Recall Elections For Home Rule Cities, Referendum & Initiative

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1 TMCCP Presents Election Law Seminar January 25-26, 2018, Frisco, Texas HANDOUT FOR Recall Elections For Home Rule Cities, Referendum & Initiative with speakers Peggy Cimics, TRMC, City Secretary, Cibolo & Sherry Mashburn, Consulting City Secretary, Bojorquez Law Firm Texas Municipal Clerks Certification Program 1155 Union Circle #305067, Denton, Texas municlerks.unt.edu

2 INITIATIVE, REFERENDUM & RECALL: THE PROCESS Peggy Cimics, TRMC, City Secretary, City of Cibolo Sherry Mashburn, TRMC, Consulting City Secretary, Bojorquez Law Firm Sherry Mashburn Questions??? Text questions to either Sherry or Peggy during the session Initiative: somebody has to take it! The initiative enables citizens to draft laws and charter amendments and place them on the ballot for a popular vote. Direct Indirect Process 1. Petition (with proposed ordinance) is filed with local authority; 2. Verification of Petition and, if certified, provided to governing body; 3. Governing body either passes the ordinance, takes no action, or places on the ballot for the voters; 4. Ordinance becomes law with majority vote. 1

3 Referendum: Stop the presses!! The referendum provides for a popular vote on laws passed by the governing body. Legislative Popular Advisory Process 1. Petition is filed with local authority; 2. Verification of Petition and, if certified, the referred ordinance is suspended; 3. Governing body either reconsiders the ordinance, fails to repeal the referred ordinance, or places on the ballot for the voters; 4. Referred ordinance repealed if not approved by majority of voters. Recall? What s that? A recall election (also called a recall referendum or representative recall) is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a direct vote before the term has ended. Wikipedia Texas Law City Charter , et seq. Transportation Code Election Code? Charter Requirements for Recall Affidavit containing the names of the officers to be removed and a statement of the grounds for removal. Completed petitions Certification of petitions Notification to the affected officer Submission to the City Council 2

4 Now what? Certification Submission of Certification Report to Council Council action When to hold recall election Petition Requirements Chapter 277, Texas Election Code (Information from Texas Secretary of State s Election Law Seminar) This section of the Election Code applies to all election petitions filed under a law outside the Election Code, except for local option liquor election petitions and candidate petitions. Signature Requirements For a petition signature to be valid, a petition must contain: Signer's signature Signer's printed name; Signer s residence address; Street address OR address at which mail is received, if residence has no address; City, State (only required if territory is NOT wholly contained within Texas; and Zip code (the omission of the zip code does not invalidate a signature). Signer s county of registration, IF the territory from which signatures must be obtained is situated in more than one county. Date of signing; AND Signer s date of birth OR voter registration number. 3

5 Signature Requirements Handwriting The signer's signature is the ONLY information that is required to appear on the petition in the signer's own handwriting. All other required information may be filled in by another person. Ditto Marks & Abbreviations The use of ditto marks or abbreviations on a petition does not invalidate a signature if the required information is reasonably ascertainable. 180-Day Signature Timeframe A petition signature is invalid if the signer signed the petition earlier than the 180th day before the date the petition is filed. Qualified Voter/Registered Voter References outside of the Election Code to qualified voters in the context of who is eligible to sign a petition mean registered voters. A "registered voter" is defined as a person registered to vote in Texas whose registration is effective. A registration is effective 30 days after it has been submitted to the county voter registrar. [Secs (16) and ] Suspense List Voters Computing the number of signatures S-list or Suspense list voters are not included in calculating the number of signatures needed for a successful petition. Signing the petition An S-list voter who meets the requirements voting in the territory is eligible to sign the petition if he or she still lives in the affected territory. The signatures of qualified S-list voters are counted on petitions. 4

6 Withdrawal of Signature What does a withdrawal do? An effective withdrawal acts as if the signer never signed the petition. How to withdraw a signature? A signer may withdraw the signature by filing an affidavit with the receiving authority requesting that the signature be withdrawn or deleting the signature from the petition. Timeline of withdrawal? A signer may not withdraw the signature from a petition on or after the date the petition is filed. A withdrawal affidavit filed by mail is considered filed at the time of its receipt. If the affidavit is received after the petition is filed, then the affidavit has no effect and the signature remains on the petition. Supplementing a Petition GENERAL RULE A petition may not be supplemented, modified, or amended after the date it is filed. EXCEPTION TO THE RULE If a petition is required to be filed by a specified deadline, the petitioner may file one supplementary petition BY THAT DEADLINE if: The original petition contains a number of signatures that EXCEEDS the required minimum number by 10% or more AND The original petition is received NOT LATER THAN THE 10 TH DAY BEFORE the deadline. The receiving authority must notify the petitioner of the sufficiency of the original petition not later than the 5th regular business day after its receipt. Petition Verification Determining the sufficiency of a petition Verification by statistical sample Handwriting of the signer (false signature) Verifying registration Effective date of registration Other Personnel hours dedicated to recall petition verification 5

