed in the County that contains the
greatest percentage of population of the city or
large town (IC 3-8-2-6)
 Candidate
Petitions must be filed in each county
where the election district is located for certification
but certified petitions must be filed with other
candidate documents (CAN-45 and CAN-12) in the
county with the greatest percentage of population
of the city or large town (IC 3-8-6-10; IC 3-8-6-12)
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS IN TWO COUNTIES
 County
election board of the county that contains
the greatest percent of population:
May designate polling places for the election located
in any county where city or town located
 Shall appoint precinct election officers upon
nomination by the county chairman of county where
precinct is located (or fill vacancies)
 Shall obtain results from other counties, certify totals
and issue certificates of election after municipal
election

 (IC
3-6-5-15; IC 3-10-6-4; IC 3-12-5-2; IC 3-8-7-1)
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS IN TWO COUNTIES
 County
election board of the county that contains
the lesser percent of population shall:
Print ballots for voters of its county
 Conduct absentee voting for the voters of the county
and receive and process those absentee ballots
 Provide poll lists for voters in its county and issue
any certificate of error or other document for voters
of the county
 Canvass the votes cast by voters of the county and
certify the results to the county with the greatest
percent of population of city or town

CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
CITIES AND TOWNS IN TWO COUNTIES The
two counties should communicate
√ County with the largest population- certify
candidates, polling places, to county with
smaller population for ballot preparation and
election notices
√ County with the smaller population- certify
election results to county with the largest
population (IC 3-12-5-2)
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
IS A MUNICIPAL ELECTION REQUIRED?
 General Rule: All candidates placed on the
ballot. (IC 3-10-6-7.5(b))
 Exception
#1: If there are no contests (no
more candidates than seats up for election for
any office, including write-in candidates) then
county may pass unanimous resolution to not
have election (IC 3-10-6-7.5(d))
All
uncontested candidates not on the ballot
issued a certificate of election as if elected (IC
3-12-5-3)
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
IS A MUNICIPAL ELECTION REQUIRED?
 Exception
#2:
1) Only contest for city or town council seat(s)
2) Only voters who reside in the city or town
council district may vote for the city or town
council candidate from that district
3) There is no election to be voted on by all
voters of the city or town
County election board may adopt unanimous
resolution to hold election only for contested
council race(s) (IC 3-10-6-7.5(b))
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
WHO PAY$? HOW MUCH?
 Initially
paid by the county executive
 CEB
to itemize all expenses chargeable to cities
and towns for county auditor
 CEB-34(Primary)
 CEB-35
(Municipal)
 County
Auditor certifies amount of reimbursement
claim to city clerk or town clerk-treasurer not later
than 30 days after primary and 30 days after the
municipal election (IC 3-5-3-7)
 City
or town to make appropriation by Dec. 31
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
WHO PAY$? HOW MUCH?
 Formula
for reimbursement
 Direct
costs charged to city/town where cost
incurred (poll rental, poll worker, etc.)
Indirect
costs (voting system support &
maintenance, county election board salary): 25%
paid by the county and 75% paid by city/town
 If
more than one city/town then the 75% paid by
cities/towns is apportioned among cities/towns as
follows:
Votes cast in city or town
All votes cast in all cities and towns
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
INDIRECT COSTS EXAMPLE
 Assume: Total Indirect cost $30,000
 County share= $7,500 (30,000 x .25)
 City/Town share= $22,500 (30,000 x .75)
 Total votes cast= 10,000
 8,000 in City of Mt. Pilot (80% or .80)
 2,000 in Town Mayberry (20% or .20)

City/Town Share of $22,500 of Indirect Costs
 Mt. Pilot share of Indirect costs is $18,000
($22,500 x .80)
 Mayberry share of Indirect costs is $4,500
($22,500 x .20)
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
INDIRECT COSTS EXAMPLE
HUH?
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
Absentee Voting- Municipal Election
 General Rule: In-person absentee voting is required
the last 28 days before the election
 In a Municipal Election Year: Board may set (reduce)
days and hours for in-person absentee voting by
unanimous resolution (IC 3-11-10-26.5)
Except for military/overseas voters, mailed absentee
ballots are not required to be mailed until the 1st day
for in-person absentee voting but still must provide
meaningful opportunity to vote by mail
Military/overseas voters absentee ballots must be sent
no later than 45th day before election or day absentee
application received, whichever is later (IC 3-11-10-26(e))
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
MICELLANEOUS ELECTION CONSIDERATIONS
 DISTRICT
OPTIONS- Single member districts,
residence/vote at-large, and true at-large seats
 STAGGERED
TERMS in some large towns
 REDISTRICTING/ANNEXATION/PRECINCTS
ISSUES:
 Do
I have the most redistricting/annexation
ordinance?
 Do
I have split precincts and, if so, what is my
plan for poll books and training to assure proper
ballot distribution?
CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS
MUNICIPAL ELECTION
TUESDAY
NOVEMBER 3, 2015