99-85 ORDINANCE NO. 99-85
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITv OF DELRAY
BEACH , FLORIDA, PROVIDING FOR CHARTER CHANGES TO
ARTICLE V, "ELECTIONS", OF THE CITY CHARTER OF THE CITY
OF DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA, BY AMENDING SECTION 5.03(a).
"FORM OF BALLOTS", TO PROVIDE FOR BALLOTS LISTING CITY
COUNCIL OFFICES By SEAT NUMBER; AND BY REPEALING
SECTION 5.04, "ELECTIONS GENERALLY", AND ENACTING A NEW
SECTION 5.04, "ELECTIONS GENERALLY", TO PROVIDE FOR THE
NUMBER OF VOTES PER ELECTOR, TO PROVIDE FOR A MAJORITY
VOTE TO ELECT PER SEAT NUMBER IN CITY COUNCIL
ELECTIONS AND SEPARATELY FOR THE OFFICE OF MAYOR IN
THE FIRST NONPARTISAN ELECTION, TO PROVIDE THAT WHEN
NO MORE THAN ONE PERSON QUALIFIES AS A CANDIDATE FOR
EACH OF THE SEATS FOR CITY COUNCIL OFFICES OR FOR THE
OFFICE OF MAYOR THEN AN ELECTION SHALL NOT BE HELD
WITH EACH CANDIDATE DEEMED TO HAVE VOTED FOR HIM-
SELF/HERSELF, PROVIDING FOR CANDIDATES FOR A SECOND
NONPARTISAN ELECTION WHERE NO CANDIDATE HAS RECEIVED A
MAJORITY OF THE VOTES CAST IN ANY CITY COUNCIL OFFICE
SEAT OR FOR THE OFFICE OF MAYOR, PROVIDING FOR THE
CONDITIONS WHEN A CANDIDATE EITHER WITHDRAWS OR DIES
BEFORE THE SECOND NONPARTISAN ELECTION, AND PROVIDING
FOR THE METHOD OF ELECTION IN A SECOND NONPARTISAN
ELECTION; PROVIDING FOR A REFERENDUM ELECTION TO BE
HELD ON NOVEMBER 5, 1985; PROVIDINC- A REPEALER; PROVID-
ING A SAVING CLAUSE; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. That Article V, "Elections", Section 5.03(a), "Form of ballots", of
the City Charter of the City of Delray Beach, Florida, Chapter 25786, Laws of Florida,
Special Acts of 1949, and amendments thereto, be further amended to read as follows:
ARTICLE V. ELECTIONS
Section 5.03. Form of ballots.
(a) Arrangement of names on ballot. The names of the candidates f~-eaeh
o~f{ee for each city council office seat and for the office of mayor shall be arranged
separately and alphabetically and nothing on the ballot shall be indicative of the source
of the candidacy of any candidate.
Section 2. That Article V, "Elections", Section 5.04, "Elections generally",
of the City Charter of the City of Delray Beach, Florida, Chapter 25786, Laws of
Florida, Special Acts of 1949, and amendments thereto, be further amended by repealing
said Section 5.04 in its entirety and enacting a new Section 5.04, "Elections generally",
to read as follows:
ARTICLE V. ELECTIONS
Section 5.04. Elections generally.
(a) Number of votes per elector. Each elector shall be entitled to vote for
each of the vacant seat numbers for the office of city council and shall also be entitled
to one vote for a candidate for the office of mayor when there is a vacancy in that
office; provided, however, no elector shall be entitled to cast more than one vote for
any candidate.
(b) Majority to elect in first nonpartisan election.
(1) In the first nonpartisan election, a candidate for each of the seats on
the ballot for the offices of city council .members or f~r the office of
mayor who receives votes from a majority of all electors casting bailots
. for that office shall be declared to be elected to the office for which he
or she is a candidate; provided, however, notwithstandin~ the foregoing
provision, should no candidate receive votes from a majority of all
electors casting ballots for that seat for city council or for the office of
mayor, then the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes
shall be declared candidates for the second nonpartisan election.
