Bill Text: DE HB169 | 2021-2022 | 151st General Assembly | Draft
Bill Title: An Act To Amend The Charter Of The City Of Lewes Relating To The Manner And Method Of Conducting Annual Municipal Elections And Fishing Along The Delaware Bay Shore.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-04-07 - Stricken in House [HB169 Detail]
Download: Delaware-2021-HB169-Draft.html
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SPONSOR: |
Rep. Smyk & Sen. Lopez |
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
151st GENERAL ASSEMBLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 169
AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF LEWES RELATING TO THE MANNER AND METHOD OF CONDUCTING ANNUAL MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS AND FISHING ALONG THE DELAWARE BAY SHORE.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE (Two-thirds of all members elected to each house thereof concurring therein):
Section 1. Amend Section 7 of the Charter of the City of Lewes by making insertions as shown by underline and deletions as shown by strikethrough as follows:
Manner of Holding Annual Municipal Elections
Section 7.
The procedure for holding the Annual Municipal Election shall be as follows:
(a) All municipal elections of the City of Lewes shall be conducted in conformity with Subchapters IV and V, Chapter 75 of Title 15 of the Delaware Code. The Annual Municipal Election shall be held at the City Hall in The City of Lewes on the second Saturday in May of each and every year from 8:00 in the morning, prevailing time, until 6:00 in the evening, prevailing time , due notices of which shall be given in compliance with the applicable provisions of 15 Del. C. §7501, et seq. , provided that the City Council may reschedule the election due to a State of Emergency declared by the Governor.
(b) The four offices of Council Person Councilperson of Lewes and the office of Mayor of Lewes shall be elective . The four offices of Council Person of Lewes shall be for a term terms of three (3) years each , except that the two Council Persons elected at the 2016 Annual Municipal Election shall serve for a term of two (2) years. The office of Mayor of Lewes shall be for a term of three (3) years .
(c) The Annual Municipal Election shall be conducted by a Board of Election consisting of an Inspector and two (2) Judges together with such alternates as are determined by the Mayor to be necessary, all of whom shall be appointed by the Mayor with the concurrence of a majority of the members of the City Council no later than March 1 of each year. The Inspector, Judges, and alternates shall be registered voters in the City. The Inspector, Judges, and alternates shall not be an elected official or an immediate family member of an elected official as defined in 15 Del. C. §7551(b).
(d) (c)(1) The City may by ordinance choose to use the State’s Voter Registration System as the source of its list of registered voters.
(2) At such Annual Municipal Election, every person, male or female, who shall have attained the age of eighteen (18) years on the date of the Annual Municipal Election and who shall be a citizen of the United States and a citizen of The City of Lewes shall have one (1) vote, provided, that he or she is registered on the Books of Registered Voters of The City of Lewes or, if the City has so chosen, in the State’s Voter Registration System, and shows proof of identify and address . For the purposes of this Section, a citizen of The City of Lewes shall be deemed to include any person who is a qualified voter of the State of Delaware, and is a bona fide resident domiciliary of the City of Lewes.
(3) If the City Council has not chosen to use the State’s Voter Registration System, then the The City Council of The City of Lewes shall provide two (2) registers to be known as the "Books of Registered Voters" which are to be kept at the office of the City Manager. The Books of Registered Voters shall contain the following information for each registrant: the names of the registered voters arranged in alphabetical order, the addresses of the voters, the proven age of the voters, the dates the registrants became citizens of the United States, the date that the registrants became residents domiciliaries of The City of Lewes and any other pertinent information. No person shall be registered upon the Books of Registered Voters unless he will have acquired the qualifications to vote in the Annual Municipal Election for the year in which he registers. A person shall be required to register only one (1) time; provided, however, that if a registered voter fails to vote in two (2) consecutive annual municipal elections in which there is a contest for any office, his name shall be removed from the Books of Registered Voters and notice sent to said registered voter at his last known address by registered mail with return receipt requested advising that his name has been removed from the Books of Registered Voters and that it will be necessary to register again in order to vote in the Annual Municipal Election.
(4) A person may register at the office of the City Manager City Hall during the regular business hours of such office until the close of business of such office on the 15th day prior to the date of the Annual Municipal Election by completing such forms as may be provided by the City. The City Council may provide by resolution for the Office of the City Manager to be open on one (1) Saturday within the thirty - day period immediately preceding the date of the Annual Municipal Election for the purpose of permitting persons to register to vote in such Annual Municipal Election. ; ; ; ;
(e) (d) The City Council of The City of Lewes may, by ordinance, provide for any qualified registered voter to cast an absentee ballot if such person is unable to appear and cast his or her ballot.
(f) (e) In the event that no person files or is nominated for each an office for which an election is to be held within the time set forth in Section 6 of this Charter, the incumbent shall be deemed to be re - elected for a full term if he or she agrees to serve, and it shall not be necessary to hold an election. If the incumbent does not agree to serve, the vacancy shall be filled according to Section 12 of this Charter.
(g) In the event that only one (1) person files or is nominated for each office for which an election is to be held within the time set forth in Section 6 of this Charter, the person who files or who is nominated shall be deemed to be elected for a full term and it shall not be necessary to have an election.
(h) Voting machines shall be utilized during Annual Municipal Elections in compliance with the applicable provisions of 15 Del. C. §7501, et seq
(i) All municipal elections of the City of Lewes shall be conducted in conformity with Subchapter IV, Chapter 75 of Title 15 of the Delaware Code.
