ASSEMBLY, No. 823
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION
By Assemblyman ARNONE
An Act concerning municipal run-off elections and amending P.L.1981, c.379.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 17 of P.L.1981, c.379 (C.40:45-21) is amended to read as follows:
17. a. Any municipality governed by the provisions of this act, but not by the provisions of sections 14 and 15 of this act, may, by referendum, adopt the provisions of those sections. Any municipality governed by the provisions of this act and by the provisions of sections 14 and 15 may, by referendum, abandon the provisions of those sections, either in their entirety or only in their applicability to the election of councilmen-at-large, or ward councilmen or both, and continue to be governed by the provisions of this act. The question of adopting, or of abandoning those provisions may be submitted to the voters either by ordinance of the governing body or by petition of the registered voters. Any ordinance adopted, or each petition paper submitted, for the purpose shall state the proposition that run-off elections be held in the municipality; or, in the case of abandonment, that run-off elections not be held in the municipality or that run-off elections for the office of councilman-at-large or the office of ward councilman or both not be held in the municipality.
b. Upon adoption by the governing body of an ordinance conforming with the provisions of this section, the municipal clerk shall provide for the submission of the question at the next general election or regular municipal election occurring in the municipality not less than 60 days after the date of the adoption of the ordinance.
c. Any petition submitted by the registered voters pursuant to this section shall be signed by the registered voters of the municipality in a number at least equal to 10% of the total votes cast in the municipality at the last preceding general election at which members of the General Assembly were elected. The petition shall be filed with the clerk of the municipality who shall, upon filing, ascertain and certify the number and validity of the signatures affixed thereto. If the petition is determined to be insufficient, the person designated in the petition for the purpose shall have 10 days from the notification of insufficiency to file a supplementary petition designed to rectify the insufficiency, which shall be in the same form and shall be filed in the same manner as the original petition. If no supplementary petition is filed within 10 days after notification, or if the clerk shall examine the supplementary petition and determine that an insufficiency still exists, the clerk shall file a certificate of insufficiency in his office and notify the designated person of the insufficiency. A finding of insufficiency shall not prejudice the filing of a new petition for the same purpose.
If the petition is determined to be sufficient, the clerk shall so certify, shall transmit a certified copy to the governing body of the municipality, and shall provide for the submission of the question at the next general election or regular municipal election occurring in the municipality not less than 60 days after the date of certification.
d. At the election, the question shall be submitted in the appropriate form as follows:
(1) If the ordinance or petition proposes the holding of run-off elections in the municipality, the question shall be posed: "Shall run-off elections be held in (insert name of municipality) as permitted by the 'Uniform Nonpartisan Elections Law'?"
(2) If the ordinance or petition proposes the abandonment of run-off elections in the municipality, the question shall be posed: "Shall (insert name of municipality) abandon the holding of run-off elections as permitted by the 'Uniform Nonpartisan Elections Law'?"
(3) If the ordinance or petition proposes the abandonment of run-off elections for the office of councilman-at-large or the office of ward councilman, the question shall be posed: "Shall (insert name of municipality) abandon the holding of run-off elections for the office of either 'councilman-at-large' or 'ward councilman,' or both as the case may be, as permitted by the 'Uniform Nonpartisan Elections Law'?"
e. The question submitted pursuant to subsection d. of this section shall be approved if a majority of those voting on the question shall vote in favor of the question, and shall take effect for the next regular municipal election held in the municipality and thereafter.
f. No ordinance may be adopted and no petition may be filed proposing the adoption of the provisions of sections 14 and 15 of this act, or the abandonment of the provisions of those sections, within four years after the date on which the municipality initially adopted a plan or form of government, or charter, requiring the holding of run-off elections in the municipality, or within four years after the date
on which a question was last submitted to the voters pursuant to subsection d. of this section.
(cf: P.L.1981, c.379, s.17)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill amends the "Uniform Nonpartisan Elections Law," P.L.1981, c.379 (C.40:45-5 et seq.), to allow a municipality to conduct a referendum on the abandoning of that part of the law which authorizes run-off elections for the offices of councilman-at-large, ward councilman or both. Under present law, such a referendum could be conducted only on the abandonment of run-off elections in their entirety, which would include run-off elections for the office of mayor. Currently, 19 municipalities have adopted and utilize run-off election provisions.
Authorizes referendum to abandon certain run-off elections.