2015 Arkansas Code
Title 14 - Local Government
Subtitle 3 - Municipal Government
Chapter 48 - City Administrator Form of Municipal Government
§ 14-48-109 - Election of directors and mayor -- Oath.

(a) Candidates for the office of director and mayor shall be nominated and elected as follows:

(1) (A) (i) A special election for the election of the initial membership of the board of directors and mayor shall be called by the Secretary of State as provided in § 14-48-108.

(ii) The proclamation shall be published in accordance with § 7-11-101 et seq.

(iii) For the initial election of directors and mayor, any person desiring to become a candidate shall file within twenty (20) days following the date of the proclamation by the Secretary of State with the city clerk or recorder a statement of candidacy in the form and with the supporting signatures as provided in this section. In all other respects, the initial elections shall be governed by the provisions of this chapter for holding municipal elections.

(B) (i) Special elections to fill any vacancy under § 14-48-115 shall be called through a resolution of the board.

(ii) A proclamation of the election shall be signed by the mayor and published in accordance with § 7-11-101 et seq. in some newspaper having a bona fide circulation in the municipality;

(2) (A) Candidates to be voted on at all elections to be held under the provisions of this chapter shall be nominated by primary election, and no names shall be placed upon the general election ballot except those selected in the manner prescribed in this chapter.

(B) (i) The primary elections, other than the initial primary, for those nominations for offices to be filled at the municipal general election shall be held on the second Tuesday of August preceding the municipal general election.

(ii) (a) The elections shall be under the supervision of the county board of election commissioners, and the election judges and clerks appointed for the general election shall be the judges and clerks of the primary elections.

(b) Primary elections shall be held in the same places as are designated for the general election, so far as possible, and shall be conducted, so far as practicable, in the same manner as other elections under the laws of this state;

(3) Any person desiring to become a candidate for mayor or director shall file with the city clerk not less than seventy-five (75) days nor more than ninety (90) days prior to the primary election by 12:00 noon a statement of his or her candidacy in substantially the following form:

"STATE OF ARKANSAS

COUNTY OF ...................

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(4) The statement of candidacy and the petition for nomination supporting the candidacy of each candidate to be voted upon at any general or special election shall be filed with the city clerk or recorder not less than seventy-five (75) days nor more than ninety (90) days before the election by 12:00 noon;

(5) The name of each candidate shall be supported by a petition for nomination signed by at least fifty (50) qualified electors of the municipality requesting the candidacy of the candidate. The petition shall show the residence address of each signer and carry an affidavit signed by one (1) or more persons in which the affiant or affiants shall vouch for the eligibility of each signer of the petition. Each petition shall be substantially in the following form:

"The undersigned, duly qualified electors of the City of ..................., Arkansas, each signer hereof residing at the address set opposite his or her signature, hereby requests that the name of .................. be placed on the ballot as a candidate for election to Position No. .... on the Board of Directors (or Mayor) of said City of ................... at the election to be held in such city on the................... day of ................... 20.... We further state that we know said person to be a qualified elector of said city and a person of good moral character and qualified in our judgment for the duties of such office.";

(6) (A) A petition for nomination shall not show the name of more than one (1) candidate.

(B) The name of the candidate mentioned in each petition, together with a copy of the election proclamation if the election is a special election, shall be certified by the city clerk or recorder to the county board of election commissioners not less than seventy (70) days before the election unless the clerk or recorder finds that the petition fails to meet with the requirements of this chapter.

(C) (i) Whether the names of the candidates so certified to the county board of election commissioners are to be submitted at a biennial general election or at a special election held on a different date, the county board of election commissioners shall have general supervision over the holding of each municipal election.

(ii) (a) In this connection, the election board shall post the nominations, print the ballots, establish the voting precincts, appoint the election judges and clerks, determine and certify the results of the election, and determine the election expense chargeable to the city, all in the manner prescribed by law in respect to general elections. It is the intention of this chapter that the general election machinery of this state shall be utilized in the holding of all general and special elections authorized under this chapter.

(b) The result of the election shall be certified by the election board to the city clerk or recorder;

(7) The names of all candidates at the election shall be printed upon the ballot in an order determined by draw. If more than two (2) candidates qualify for an office, the names of all candidates shall appear on the ballot at the primary election;

(8) (A) If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast in the primary, the two (2) candidates receiving the highest number of votes for mayor and for each director position to be filled shall be the nominees for those respective offices to be voted upon in the general election.

(B) If no more than two (2) persons qualify as candidates for the office of mayor or for any director position to be filled, no municipal primary election shall be held for these positions, and the names of the two (2) qualifying candidates for each office or position shall be placed upon the ballot at the municipal general election as the nominees for the respective positions. Primary elections shall be omitted in wards in which no primary contest is required.

(C) In any case in which only one (1) candidate shall have filed and qualified for the office of mayor or any director position, or if a candidate receives a clear majority of the votes cast in a primary election, that candidate shall be declared elected. The name of the person shall be certified as elected without the necessity of putting the person's name on the general municipal election ballot for the office; and

(9) Any candidate defeated at any municipal primary election or municipal general election may contest it in the manner provided by law for contesting other elections.

(b) Each member of the board of directors, before entering upon the discharge of his or her duties, shall take the oath of office required by Arkansas Constitution, Article 19, § 20.