CHAP. 109 Sec. 3. Nominations for elective officers to be made by petition. The nomination of all candidates for elective offices provided for by this charter shall be by petition. The petition of a candidate for councilman or school committeeman shall be signed by not less than three hundred nor more than five hundred qualified voters of the city. The petition of candidates for warden, for ward clerk and for constable shall be signed by not less than twenty-five nor more than one hundred qualified voters of the ward wherein the candidate is to be elected. No voters shall sign petitions for more than one candidate for each office to be filled at the election, and should any voter sign more than one such petition, his signature shall be counted only upon the first petition filed, and shall be held void upon all other petitions. Sec. 4. Form of nomination paper. The signatures to nomination papers need not all be affixed to one nomination petition, but to each separate petition there shall be attached an affidavit of the circulator thereof stating the number of signers on each petition, and that each signature appended thereto was made in his presence and is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be. With each signature shall be stated the place of residence of the signer giving the street and number of the street, or their description sufficient to identify the same. The form of the nomination petition shall be substantially as follows: To the City Clerk of the City of Portland: We, the undersigned voters of the city of Portland, hereby nominate whose residence is... for the office of... to be voted, for at the election to ..........day of.......... . . . . . . be held in the city of Portland on the. 19. ...; and we individually certify that we are qualified to vote for a candidate for the above office and that we have not signed more nomination petitions of candidates for this office than there are persons to be elected thereto. Name. .Street and Number... being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is the circulator of the foregoing nominating petition containing.... signatures, and that the signatures appended thereto were made in his presence and are the signatures of the persons whose names they purport to be. CHAP. 109 If this petition is deemed insufficient by the city clerk he shall forthwith notify by mail.... .at No.... street. Sec. 5. Filing nomination papers; acceptances of nominations must be filed. The nomination petitions for any one candidate shall be assembled and united into one petition, and filed with the city clerk not earlier than thirty nor later than sixteen days before the day of election. No nomination shall be valid unless the candidate shall file with the city clerk in writing not later than sixteen days before the day of election, his consent, accepting the nomination, agreeing not to withdraw, and, if elected, to qualify. Sec. 6. List of candidates to be published. The city clerk shall certify the list of candidates and shall cause to be published in one or more of the daily newspapers published in said Portland the names, residences and office to which nominated of the candidates who have duly filed the above described petitions and acceptances. Sec. 7. Ballots, etc., to be prepared by the city clerk. Specimen ballots and official ballots for use in all city elections shall be prepared by the city. clerk and furnished by the city. Sec. 8. Contents of ballot. Ballots for use in elections under this charter shall contain the names of the various candidates, with their residence and the office for which they are a candidate, and shall be furnished with four columns for crosses at the right of the candidate's name and residence, and said columns shall be headed respectively. "First Choice," "Second Choice," "Third Choice" and "Other Choices," and shall be of substantially the form provided in the following section. Such ballots shall be without party mark or designation. Sec. 9. ing form: Form of ballot. The face of the ballot shall be of the follow City of Portland Regular (or special) City Election Official Ballot Candidates for office in the city of Portland at an election held on Monday, the..... ..day of.... Instructions. A. D. To vote for any person, make a cross (X) in the square at the right of the name voted for, and in the proper column according to your choice. Vote your first choice in the first column; vote your second choice in CHAP. 109 the second column; vote your third choice in the third column; vote in the fourth column for all the other candidates whom you wish to support. Do not vote more than one choice for one person, as only one choice will count for any one candidate on this ballot. Sec. 10. Rotation of names of candidates. The city clerk in preparing all ballots for election under this charter shall arrange the names of all qualified candidates for each office in alphabetical order according to surnames, except as hereinafter provided. In any case where the names of four or more persons appear on one ballot as candidates for the city council or superintending school committee, the city clerk shall have printed as many sets of ballots as there are candidates for any single office. Each set of ballots shall begin with the name of a different candidate, the other names being arranged thereafter in regular alphabetical order, commencing with the name next in alphabetical order after the one that stands first on that set of ballots. When the last name is reached in alphabetical order it shall be followed by the name that begins with the first letter represented in the list of names and by the others in regular order. The bal'ots so printed shall then be combined in blocks of