SB1011

THE CONTEXT: City and town elections are conducted in the same manner as county officer elections, except that the returns shall be made to the clerk of the city or town, and the governing body of the city or town shall canvass the returns, declare the result and issue the certificates of the election ( A. R.

WHAT THE BILL DID: The final vetoed version would state that a city or town may conduct a candidate election as follows: a) With the candidate's political party registration indicated on the ballot; or b) Without the candidate's political party registration indicated on the ballot, require the municipal offices in a partisan election to be included on a partisan ballot, and contains a delayed effective date of January 1st,.

WHY IT MATTERED: The practical reason for this bill was to make election administration and accountability rules for municipalities more definite. It would state that a city or town may conduct a candidate election as follows: a) With the candidate's political party registration indicated on the ballot; or b) Without the candidate's political party registration indicated on the ballot, and would also require the municipal offices in a partisan election to be included on a partisan ballot, rather than leave the current rule unchanged.