Be it ordained by the Town Council of the Town of Pinedale:
 

SECTION 1.  AUTHORITY.  This amendment to Charter Ordinance No. 1 is adopted pursuant to the authority vested in cities and towns of the State of Wyoming by Article 13, Section 1, Constitution of the State of Wyoming.

SECTION 2.  ELECTIONS.  The Town of Pinedale hereby elects to conduct its elections for office or for town ballot propositions in accordance with this Charter Ordinance and not in the same manner as statewide elections.

SECTION 3. NOTICE.  Between 45 days and 35 days before each town election, the town clerk shall publish once in a newspaper of general circulation in the town, and post conspicuously in not less than three public places in the town, a proclamation setting forth the date, time and place of the forthcoming election, the titles and terms of the offices to be filled at the election, the number of persons required by law to fill the offices, the requirements for filing statements of campaign receipts and expenditures, and in addition before the election, the legislative description of each proposed ballot proposition to be submitted to the voters of the town.

SECTION 4. APPLICATION; FILING FEE.  Not more than 55 days and not later than 10 days preceding the election, each candidate for municipal office shall pay a filing fee of $25.00 and sign and file with the town clerk an election application in substantially the following form:
    STATE OF WYOMING
     COUNTY OF SUBLETTE

       I, _______________________, being___________years of age, a qualified elector of the Town of Pinedale, State of Wyoming, do hereby request that my name be printed upon the official Election Ballot for the election to be held on______________________, as a candidate for the office of _________________.
I hereby declare that if elected I will qualify for office.
                    Dated the ____ day of ________________, ______
                            ____________________________ (Signature)
                            ____________________________ (Residence address)
 

SECTION 5.  VACANCIES IN NOMINATION.  A vacancy in nomination occurs if there is an elected office for which no  qualified candidate makes application to be placed on the ballot.  A vacancy in nomination for such an office shall be filled by the Town Council immediately after the time has expired to accept Election Applications.

SECTION 6.  DATE, TIME AND PLACE OF ELECTION.  The general election of the town shall be held on the Tuesday following the first Monday in the month of May in even-numbered years.  Polls shall be open at 8:00 a.m. and shall close at 7:00 p.m., local time.  The place of election shall be at the Town Hall.

SECTION 7.  CANVASSING BOARD.  The canvassing board shall be compsoed of the Town Clerk and two qualified electors of the town of different political parties appointed by the Town Council.  The two appointed members shall receive the same compensation as election judges for statewide elections.  The canvassing board shall meet within six days of the election at a time a place set by the Town Clerk.

SECTION 8.  DUTIES OF TOWN CLERK.  The Town Clerk is the chief election officer for town elections and is responsible for determining if a person seeking nomination is a qualified candidate;  preparing the ballots in substantially the same form as the general election nonpartisan ballot;  designating polling places; and otherwise conducting the election.

SECTION 9.  ELECTION JUDGES.  The Town Clerk shall appoint five qualified election judges in accordance with the qualifications and other applicable provisions set forth in the Wyoming Election Code, which judges shall count the votes, in addition to their other duties.

SECTION 10.  OFFICERS.  A mayor and two council persons shall be elected at large at each general municipal election.  The term of office of mayor is two years and the term of office of a council person is four years.  Any office which is declared vacant shall appear on the ballot at the next general municipal election.  If the term of the office declared vacant does not expire at the next general election, the office shall appear on the ballot for the remainder of the unexpired term.

SECTION 11.  BALLOT PROPOSITION.  A town ballot proposition to be voted on at an election shall be printed on the town ballot by the Town Clerk.

SECTION 12.  BALLOT.  The Town Clerk shall prepare the town ballot in substantially the same form as the statewide election nonpartisam ballot.

SECTION 13.  CANVASSING RESULTS.   The returns of the town election shall be canvassed by the town canvassing board, which shall certifiy the results in writing to the Town Clerk.  A tie vote shall be broken by lots cast by the town canvassing board.

SECTION 14.  CERTIFICATION.  As soon as the official result of the town election is received from the town canvassing board, the Town Clerk shall issue certificates of election to the persons receiving the highest number of votes for each office to be filled at the election.

SECTION 15.  COMMENCEMENT OF TERM OF OFFICE.  The term of office of a person elected in the town election commences as of the first day of June following the election.

SECTION 16.  OATH.  Before entering the duties of elected office, the person elected to a town office shall sign and file with the Town Clerk the same consititutional oath of office as county officers.

SECTION 17.  The town shall bear the expenses of elections held pursuant to this Charter Ordinance.

SECTION 18.  STATUTES NOT APPLICABLE.  That part of the Wyoming Election Code applying to nominations and primary elections (currently Wyoming Statutes 22-23-301 through 22-23-308, inclusive) shall not apply to the Town of Pinedale.

SECTION 19.  BALANCE OF ELECTION CODE APPLICABLE.  Except for those parts of the Wyoming Statutes which have been modified or excluded by this Charter Ordinance, all matters with respect to elections for town office or for ballot propositions of the Town of Pinedale shall be held in accordance with the provisions of the Wyoming Election Code of 1973 and any amendments, modifications, or revisions thereof.

SECTION 20.  METHOD OF APPROVAL.  After passage and approval by a two-thirds vote of all members of the Town Council, this ordinance shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town of Pinedale once a week for two consecutive weeks, and shall become effective sixty days after the date of final publication.

PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED  by a two-thirds vote of the Town Council on this 6th day of April, 1998.