(2) In the event that not more than one person qualifies as a candidate for
each of the seats for the offices of city council or for the office of
r. myor in the first nonpartisan election, then an election shall not be
held. Each candidate shall be deemed to have voted for himself]herself;
provided, f~rther, that in the event that no person qualifies as a candi-
date for an.¥ particular seat for the office of city council or for the
office of mayo:', then those seat(s) for the office of city council or for
the office of n~ayor shall be declared vacant and it shall be the duty of
the raembers of the city council who are seated following the
organizational meeting provided for in Section 3.01 of this Charter, by
majorit.v vote to appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy. Such an
appointed member to fill a vacancy of a seat for the office of city council
shall serve until the last Thursday in ~']arch following the next regular
city election or until the last Friday in March should the last Thursday
fall on a legal holiday, and the remainder of the unexpired term shall be
filled by election at the next regular city election in the manner
provided fer in this Article of this Charter. For a vacancy occurring in
the office e.f mayor, the appointed member shall serve until the last
Thursday in March following the next regular city election, or until the
last Friday in March should the last Thursday fall on a legal holiday,
and a new election, shall be held at the next regular city election for a
full two-gear term as provided for in this Charter.
(c) Candidates for second nonpartisan election.
(1) In the second nonpartisan election, there shall be on the ballot those
candidates for seats for the office of city council or for the office of
mayor for those offices wherein a candidate did not receive votes from a
majority of all electors casting ballots for that seat or office in the first
nonpartisan election. The names of the candidates to be voted upon at
the second nonpartisan election shall be the two highest vote getters of
the first nonpartisan election. In the event of two (2) or more
candidates receiving an equal number of votes which are either the
highest or second highest votes in the first nonpartisan election, then
all such tied candidates shall qualify for the second nonpartisan election.
(2) In the event a candidate withdraws or dies before the second non-
partisan election and leaves only one candidate for each vacancy for a
seat for the office of city council member or for the office of mayor to
be filled, then the second nonpartisan election shall not be held. Each
candidate shall be deemed to have voted for himself/herself.
(d) Method of election in a second nonpartisan election, In the second
nonpartisan election, the remaining offices shall be filed by the candidate(s) receiving
the highest number of votes for each seat for the office of city council member or for
the office of mayor.
Section 3. That this ordinance shall not be effective unless and until the
same is approved by a majority of the electors of the City of Delray Beach, Florida,
voting at the election to be held on November 5, 1985, for the purpose of approving or
disapproving this Ordinance. The question to be submitted to the electors at such
election shall be substantially as follows:
2 ORD. NO. 99-85
AN AMENDMENT TO THE CITY CHARTER OF THE CITY OF
DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA, TO PROVIDE FOR THE NUMBERING OF
SEATS FOR THE OFFICE OF CITY COUNCIL MEMBER AND TO
PROVIDE FOR ELECTION TO SUCH CITY COUNCIL SEAT BY A
MAJORITY VOTE IN THE FIRST NONPARTISAN ELECTION, OR IN
THE CASE OF A RUNOFF AT THE SECOND NONPARTISAN
ELECTION THAT THE CANDIDATE RECEIVING THE HIGHEST
NUMBER OF VOTES WOULD BE DECLARED ELECTED, PROVIDING
FOR INSTANCES WHERE NOT MORE THAN ONE PERSON QUALIFIES
AS A CANDIDATE FOR EACH VACANCY AND IF A CANDIDATE
WITHDRAWS OR DIES BEFORE THE SECOND NONPARTISAN
ELECTION.
SHALL THE ABOVE-DESCRIBED CHARTER AMENDMENTS BE
ADOPTED:
FOR APPROVAL ~--~
AGAINST APPROVAL
If a majority of the electors voting upon such question approve the
amendment(s), then the amendment(s) shall be in full force and effect. If a majority of
the electors voting upon such question disapprove such amendment(s), then the
amendment(s) shall be null and void. Provided further that if a majority of the
electors voting upon such question approve the amendment(s), then the seats of the
city council members whose terms are scheduled to expire in April of 1986, said council
members' seats shall be numbered 2 and 4 and the remaining two city council members'
seats shall be numbered 1 and 3 respectively and said numbered seats shall continue
from this date forward.
Section 4. That upon the approval of this Ordinance by the electors as
aforesaid, all ordinances or parts of ordinances or Charter provisions or parts of
Charter provisions in c~onflict with shall be and the same are hereby repealed as of the
effective date of this Ordinance.
Section 5. That if any clause, section or other part of this Ordinance shall
be declared invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, the
remainder of this Ordinance shall not be affected thereby, but shall remain in full force
and effect.
PASSED AND ADOPTED in regular session on second and final reading on this
the 24t:h day of September, 1985.
ATTEST:
First Reading September I0, 1985
Second Reading September 24t 1985
3 ORD. NO. 99-85