(j) (f) Upon the close of the election, the votes shall be read and counted publicly and in the case of an election of Council Persons Councilperson , the persons having the highest number of votes shall be declared to be elected and in the case of the election of a Mayor, the person having the highest number of votes shall be declared to be elected. Such person shall continue in Office during the term for which they were elected or until their successors shall be duly elected or appointed and qualified.
(k) (g) The Board of Election shall enter in a book to be provided for that purpose minutes of the election containing the names of the persons so elected. They shall subscribe the same and shall make and deliver to the person elected certificates of their election. The book containing such minutes, the ballots and the list of those persons who voted shall be delivered to the City Manager who shall preserve the same and shall be evidence in any Court of law or equity.
(l) (h) If two (2) or more candidates for the office of Council Person Councilperson or for Mayor shall receive an equal number of votes so that there shall not be an election of a Mayor or Council Person Councilperson , the incumbent Mayor or Council Person Councilperson shall continue in Office until the run - off election as herein provided is held. The Board of Election shall declare the election a tie and shall report that result to the Mayor and the City Council which shall, within twenty (20) days thereafter, hold a Special Election between those candidates where a tie resulted under the same rules as hereinbefore set forth. No person shall be permitted to register to vote following the Annual Municipal Election and before the Special Election in order to vote at the Special Election. ;
Section 2. Amend Section 12 of the Charter of the City of Lewes by making insertions as shown by underline and deletions as shown by strikethrough as follows:
Vacancies
Section 12.
If any vacancy shall occur in the office of Mayor or Council Person Councilperson , by death, resignation, loss of residence in The City of Lewes, refusal to serve, failure to elect, or otherwise, the same may be filled by a majority vote of the members of the City Council, the person or persons so chosen to fill such vacancy or vacancies shall be qualified as in the case of newly elected members, shall be deemed to have been “elected” for purposes of this Chapter, and shall hold office for the remainder of the unexpired term, except that when the remainder of the unexpired term is greater than two years such person or persons shall hold office until they or their successors have been duly elected and qualified at a Special Election held contemporaneously with the Annual Municipal Election immediately following the filling of such vacancy or vacancies, and subject to the same rules as hereinbefore set forth,. When the remainder of the unexpired term is greater than two years, requiring that a person be duly elected and qualified at a Special Election to fill the two-year remainder of the unexpired term, every candidate desirous of filling such two-year remainder of the unexpired term shall so declare in their notification of candidacy, and such declaration shall prevent the candidate from also being a candidate in the Annual Municipal Election. ; ;
Section 3. Amend Section 33 of the Character of the City of Lewes by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
(d) The City Council of The City of Lewes is hereby vested with full and exclusive authority and control over the Great and Beach Marshes, Cape and Cape Marshes, near Lewes, and may sell and dispose of the grass and hay thereof in the month of July in each and every year, at public sale, giving notice by printed advertisements, posted in five of the most public places in Lewes and Rehoboth Hundred ten days before the day of sale, to the highest and best bidder or bidders for the same; the notices shall specify the place where and the time when the grass or hay will be sold; the City Council is further authorized to sell sand and gravel by measure or otherwise, as may be deemed by the City Council to be to the best interest of the City, wherever such sand and gravel may be located within the limits of the vested lands of The City of Lewes; and the City Council is further authorized to sell the wood and timber on the Cape and Cape Marshes at any time that it may be necessary or desirable for any improvement made in or near said City, by and with the concurrence of a majority of the members of the City Council; and the proceeds arising from the sale of the sand, gravel, grass, hay, wood and timber shall be paid over to the Treasurer of the City, to be applied by the City Council to such improvements of the City as they may deem proper. If any person or Persons without first obtaining permission from the City Council, shall fell, cut, cart or convey any green timber or wood, or any timber on or from said Cape for any private use whatsoever, except wood cut from dead timber for fuel, he or they shall forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding fifty dollars, with costs, to be recovered by the City Council, for the use of the City, in the same manner as debts of that amount are recoverable; and persons so offending shall also be subject to a fine, not exceeding ten dollars, to be enforced as other fines and penalties provided for in this Act; and the City Council may seize any timber or wood so cut, from any person or persons so off ending and may dispose of the same to the highest bidder, for the use of said City, and may pass any rules, regulations and ordinances regarding the cutting of said timber as they may deem proper for the interest of said City; provided that nothing in this Section or Act shall authorize the City Council to pass any ordinances to prevent any citizen of The City of Lewes or State of Delaware from fishing along said Delaware Bay Shore . provided further, however, that the City Council may restrict fishing northwest of the Ferry terminal and for 300 feet from the mean higher high water line therefrom where, in the discretion of the City Council, the public health and welfare is served by so doing.
SYNOPSIS
This bill amends the Charter for the City of Lewes to permit the City of Lewes to utilize the State's Voter Registration System in connection with municipal elections, as authorized by Subchapters IV and V of Chapter 75 of Title 15 of the Delaware Code. This bill also amends the appointment process for an incumbent Councilperson or the Mayor in the event there is no challenger at the time of the Lewes municipal elections. This bill also deletes provisions that are redundant or in conflict with provisions that are redundant or in conflict with provisions of State law relating to municipal elections, specifically Chapter 75 of Title 15. This bill also provides that if a vacancy occurs in the Office of Mayor or City Councilperson, the person chosen to fill the vacancy shall be deemed to have been elected. This Act amends the Charter of the City of Lewes to permit the City Council to restrict fishing on the Delaware Bay shore, northwest of the Ferry terminal.