7 Actions Budget Amendments Changes in staffing levels for Civil Service End of Calendar Year actions (TMRS) Maximize approval limit for change orders Call election, eliminating District Court action (when can cities hold an election to replace a recalled councilmember) Special Rules for cities with three-year terms Preclear with DOJ Aftermath Maintain file with items needing ratification after new Council seated Weekly briefing with remaining Council; potential candidates encouraged to attend After election, bi-weekly workshops with new Council to introduce to City government Aftermath of a successful recall election... Special Election to Fill a Vacancy 6

8 References Texas Election Code , et seq. Transportation Code Texas Municipal Election Law Manual Secretary of State, National Conference of State Legislators Bowser, J. (2000), Initiative, Referendum, and Recall: The Process, Journal of the American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries 7

9 PETITION VERFICATION PROCEDURES FOR RECALL PETITION COLLEGE STATION CITY SECRETARY S OFFICE UPDATED DECEMBER 2010 In the event that a petition otherwise meets the requirements of the City Charter and state law, the following procedures will apply. Persons wanting to submit a petition must schedule an appointment with the City Secretary. Upon receipt of the petition, the City Secretary or her designee will date stamp, time, and initial the first page of the petition showing the date and time received. In the presence of the presenter, the City Secretary or her designee will number each page in the bottom right hand corner. The City Secretary or her designee will initial by the page number and have the presenter of the petition initial as well. If the petition contains information on the front and back of the pages, then page numbers are applied to the front and back as well. Make one copy immediately after the City Secretary and presenter number and initial. This copy is given to the presenter for their records. Staff will then make additional copies as instructed by the City Secretary. One copy is for public inspection since the original is not available for public inspection during the verification process. The additional copies will be used as working copies for the staff during the petition verification process. Adhere to all applicable provisions of state law and the City Charter regarding filing and verification of petitions. City Secretary to verify that the circulator of each petition page made an oath before an officer authorized to administer oaths (notary public) that the statements in the petition are true and correct, the circulator personally circulated that petition paper, the petition paper bears a stated number of signatures, all signatures appended were made in the circulator s presence, and each signature contained on the petition page is the genuine signature of the person whose name appears. Notarization must be correct notary s signature must appear on date after or date of last date of signer on that page. Notary seal is required. Notary commission cannot have expired. Check to make sure each petition page contains the signature of the City Secretary. Check to be certain that all required information is contained for each signer of the petition: Signature in the signer s own handwriting Signer s printed name Voter registration number or date of birth Signer s place of residence (requires residency in College Station city limits; post office box address is not acceptable) Date of signing The only element above required to be in the signer s own handwriting is their signature. For those entries containing all of the above elements, which are all correct, place one check mark to the left of the signature line. Use black ink for the check marks only. For those entries that are incomplete or contain erroneous information, place a red x mark to the left of the signature line. Underline or circle in red ink the problem area(s) on that line. Review with City Secretary.

10 For duplicate signatures (someone who signed the petition more than once), mark DUP in red ink. (Duplicate signatures will be identified through the spreadsheet prepared from the petition.) If the signer lives outside the city limits of College Station, mark them as OC in red ink. All verification marks shall be down the left hand side of the page (check marks, red X, etc.). The signer s signature must appear in his/her own handwriting. If two or more signatures appear to be in the same handwriting, review with City Secretary. Probably only one will be qualified. If a couple signs as Mr. and Mrs., only one of their names will be counted. Review with City Secretary. Telephone calls will be attempted to determine which person (Mr. or Mrs.) actually affixed the signature to the page. When more than one signature appears in the same handwriting, telephone calls will be attempted to ascertain which person actually signed the names to the petition. If the signature does not exactly match the name on the voter list, it is still counted if it can be determined by the voter registration number, date of birth, or residence address that it is the same person (e.g, Elizabeth Brown signs the petition as Beth Brown or Betsy Brown or Liz Brown, and all else matches; or Mrs. William Smith instead of Virginia Smith). Every signer of the petition is required to be a resident of the City of College Station. You will need to ascertain from the list of precincts (attached) located within the city limits that the signer is actually a College Station resident. If you can t determine from the list of precincts, check the City of College Station Address Map. At the same time you are checking the precinct number on the list of registered voters, check the voter registration number. If it does not match the VRN on the voter listing, indicate in red ink, mark with a red X and review with City Secretary. If you can t find them on the voter list, check the suspense list. We have to count the signature if their name appears on the suspense list. If the name is not on either list, call the voter registrar s office at and ask if the person is registered. If they recently registered, the registration must be effective on the date of signing. The residence address must be given by street address and number. College Station should be included, but Texas and zip code is not required. However, if the address is clearly a College Station address, it will be deemed sufficient if College Station is not listed. PO Box addresses are not acceptable. The signer s printed name is required for every signer. However, where the printed name is omitted or is not printed or typed, check with City Secretary. The petition must contain the date of signing of each signer. The dates can be no older than 30 days prior to submission. No date of signing red X. The use of ditto marks is permissible when the intent is clear. City Secretary will seek advice of City Attorney regarding any problems associated with individual entries on the petition. In all instances, the verification process will be completed within the time frame allowed by the City Charter and state law.

