HOH TRIBAL ELECTION ORDINANCE. Adopted by Resolution No. (date) TABLE OF CONTENTS. GENERAL PROVISIONS Title Purpose 1.02.

Transcription

1 GENERAL PROVISIONS Title Purpose Scope HOH TRIBAL ELECTION ORDINANCE Adopted by Resolution No. (date) TABLE OF CONTENTS ELECTIONS Voters Notice of Elections Polling Places and Times Enrollment Officer Enrollment Officer Authority and Responsibility Enrollment Officer Oath Nomination Procedures Recall Petitions and Elections Initiatives Ballots Quorum Election to Office Polling Regulations SPECIAL PROVISIONS Rescheduled Elections Challenges Certification of Elections and Inauguration Election of Business Committee Officers Business Committee Chair Compensation Severability Title General Provisions The following ordinance shall be known as the HOH Tribal Election Ordinance. Comment [HIT1]: TOPICS OF DISCUSSION: 1.Council members must have GED or high school diploma 2.Have a background check completed before election Purpose The purpose of this ordinance is to ensure that procedures used in the HOH Tribal Elections are legal, consistent, fair and efficient Scope This ordinance shall govern all election procedures including election for Business Committee members, Business Committee Chair, initiatives, recall petitions, and any other ballot issues, for the HOH Tribe. 1

2 Elections Voters All persons 18 years or older who are enrolled members of the HOH Tribe shall be eligible to vote in elections governed by this ordinance Notice of Elections Notice of all elections and recall votes shall be published at least ten (10) days before voting day in a notice or tribal newsletter, which shall be sent to all eligible voters. The same notice shall be posted at the tribal center, website, and at other public places on the HOH Reservation. The notice shall specify the offices to be filled and/or the issues to be decided in the election, the date, hour, and place of the election Polling Places and Times (a) Elections of Business Committee members and of the Business Committee Chair shall be held at the October General Council Meeting. (b) Balloting in all elections shall take place at the tribal center on the HOH Indian Reservation, unless otherwise specified in the notice Enrollment Officer The Tribal Enrollment Officer shall be an employee of the tirbe or may be appointment by the business committee. They person who is not eligible to vote in tribal election and unable to become a candidate for tribal office Enrollment Officer Authority and Responsibility (a) To verify the names of persons signing recall or initiative petitions to determine that each signature is that of an eligible voter who signs only once his or her own name; (b) To submit the original copy of a verified recall or initiative petition to the Business Committee or its delegate for storage as a public record of the HOH Tribe; (c) To publish and post notice of all elections; (d) To prepare ballots; (e) To compile a list of eligible voters before the election opens; (f) To supervise activity at the election; (g) To verify the eligibility of every person who wishes to vote and to distribute ballot(s) to each eligible voter at the election; Comment [HIT2]: ballots could be prepared beforehand with all voting member s information. The individual voter could write the candidate that they want to vote for. (h) To keep a record of persons who vote and of the number of ballots distributed and cast at an election; 2

3 (i) To resolve, in conjunction with the legal assistance, any disputes which may arise at the election regarding a person s eligibility to vote or balloting procedure; (j) To count and validate ballots and record the number of votes cast for each candidate or for each option on the ballot; (k) To certify the results of the election in writing to the Business Committee after the election; (l) To recommend to the Business Committee any supplemental rules or changes in this ordinance which the committee believes are necessary to achieve the purpose of this ordinance Enrollment Officer Oath Before taking office, Enrollment Officer shall swear or affirm to carry out his/her duties faithfully; to not let his/her preferences in an election influence his/her actions as officer; and to not engage in, sanction, or permit to go unchallenged conduct which could prevent a fair election Enrollment Committee The tribal business committee shall appoint three member enrollment committee selected from the general council body present at the election Enrollment Committee Authority and Responsibility (a) To assist the enrollment officer in the distribution of ballots during any election. (b) To assist the enrollment officer in the counting ballots and recording number of votes for each candidate Nomination Procedures (a) Candidates for Business Committee shall be nominated from the floor at the October General Council Meeting. Nominations for the Business Committee shall begin with the highest ranking open position and progress through the remaining positons in order of rank. (b) Any enrolled tribal member who is at least years old shall be eligible for nomination to the 3 non-executive council at-large Business Committee positions. (c) No person may be nominated unless that person is present at the meeting to accept nomination. All nominations must be supported by a second person. (d) Business Committee shall not entertain a motion to close the nominations unless or until all the nominations from the general council have been made. Comment [HIT3]: The discussion here was that at 22, an individual would have already had the opportunity to attend and graduate from college. In the past, younger councilmembers where not responsible enough for the signer council member positions. (e) Before closing nominations, the chair shall inquiry as to whether there are any other further nominations. 3

