§ 14-42-206 - Municipal elections -- Nominating petitions. - Arkansas Statutes

14-42-206. Municipal elections -- Nominating petitions.

(a) (1) The city or town council of any city or town with the mayor-council form of government, by resolution passed before January 1 of the year of the election, may request the county party committees of recognized political parties under the laws of the state to conduct party primaries for municipal offices for the forthcoming year.

(2) The resolution shall remain in effect for the subsequent elections unless revoked by the city or town council.

(3) When the resolution has been adopted, the clerk or recorder shall mail a certified copy of the resolution to the chairs of the county party committees and to the chairs of the state party committees.

(4) Candidates nominated for municipal office by political primaries under this section shall be certified by the county party committees to the county board of election commissioners and shall be placed on the ballot at the general election.

(b) (1) Any person desiring to become an independent candidate for municipal office in cities and towns with the mayor-council form of government shall file not more than ninety (90) nor less than seventy (70) days prior to the general election by 12:00 noon with the county clerk the petition of nomination in substantially the following forms:

(A) For all candidates except aldermen in cities of the first class and cities of the second class:

"PETITION OF NOMINATION

(B) For candidates for alderman elected by ward in cities of the first class and cities of the second class, the nominating petitions shall be signed only by qualified electors of the ward in the following manner:

"PETITION OF NOMINATION

(C) For at-large candidates for alderman of a ward in cities of the first class and cities of the second class, the nominating petitions shall be signed by any qualified elector of the city in the following manner:

"PETITION OF NOMINATION

(2) (A) An independent candidate for municipal office may qualify by a petition of not fewer than ten (10) electors for incorporated towns and cities of the second class and not fewer than thirty (30) electors for cities of the first class of the ward or city in which the election is to be held.

(B) The county clerk shall determine within ten (10) days of filing whether the petition contains the names of a sufficient number of qualified electors.

(C) The county clerk promptly shall notify the candidate of the result.

(3) Independent candidates for municipal office shall file a political practices pledge and an affidavit of eligibility at the time of filing their petitions.

(4) (A) An independent candidate shall state the position, including the position number, if any, on his or her petition.

(B) When a candidate has identified the position sought on the notice of candidacy, the candidate shall not be allowed to change the position but may withdraw a notice of candidacy and file a new notice of candidacy designating a different position before the deadline for filing.

(5) The sufficiency of a petition filed under this section may be challenged in the same manner as election contests under 7-5-801 et seq.

(6) A person who has been defeated in a party primary shall not file as an independent candidate in the general election for the office for which he or she was defeated in the party primary.

(c) (1) (A) If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast in the general election, the two (2) candidates receiving the highest number of votes cast for the office to be filled shall be the nominees for the respective offices, to be voted upon in a runoff election pursuant to 7-5-106.

(B) In any case, except for the office of mayor, in which only one (1) candidate has filed and qualified for the office, the candidate shall be declared elected and the name of the person shall be certified as elected without the necessity of putting the person's name on the general election ballot for the office.

(2) If the office of mayor is unopposed, then the candidate for mayor shall be printed on the general election ballot and the votes for mayor shall be tabulated as in all contested races.

(d) (1) (A) The governing body of any city of the first class, city of the second class, or incorporated town may enact an ordinance requiring independent candidates for municipal office to file petitions for nomination as independent candidates with the county clerk:

(i) No earlier than twenty (20) days prior to the preferential primary election; and

(ii) No later than 12:00 noon on the day before the preferential primary election.

(B) The governing body may establish this filing deadline for municipal offices even if the municipal offices are all independent or otherwise nonpartisan.

(2) (A) The ordinance shall be enacted no later than ninety (90) days prior to the filing deadline.

(B) The ordinance shall be published at least one (1) time a week for two (2) consecutive weeks immediately following adoption of the ordinance in a newspaper having a general circulation in the city.

(e) Nothing in this section shall repeal any law pertaining to the city administrator form of government or the city manager form of government.

(f) This section does not apply in any respect to the election of district judges.