11 Personnel Hours Dedicated to Recall Petition DATE ACTIVITY MAN HOURS 12/08/10 Met with T. Delasandro/creation of petition /09/10 Receipt of Affidavit/preparing 5 sets /13/10 Preparation of 5 sets /17/10 Preparation of 5 half sets /30/10 Preparation of 5 half sets /05/11 Preparation of 5 half sets /10/11 Petitions submitted 5.5 Subtotal 29.5 Personnel Cost Subtotal /10/11 Preliminary review for compliance /10/11 Signature verification /11/11 Signature verification /12/11 Signature verification /13/11 Signature verification /14/11 Signature verification /15/11 Signature verification /16/11 Signature verification /17/11 Signature verification /18/11 Signature verification /19/11 Signature verification /20/11 Signature verification /21/11 Signature verification /22/11 Signature verification /23/11 Signature verification /24/11 Signature verification 6.0 Subtotal Personnel Cost Subtotal $3,828 TOTAL MAN HOURS TOTAL PERSONNEL COSTS $4,716.50

12 CITY SECRETARY MEMO TO: MAYOR BERRY AND CITY COUNCIL Cc: Glenn Brown, City Manager David Neeley, Interim City Manager Carla Robinson, Interim City Attorney FROM: SHERRY MASHBURN, CITY SECRETARY DATE: JANUARY 27, 2011 RE: CERTIFICATION OF RECALL PETITIONS Three petitions seeking to recall Mayor Nancy Berry, Councilmember Katy-Marie Lyles and Councilmember Dave Ruesink were submitted to the City Secretary on Monday, January 10, Each petition was found to be sufficient and compliant with the City Charter. Per Section 96 of the College Station City Charter, each petition was required to be signed by qualified electors of the City equal in number to at least forty (40) percent of the total number of votes cast for the office in question at the last regular municipal election at which the office in question was filled. The total number of votes cast during the May 8, 2010 Mayoral election was 3,883; therefore, the required number of signatures to validate the petition was 1,553. The petition contained 1,558 valid signatures. The total number of votes cast during the May 9, 2009 election for Councilmember, Place 4, was 3,025; therefore, the required number of signatures to validate the petition was 1,210. The petition contained 1,528 valid signatures. The total number of votes cast during the May 9, 2009 election for Councilmember, Place 6, was 2.900; therefore, the required number of signatures to validate the petition was 1,160. The petition contained 1,502 valid signatures. Staff spent manhours on the verification process, for a personnel cost of $3,828. This was calculated on straight time only and does not account for overtime pay for those hours after work, on weekends or the holiday. The staff verified each signature by checking the name, address, birth date, and voter registration number. Once a petition was completed, if the numbers were sufficient we did not spend any more time double checking questionable signatures. One petition was close, and on Friday, January 21, one staff member spent the day at the Brazos County Voter Registrar s Office to confirm those names still in question. Names were invalidated if they were not registered voters for the City of College Station, or if the effective date of registration was after the date they signed the petition. Three persons requested their names be removed from the petition prior to receipt of the petition, and their names were removed. Seventy-nine names were invalidated on one petition because the circulator did not provide the stated number of signatures, as required in Section 86 of the City of College Station Charter. Attached to this memo is a copy of the certification and one page of the petition.

13 STATE OF TEXAS COUNTY OF BRAZOS CITY OF COLLEGE STATION CERTIFICATION OF CITY SECRETARY I, Sherry Mashburn, City Secretary of the City of College Station, Texas do hereby certify that the attached Recall Petition for Nancy Berry, Mayor, filed in my office on January 10, 2011 by Timothy Delasandro contained 2,119 signatures, of which 1,558 were verified as adequate, complete signatures. The petition is sufficient to cause a special election to recall Mayor Nancy Berry, to be held on the next uniform election date set forth by State law. WITNESS MY HAND AND SEAL OF THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS THIS THE 24TH DAY OF JANUARY, Sherry Mashburn, City Secretary City of College Station, Texas [SEAL]