Chapter 4.35 CANVASSING AND CERTIFICATION OF ELECTION RESULTS

Chapter 4.35
CANVASSING AND CERTIFICATION OF ELECTION RESULTS

Sections:

4.35.010 Review of election documents by Canvass Board.

a. The Clerk shall, subject to confirmation of the City Council, appoint a Canvass Board of as many members as required to accomplish the canvass in reasonable time. All members of the election Canvass Board, before entering upon their duties, must subscribe to the oath required of all public officers by the Constitution of the State of Alaska in the manner prescribed by the Clerk. The Canvass Board will review the preliminary certificates of election and all official documents of the precinct election boards and the counting center boards.

b. Not later than the Monday following each election, the Canvass Board shall meet in public session and canvass all election returns. The Canvass Board may be recessed from day to day, but not more than three such recesses. In full view of those present, the election Canvass Board shall judge the applicability of absentee and questioned ballots, shall open and tally those accepted, and shall compile the total votes cast in the election. The canvass of ballots counted by the counting center shall be accomplished by reviewing the tallies of the recorded vote to check for mathematical error by comparing totals with the counting center logs and certificates of results. All obvious errors found by the election canvass in the transfer of totals from the precinct tally sheets to the precinct certificate of results shall be corrected by the Canvass Board. A mistake which has been made in precinct returns from the tallies to the certificate of results empowers the Canvass Board to recommend a recount of the results of the precinct or precincts for that portion of the returns in question.

c. To be counted in the election, an absentee ballot by mail must be postmarked by midnight of election day and received by the Clerk before the canvass. Envelopes of absentee ballots by mail received after that time shall not be opened, but shall be marked “invalid” with the date and hour of receipt noted thereon, and shall be retained with other ballots of the election. An absentee ballot that is returned by electronic transmission must be received by the Clerk not later than 8:00 p.m. on election day in order to be counted. When the Clerk receives a completed absentee ballot by electronic transmission, the Clerk will remove the ballot portion of the transmission from the portion that identifies the voter; place the ballot portion in a secrecy sleeve and seal the secrecy sleeve; place the sealed secrecy sleeve in an envelope of the type used for absentee ballots returned by mail and seal that envelope; attach the voter identification portion to the outer envelope; and forward the sealed outer envelope to the Canvass Board.

d. Questioned and absentee ballots shall be counted as follows: No questioned or absentee ballot by mail shall be counted if the voter has failed to properly execute the certificate, if the witness or the officer or other person authorized by law to administer the oath fails to affix his signature, or if the voter fails to enclose his marked ballot inside the small envelope or secrecy sleeve provided. No absentee ballot by electronic transmission shall be counted if the voter has failed to properly execute the certificate, or if the witness or the officer or other person authorized by law to administer the oath fails to affix his signature. The Clerk or a member of the election Canvass Board may challenge the name of an absentee voter if he has good reason to suspect that the voter is not qualified to vote, is disqualified, or has already voted at the same election. The person making the questioned ballot shall specify the basis of the challenge for the record. The Canvass Board, by majority vote, may refuse to accept the challenge and count the ballot of a person properly challenged. If the ballot is refused, the Clerk shall notify the challenged voter by letter within four weeks of the canvass. All rejected ballots shall be enclosed in a separate envelope and shall be labeled “rejected ballots” retained with other materials of the election. If the ballot is not rejected, the large envelope shall be opened, the small inner envelope or secrecy sleeve shall be placed in a container and mixed with other blank absentee ballot envelopes, or in the case of counting questioned ballots with other blank questioned ballot envelopes, the mixed small blank envelopes or secrecy sleeves shall be drawn from the container, opened, and the ballots counted according to the rules of determining properly marked ballots. [Ord. 16-01(A)(S) § 3, 2016; Ord. 12-22 § 6, 2012; Ord. 03-66 §§ 10, 11, 2003; Ord. 95-1(S), 1995; Ord. 90-42(A) § 3, 1990; Ord. 82-6 § 19, 1982].

4.35.020 Votes required to be elected.

The number of candidates for an office equal to the number of vacancies to be filled who receive the highest number of votes for the office shall be elected; provided, that:

a. To be elected to the office of Mayor or to fill a specific vacant council seat, a candidate must receive at least the plurality of the votes cast for that seat. The plurality of the vote that is required for a candidate to be elected to the office of Mayor or to fill a specific vacant council seat shall be based on the number of qualified candidates who filed declarations of candidacy that remain in effect on the date of the election as follows:

Number of candidates	Percentage of vote
Less than five	40%
Five or more	35%

b. To be elected to the Council, a candidate must receive at least the plurality of the total votes cast for all candidates for Council. The plurality of the vote that is required for a candidate to be elected to the Council shall be based on the number of qualified candidates who filed declarations of candidacy that remain in effect on the date of the election as follows:

Number of candidates	Percentage of vote
Less than five	20%
Five or more	17.5%

c. When filling a vacancy under HCC 2.08.050 the following sections will apply:

1. For a single vacant Council seat or a vacancy in the office of Mayor, votes will be counted according to subsection (a) of this section;

2. For two vacant Council seats that are vacated with different terms, votes will be counted according to subsection (a) of this section;

3. For two vacant Council seats that are vacated with the same term, votes will be counted according to subsection (b) of this section. [Ord. 18-52 § 1, 2019; Ord. 16-01(A)(S) § 4, 2016].

4.35.030 Tie vote.

If two candidates tie in receiving the highest number of votes for an office to which only one candidate may be elected, the person to be elected shall be determined by a single coin toss conducted by the City Council at a regular or special meeting. The first candidate to have filed a candidacy declaration shall call the coin during the toss. A tied candidate may designate a representative to participate in the coin toss in the candidate’s absence. The designation shall be made in such a manner that the Clerk is assured of its authenticity. [Ord. 16-01(A)(S) § 5, 2016].

4.35.040 Certification of election.

a. The Council shall certify the results of the election at the next regular Council meeting following completion of the canvass by the Canvass Board.

b. If a contest has been filed pursuant to HCC 4.50.020, the Council shall certify election results not in question. [Ord. 21-35 § 2, 2021; Ord. 16-01(A)(S) § 6, 2016].