WORKSHOP ITEM: 1 - Jane Cross, City Clerk
Title
PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENTS
Background
There are two proposed Charter amendments for Council consideration.
The first proposal is a housekeeping amendment that would change the word "district" to "ward" throughout the Charter to make the election language portion consistent with the Secretary of State's records and other metro cities. This would not have an adverse effect on campaign signs or other materials that current council members have in their possession.
This proposal would make the portion of the Charter, Sec. 2.03 and 2.03(a), consistent with the language used on all election forms used at the county and state level. Currently all election forms used throughout the state refer to wards and precincts therefore causing confusion for residents as well as election judges when "ward" is referred to on an election document. It will also make the Charter language consistent with the election management system that is being implemented throughout Anoka County in 2012.
The second item is a proposal requiring all write-in candidates for city council to file a written request for their votes to be tallied. A candidate who wants write-in votes to be counted in the general election would have to file a written request with the chief election official no later than seven days before the general election. All write-in votes cast for candidates who have not filed a written request would be treated collectively as votes for a single candidate.
Because Blaine is a charter city, the city has the legal ability to put this language into the Charter (in Sec. 4.06) to not only save time and frustration for the election judges at the end of election night, but it would also save the city/taxpayers monies by not having to pay election judges to count all the frivolous write-in names on the ballots, e.g. comic characters, John Does, and so forth. Any candidate who sincerely wants their votes counted only has to register (no fee required) with our office seven days before the General Election and their votes will be tallied by the election judges.
The city attorney and the county election official have reviewed this process and agree there is no legal reason to not add this requirement. It has been done on the federal, state and county level for the several past elections, and was most recently adopted by the St. Paul City Council in February 2011. It has aided tremendously in alleviating the tallying of frivolous write-in votes.