HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD1028ORDINANCE NO.1028
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF APACHE
JUNCTION,ARIZONA,AMENDING THE APACHE JUNCTION CITY CODE,CHAPTER
1,GENERAL,BY ADDING A NEW ARTICLE 1-13,QUALIFIED ELECTORS,
RELATING TO REQUIREMENTS FOR PETITION CIRCULATORS FOR CITY OF APACHE
JUNCTION PETITIONS;REPEALING ANY CONFLICTING PROVISIONS;PROVIDING
FOR SEVERABILITY;AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
WHEREAS,Article IV,part 1,§1(8) of the Arizona Constitution permits cities to
prescribe the manner of exercising initiative and referendum powers within the
restriction of the general laws;and
WHEREAS,Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated ("A.R.S.")§19-114 requires the
circulators of state initiatives or referendum petitions to be qualified
electors;and
WHEREAS,A.R.S.§16-121(A)defines a "qualified elector"as one who is properly
registered to vote;and
WHEREAS,proper registration includes "state residency"pursuant to A.R.S.§16-
101(A);and
WHEREAS,a "resident"is one who has actual physical presence in this state
combined with an intent to remain,pursuant to A.R.S.§16-101;and
WHEREAS,when applying statewide referendum and initiative procedures to a city,
town or county,A.R.S.§19-141(C)requires that it be as nearly as practicable
the same as the procedure relating to initiatives and referendums provided for
the state at large;and
WHEREAS,city elections have been held by the Arizona Supreme Court in McDowell
Mountain Ranch v.Vizcaino,252 Ariz.Adv.Rep.25 (1997)and by the Arizona
Court of Appeals in Alliance Marana v.Groseclose,263 Ariz.Adv.Rep.26 (1998)
to be matters of local concern;and
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WHEREAS,the Apache Junction Mayor and City Council desire that petition
circulators for City of Apache Junction initiatives,referendum,candidate and
recall actions be qualified electors of the City of Apache Junction,and not of
some other municipality or jurisdiction;and
WHEREAS,the City of Apache Junction is home to approximately 10,038 qualified
Apache Junction electors who are authorized under this ordinance to circulate
petitions for City of Apache Junction initiatives,referenda,candidates and
recall actions;and
WHEREAS,requiring that petition circulators for initiatives,referenda,
candidates and recall actions must be qualified electors of the City of Apache
Junction will reinforce the State statutes and decided case law,and will assure
that petition circulators have a legitimate stake in the outcome as registered
voters within the City.
NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
APACHE JUNCTION,ARIZONA AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION I.IN GENERAL
That Article I of Chapter 1 of the Apache Junction City Code is hereby amended
to add Section 1-13 Qualified Electors to read as follows:
Section 1-13-1 Qualified Elector;Definition
A.Every resident of the City of Apache Junction is qualified to
register and vote in city elections if he or she:
1.is a citizen of the United States;
2.will be eighteen (18)years of age or more on or before the
date of the next city election following registration;
3.will have been a resident of the city and registered to vote
prior to midnight of the twenty-ninth day preceding the date
of the next city election;
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PAGE 2 of 4
4.is able to write his or her name,or make a mark,unless
prevented from doing so by physical disability;
5.has not been convicted of treason or a felony,unless restored
to civil rights;and
6.has not been adjudicated an incapacitated person as defined by
A.R.S.§14-5101,or its successor statute.
B.For purposes of this article,"resident" means an individual who has
actual physical presence in the city,combined with an intent to
remain.A temporary absence does not result in a loss of residence
i f the individual has an intent to return following his or her
absence.An individual has only one residence for purposes of this
article.
Section 1-13-2 Petition circulators
All circulators of nomination and recall petitions for mayor or city
council members and all circulators of referenda or initiative petitions shall
be qualified city of Apache Junction electors,who must have been a resident of
the city,as defined in Section 1-13-1(A)of this article,for not less than
twenty-nine (29)days next preceding the circulation of any petition.
SECTION II.REPEALING ANY CONFLICTING PROVISIONS
All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict with the provisions of this
ordinance or any part of the code adopted herein by reference are hereby
repealed.
SECTION III.PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY
If any section,subsection,sentence,phrase,clause or portion of this ordinance
or any part of the Code adopted herein by reference is for any reason held to be
invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent
jurisdiction,such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining
portion thereof.
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SECTION IV.EMERGENCY CLAUSE
WHEREAS,i t being necessary for the peace,health and safety of the City of
Apache Junction,Arizona,an emergency is declared to exist,and this ordinance
shall be effective immediately upon its passage and adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION,
ARIZONA,THIS 17TH DAY OF MARCH ,1998.
SIGNED AND ATTESTED TO THIS 17TH DAY OF MARCH
DOUGLAS COLEMAN
Mayor
ATTEST:
KATHLEEN CONNELLY
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
cif414"3 -6 -9(3
RICHARD JOEL STERN
City Attorney
ORDINANCE NO.1028
PAGE 4 of 4
,1998.
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