Memorandum
City of Lawrence
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TO: |
Mayor and City Commissioners |
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FROM: |
City Manager David L. Corliss |
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CC: |
Toni Wheeler, Director of Legal Services |
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Date: |
November 26, 2008 |
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RE: |
Primary Election Statutory Change Issue |
At the November 26, 2008 meeting, Commissioner Highberger inquired about the recent State law change governing City Commission primary elections. Specifically, the amendment to K.S.A. 25-2108a enacted by both 2008 SB 562 Section 5 and HB 2307 Section 3.
Prior to this legislation, K.S.A. 25-2108a provided:
25-2108a. Time of primary elections; no primary, when. (a) There shall be a primary election of city officers on the Tuesday preceding by five weeks the first Tuesday in April of every year that such city has a city election, except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section.
(b) No primary election of city officers shall be held unless by holding such primary one (1) or more persons will be eliminated as candidates for office. In the event there are not more than two (2) candidates for any one office, the names of the candidates for such office shall not appear on the primary election ballots, and there shall be no primary election for such office, but the names of such candidates shall be placed on the general city election ballot.
The two separate enactments noted above provided identical amendments:
25-2108a. Time of primary elections; no primary, when. (a) There shall be a primary election of city officers on the Tuesday preceding by five weeks the first Tuesday in April of every year that such city has a city election, except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section.
(b) A
primary election shall be held if needed to reduce the number of candidates for
each office in the general election to no more than three candidates. No
primary election of city officers shall be held unless by holding such primary one
(1) two or more persons will be eliminated as candidates for
office. In the event there are not more than two (2) three times the
number of candidates for any one office as there are officers to
be elected, the names of the candidates for such office shall not appear on
the primary election ballots, and there shall be no primary election for such
office, but the names of such candidates shall be placed on the general city
election ballot.
The practical effect of this legislation is that nine candidates may be on the ballot for the general election of city commission candidates versus the previous six candidates.
Under the Kansas Constitution, all cities have the authority to enact a charter ordinance exempting the city from non-uniform state enactments. Charter ordinances require a super-majority approval of the governing body (four affirmative votes). A charter ordinance only becomes effective upon adoption, two publications of the ordinance one week apart, and a sixty day protest period after the final publication.
The following dates are applicable for the three City Commission seats with terms expiring in 2009:
Filing Deadline: Noon, January 27, 2009 (K.S.A. 25-2109)
Primary Election: March 3, 2009 (K.S.A. 25-2108a)
General Election: April 7, 2009 (K.S.A. 25-2107 and K.S.A. 12-1037)
New Commission takes office: April 14, 2009
Pursuant to the discussion last night, staff is reviewing the law to determine legal questions associated with a possible charter ordinance, statutory calendar requirements, and related issues. We should be prepared to brief the Commission Tuesday night on this matter.