Summary City of Alachua Code of Ordinance Section 14-2 states, "Regular elections shall be held on the second Tuesday in April of each year for the election of Mayor and City Commissioners whose terms of office expire." City Code also stipulates that any "...runoff election shall be held on the third Tuesday following the former election day..."
Election Day will be Tuesday, April 12, 2016. In the event no candidate receives a majority (more than 50 percent) of the votes cast, the runoff election shall be Tuesday, May 3, 2016.
According to City Code Section 14-5 the Mayor shall issue his proclamation calling the election. "Such proclamation shall specify what officers are to be elected, the length of time such officers are to serve, the time and place of holding such election ..."
The election for 2016 will be for Seat 1 (Mayor) with a three-year term, Seat 2 with a three-year term, and any other item that may be included on the ballot.
The qualifying period will be from Noon, Thursday, February 18, to Noon, Thursday, February 25.
The polling places will be located at the Hal Brady Recreation Complex, the Clubhouse at Turkey Creek, and the Cleather Hathcock, Sr., Community Center.
Per City Code Section 14-18, "The City Commission hereby declines to participate in the early voting procedure for its municipal elections."
The qualifying fee and alternate petition process have not changed since last year. This information may be found in the City Code Section 14-8. The qualifying fee set by Ordinance, payable to the City of Alachua from the campaign account, is $25.
The State Election Assessment fee is set by State Statute at 1% of Commission compensation. The State Election Assessment fee must also be paid from the campaign account.
The City issued a proclamation for the 2016 Election on Jan. 25, 2016 with one of the polling places being the CSI Academy. However, following the issuance of the proclamation, City staff realized that the CSI Academy had not been contacted for availability. City staff has since contacted the CSI Academy and was informed the facility would be available for April 12, 2016, but not May 3, 2016 (in the event of a runoff).
Therefore, it has been determined that an alternate location be utilized so voters would go to the same polling place in the event there was a runoff.
The City contacted the Turkey Creek Master Owners Association to determine availability of the clubhouse as a polling location. The City was informed that the clubhouse at Turkey Creek would be available for both April 12, 2016 and May 3, 2016. This location has previously been utilized for City elections in the past as well. |