4 (f) Unless or until the Hoh Tribal Constitution as amended in 2004, is further amended, no person who has been found guilty in any court of law of a felony or misdemeanor involving dishonesty may be nominated or elected to the Hoh Tribal Business Committee. (g) No person shall be nominated or elected to the Hoh Tribal Business Committee, if they have been removed under Article 6, Section 2 of the Constitution for 3 terms or 6 years Recall Petitions and Elections (a) A petition requesting a vote to recall an elected official shall be signed by at least one-third (1/3) of all eligible Tribal voters and shall include the voter s name, address, date of signature, enrollment number, and shall be completed on the form provided by the Tribal Secretary as approved by the Tribal Business Committee. Said form may be obtained upon request from the Tribal Secretary by any Hoh Tribal Member. (b) A recall petition shall have a clearly designated beginning date, this date will be certified by the Tribal Secretary. The petition shall be return to the Secretary no longer than 90 days after the date of issue. No names shall be added or removed after the return date. (c) Upon receipt of a recall petition(s) from the Secretary to the Business Committee chair person, the chair shall call a meeting of the Tribe within fifteen (15) days. (d) If the Enrollment Officer determines that the petition meets the requirements of this section, it shall schedule the requested recall vote for the Special Meeting following submission of the petition. (d) If a majority of the persons casting the ballots vote to recall a Business Committee member, the position shall be declared vacant. (f) If a recall vote results in three(3) or more Business Committee Members being recalled from their position, there shall be a 15 (fifteen) days notice immediately issued for a Special Meeting to commence an election Initiatives any proposal or action made by the general body. (a) An initiative is a vote of the General Council on any legislation proposed by the voters or on any proposed or enacted ordinance or resolution of the Business Committee. (b) A petition requesting an initiative shall be signed by one-third (1/3) of all eligible Tribal voters and shall include the voter s name, address, and enrollment number. (c.) Upon receipt of an initiative petition, the Business Committee Chair shall provide fifteen (15) days notice of the election in a manner required by Section of this ordinance and he or she shall schedule the issue for a vote on a Saturday that falls no later than thirty (30) days after submission of the petition. (d) No initiative proposal shall pass unless at least two-thirds (2/3) of all persons who cast ballots vote in favor of the proposed measures Ballots 4

5 (a) Candidates for each office shall be listed on the ballot alphabetically by their last names. A box shall appear next to the name of each candidate so a vote may be marked in the box. Writein votes are not valid and will not be counted. (a) When more than one council position will be filled by an election, voters shall vote for as many candidates as there are Council positions to be filled. If a person votes for more candidates than there are positions open, that portion of the ballot shall be invalid. (b) All elections shall be by secret ballot. (c) The counting of ballots shall be open to all tribal members. Ballots shall be counted a minimum of three times. The totals must agree at least twice to be valid. Ballots shall be secured in a locked container and may be destroyed after the next regular General Council Meeting. (d) The Enrollment Officer shall inform the Bureau of Indian Affairs in writing of the election results Quorum (a) A regular annual election of officials shall not be valid unless at least twenty-five percent (25%) of persons eligible to vote cast ballots. A regular annual election that is invalidated for lack of a quorum shall be rescheduled as provided in Section of this ordinance. (b) A recall or initiative election shall not be valid unless the number of persons casting ballots is at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the number of persons who cast ballots in the vote Election to Office The tribe shall elect officers by year, according to the Hoh Constitution Polling Regulations (a) Voting in elections governed by this ordinance shall be by secret, written ballot. (b) No person shall campaign or otherwise attempt to influence voters or shall loiter on the tribal center grounds or at the polling place during hours when the elections are open. (a) Voters who are unable to mark a ballot without assistance because of such special circumstances as physical disability or illiteracy may be assisted in voting by an Enrollment Officer member or by a person of the voter s choice. (b) Consumption of alcoholic beverages, marijuana, narcotics, or other intoxicants at the election and on tribal grounds is prohibited. No person who is clearly intoxicated or under the influence of drugs shall be permitted to cast a ballot Rescheduled Elections 5 Special Provisions

6 In a regular annual election, if voting results in a tie or if the Business Committee determines that a challenge under Section is valid, the Business Committee shall schedule another vote to take place on the first Saturday following the regular election date. The rescheduled election shall comply with the regular election procedures except the time period for notice of the election may be reduced to three days. In the case of a tie, the runoff election shall be held only for those candidates whose votes were tied Challenges (a) Any person who has been disqualified from voting by the Enrollment Officer may appeal the Committee s decision by filing a written protest or appearing in person at the first Business Committee meeting after the contested election. The Business Committee shall then consider evidence presented by the disqualified person and by the Enrollment Officer and shall decide whether a person was improperly disqualified before the Council accepts the Enrollment Officer s certification of election results. (b) Any person who believes that an unqualified person was permitted to vote in an election may appeal the Enrollment Officer s decision as provided. (c) If the Business Committee determines either that an ineligible person voted in an election or that a person eligible to vote was denied the right to vote in an election and further determines that such error affected or may have affected the results of the election, the Business Committee shall schedule a second vote as provided in Section (d) If at least twenty-five percent (25%) of eligible voters sign a petition requesting a recount of the ballots in an election and submit the petition to the Business Committee by the first regular Business Committee meeting after the election, the Business Committee shall order a recount. (e) If at least twenty-five percent (25%) of eligible voters sign and submit to the Business Committee by the first regular Business Committee meeting after the election, a petition describing violations of this ordinance or irregularities which could have affected the outcome of an election, the Business Committee shall investigate the charges made in the petition. If the Business Committee determines that a violation of this ordinance or other irregularities did affect or could have affected the results of the election the Business Committee shall schedule a second vote of the entire slate of candidates for the particular office which has been challenged, as provided in Section (f) In the case of a tie vote, another ballot shall be issued with only those two candidates. And if another tie vote occurs, a third and final ballot shall be issued to only the Hoh Tribal Business Committee. The chair will vote in this secret ballot Certification of Elections and Inauguration Unless it receives a challenge to an election as provided in Section , the Business Committee shall accept Enrollment Officer certification of an election and shall inaugurate newly elected officials at the beginning of the first regular Business Committee meeting following the election. Outgoing officials shall serve until the new officials are inaugurated Election of Business Committee Officers Comment [HIT4]: Business Committee different roles and responsibilities (quote constitution and additional duties found in Job Description should be included in this section. Also how to properly transition the in-coming council members. Leona suggest a mandatory council retreat right after a General Council meeting to go over Personnel Policy, the Constitution, ect. 6

7 Business Committee Compensation Severability If any provision in this ordinance is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such a determination shall not render invalid the remaining provisions. 7