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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-4142 English - Ordinance - 12/10/2019ORDINANCE NO. 2019-4142 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING A SPECIAL ELECTION TO BE HELD ON JANUARY 28, 2020, FOR THE PURPOSE TO FILL A VACANCY FOR THE APPROXIMATELY TWO YEAR REMAINDER OF THE UNEXPIRED TERM OF OFFICE OF COUNCILMEMBER, PLACE 4, BY THE QUALIFIED VOTERS OF THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION; ESTABLISHING EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS AND POLLING PLACES FOR THIS ELECTION; AND MAKING PROVISIONS FOR CONDUCTING THE ELECTION. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION: SECTION 1. A special election is ordered to be held by the City of College Station (the “City”) at the various polling places and election precincts within the corporate limits of the City, as hereinafter designated, on January 28, 2020 from the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. This special election will be conducted by Brazos County and will be administered for the City by the Brazos County Elections Administrator, but this special election is not a county-wide election. At the general election, the qualified voters of the City will elect a candidate to fill a vacancy in the office of Councilmember, Place 4, for the two year remainder of the unexpired term of that office. Canvass of the returns shall be held no earlier than the 3rd day and no later than the 11th day following the date of the runoff election or on the next regular business day if the 11th day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or official state holiday. SECTION 2. Should any candidate in the special election fail to receive a majority vote, then in that event a runoff election shall be ordered for every place in the special election to which no one was elected as required by Section 17 (e) of the City Charter, as amended. In the event it becomes necessary to conduct a runoff election, it shall be held on Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Canvass of the returns of the runoff election, if necessary, shall be held no earlier than the 3rd day and no later than the 11th day following the date of the runoff election or on the next regular business day if the 11th day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or official state holiday. SECTION 3. The Vote Center (polling location) for College Station for this election shall be as follows: Vote Centers College Station City Hall 1101 Texas Avenue College Station, Texas SECTION 4. Early voting shall be conducted by personal appearance and by mail. The period for early voting by personal appearance for the special election shall be January 13, 2020 through January 24, 2020. Optical scan ballots shall be used for early voting by mail and direct recording electronic voting machines shall be used for early voting by personal appearance. The Early Voting Clerk for said elections shall be the Brazos County Elections Administrator. She shall determine the number of election workers to be hired and arrange for training of all election workers. Early voting by personal appearance for the special election shall be conducted at the locations and on the following dates and times specified by the Brazos County Elections Administrator: College Station Utilities Meeting & Training Facility – 1603 Graham Road, College Station, Texas January 13 – January 17 8:00 am – 5:00 pm (Monday – Friday) January 20 VOTING CLOSED Observance of Federal Holiday (Monday) “Martin Luther King Day” January 21 – January 22 8:00 am – 5:00 pm (Tuesday – Wednesday) January 23 – January 24 8:00 am – 8:00 pm (Thursday – Friday) SECTION 4. Early voting by mail ballot shall be conducted in accordance with applicable provisions of the Texas Election Code. The address of 300 E. William J Bryan, Suite 100, Bryan, Texas, shall be the early voting clerk's mailing address to which ballot applications and ballots voted by mail may be sent for the City. SECTION 5. All early votes and other votes to be processed in accordance with early voting procedures pursuant to the Texas Election Code shall be delivered to the Early Voting Ballot Board at the Brazos County Election Administrator’s office. Early votes shall be counted at the central counting station. The Early Voting Ballot Board shall perform in accordance with applicable provisions of the Texas Election Code. SECTION 6. A Direct Record Electronic (“DRE”) System, as the term is defined in the Texas Election Code, shall be utilized in connection with the election. This system shall be utilized for all early voting as well as for all precinct voting conducted on El ection Day. The Brazos County Elections Administrator will appoint a programmer, who shall prepare a program for the automatic tabulating equipment. Ample voting equipment shall be provided for early voting. The central counting station is established as the Brazos County Election Administrator’s Office, 300 E. William J Bryan, Suite 100, Bryan, Texas. SECTION 7. All resident, qualified voters of the City of College Station shall be permitted to vote for City Councilmember Place 4. SECTION 8. The Brazos County Elections Administrator will appoint the Early Voting Ballot Board, a Presiding Judge of the Central Counting Station, a Tabulation Supervisor of the Center Counting Station, and a Central Counting Station Manager as may be required and needed. SECTION 9. The election will be held in accordance with the provisions of the Charter and Ordinances of the City of College Station and the laws of the State of Texas. SECTION 10. In accordance with Section 123.001 of the Texas Election Code, the Hart Intercivic Direct Recording Electronic Voting System, Optical Scan Voting System and Electronic Management System for Brazos County, Texas and certified by the Secretary of State on January 3, 2002, and subsequent certifications each year, and identified as eSlate is hereby adopted for the special election. SECTION 11. The special election shall be held in accordance with the requirements for bilingual elections as set forth in the Voting Rights Act amendments for 1975 (42USC 1973aa-1a) and in Section 272.001 of the Texas Election Code. All election forms and materials shall be printed in both English and Spanish, and bilingual oral assistance shall be made available within the requirements of the law. SECTION 12. The City Secretary is hereby authorized to post an official NOTICE OF SPECIAL ELECTION listing the precincts and polling place locations for this election. A copy of the NOTICE OF SPECIAL ELECTION, when published in a newspaper of general circulation in English and Spanish, and on the City’s website in accordance with Chapter 2051 Texas Government Code shall serve as proper notice of the City’s election. SECTION 13. That this Ordinance shall take effect immediately from and after its passage. APPROVED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of College Station this 10th day of December, 2019. CITY OF COLLEGE STATION: __________________________________ Karl Mooney, Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________________ Tanya Smith, City Secretary APPROVED AS TO FORM: _____________________________________ City Attorney