2006 Alabama Code - Section 11-46-55.1 — Recount procedures.

(a) Not later than 12:00 noon on Wednesday after the election as required in this article the municipal governing body shall proceed to open the envelopes addressed to such governing body which have been delivered by the several returning officers to the municipal clerk, canvass the returns and ascertain and determine the number of votes received by each candidate and for and against each proposition submitted at such election. If it appears that any candidate or any proposition in such election has received a majority of the votes cast for that office or on that question, the municipal governing body shall declare said candidate elected to such office or said question carried, and a certificate of election shall be given to such persons by the municipal governing body or a majority of them, which shall entitle the persons so certified to the possession of their respective offices immediately upon the expiration of the terms of their predecessors as provided by law.

(b) If a single office is to be filled at the election and there is more than one candidate therefor, then the majority of the votes cast for said office in such election shall be ascertained by dividing the total votes cast for all candidates for said office by two, and any number of votes in excess of one half of such total votes cast for all candidates for such office shall be a majority within the meaning of subsection (a) of this section.

(c) If two or more offices constituting a group are to be filled and there are more candidates for election than there are such offices, then the majority of the votes cast for said office in such election shall be ascertained by dividing the total vote cast for all candidates for such offices by the number of positions to be filled and then dividing the result by two. Any number of votes in excess of the number ascertained by such last division shall be the majority prescribed in subsection (a) of this section as necessary for election. If in ascertaining the result in this way it appears that more candidates have obtained this majority than there are positions to be filled, then those having the highest vote, if beyond the majority just defined shall be declared elected to fill such positions.

(d) If no candidate receives a majority of all the votes cast in such election for any one office or offices for the election to which there were more than two candidates, then the municipal governing body shall order a second or "runoff" election to be held on the third Tuesday next thereafter following said regular election, at which election the two candidates having received the most and the second most votes, respectively, shall be candidates, and the person receiving the highest number of votes for that office in the runoff election shall be declared elected. If only two candidates are standing for election for any one office or offices and neither candidate receives a majority, then the municipal governing body shall order a second or "runoff" election to be held on the third Tuesday next thereafter following said regular election, at which election the said two candidates shall be candidates, and the person receiving the highest number of votes for that office in the runoff election shall be declared elected. In the event one of the candidates for a particular office in the runoff election withdraws, then there need not be a second election to fill such office nor shall the name of either the party so withdrawing or the remaining candidate be printed on the ballot of any second election held under the provisions of this article. This second election shall be held by the same election officers who held the first election and at the same places the first election was held. If there should be a tie vote cast at any such runoff election, then in such event the tie shall be decided by the municipal governing body. A vote for a particular candidate by a majority of those members eligible to vote of the governing body shall be necessary to decide the election in his favor. The municipal clerk shall file a copy of each certificate of election in the office of the judge of probate of the county in which the city or town is situated, and the judge shall file such certificate in the same manner that he files the declaration of the result of elections to county offices.

(Acts 1961, No. 663, p. 827, §35; Acts 1980, No. 80-94, p. 140, §8; Acts 1982, No. 82-458, p. 711, §10.)