fifty so as to have the fewest possible ballots having the same order of names printed thereon together in the same block. CHAP. 109 Sample ballots shall be printed from the arrangement of the first group of ballots to be printed as above provided. Sec. II. Count of ballots. As soon as the polls are closed, the warden shall immediately open the ballot boxes, take therefrom the ballots and sort, count and declare them in open meeting in the presence of the ward clerk; and the ward clerk shall form a list of the persons voted for with the number and character as to choice of the votes for each person against his name, shall make a fair record thereof in the presence of the warden, and in open ward meeting enter the total number thereof on a tally sheet provided by the city clerk. The ward clerk shall enter the number of the first choice, second choice, third choice and other choice votes, for each candidate opposite the name of such candidate on said tally sheet, and make return thereof to the city clerk on a blank by said city clerk to be provided. Only one vote shall be counted for any candidate on any one ballot. If two or more choices are marked on one ballot for one and the same candidate, the highest choice marked shall be counted, except as otherwise herein provided, and all other marks considered void. If a ballot contains either first choice, second choice or third choice votes in excess of the number of offices to be filled, no vote in the column showing such excess shall be counted. Except as hereinbefore provided, all choices shall be counted as marked on the ballot. Sec. 12. Returns; canvass. Upon receipt of the returns, after the first election under this charter, the then municipal officers and thereafter the city council shall determine the successful candidates as hereinafter provided in this section. The person receiving a majority of first choice votes, cast at an election. for any office, shall be elected to that office; if no candidate received such a majority of the first choice votes for such office, then a canvass shall be made of the second votes received by each candidate for the office; all second choice votes received by any candidate shall then be added to the first choice votes received by said candidate for the office, and the candidate receiving the largest number of first choice and second choice votes combined, if such total votes constitute a majority, shall be elected to said office. If no candidate shall receive a majority of the first choice and second choice votes combined, then a canvass shall be made of the third choice votes received by each candidate for said office, and all, third choice votes received by any candidate shall then be added to the total of the first choice and second choice votes for such candidate, and the candidate receiving the largest number of said total first choice, second choice and third choice votes, if such total constitutes a majority, shall be elected to said office; if no candidate shall have such a majority CHAP. 109 after adding the first choice, second choice and third choice votes, then a canvass shall be made of the other choice votes received by each candidate for the office and such other choice votes shall then be added to the total of the first choice, second choice and third choice votes received by such candidate, and the candidate having the largest number of first choice, second choice, third choice and other choice votes combined, shall be elected to such office. A tie vote between two or more candidates shall be decided in favor of the one having the highest number of first choice votes. If they each received an equal number of first choice votes, then the one who received the highest number of second choice votes shall be deemed elected. If they each received the same number of first choice and second choice votes, then the candidate receiving the highest number of third choice votes shall be deemed elected. If they each received the same number of first choice, second choice, third choice and other choice votes, then the tie shall be determined by lot under the direction of the city clerk. Whenever the word "majority" is used in this section it shall mean more than one-half of the total number of valid ballots cast at such election for the candidates whose election is being canvassed. Sec. 13. Specimen ballots to be published and posted. The city clerk shall cause specimen ballots to be posted in public places in each ward and voting precinct and advertised in the newspapers not later than ten days prior to the city election and advertised in the newspapers at least twice more prior to the election. Such specimen ballots shall be printed on colored paper and marked specimen ballots, and shall contain the names of the certified candidates with the residence of each, instructions to voters, and such measures as may be submitted to the voters by the legislature or by the city council. Such ballots shall be without party mark or designation. Sec. 14. Recall provisions. Any member of the city council or school committee may be recalled and removed therefrom by the electors of the city as herein provided. Procedure for filing recall petition. Any voter of the city may make and file with the city clerk an affidavit containing the name or names of the member or members whose removal is sought and a general statement of the reasons why his removal is desired. The clerk shall thereupon deliver to the voter making such affidavit copies of petition blanks for such removal printed forms of which he shall keep on hand. Such blanks shall be issued by the clerk with his signature and official seal thereto attached; they shall be dated and addressed to the city council, shall con |