Title
Elections - Definitions - For the purpose of updating the definitions in Title 4, Elections.
Body
CITY COUNCIL OF THE
City of Annapolis
Ordinance 17-24
Introduced by: Mayor Buckley
Referred to:
Rules and City Government Committee
AN ORDINANCE concerning
Elections - Definitions
FOR the purpose of updating the definitions in Title 4, Elections.
BY repealing and reenacting with amendments the following portions of the Code of the City of Annapolis, 2024 Edition:
4.04.010
SECTION I: BE IT ESTABLISHED AND ORDAINED BY THE ANNAPOLIS CITY COUNCIL that the Code of the City of Annapolis shall be amended to read as follows:
Title 4 - ELECTIONS
Chapter 4.04 - General Provisions
Section 4.04.010 - Definitions
As used in this title, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated unless a contrary meaning is clearly intended from the context in which the term appears:
1. "Approved voting device" means a paper ballot approved under Section§ 4.24.060 or a voting device approved by the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections and the Maryland State Board of Elections.
2. "Absentee ballot" means a ballot not used in a polling place. Absentee ballots include "mail-in voting," as referred to in the Maryland Constitution, the Annotated Code of Maryland, and the Code of Maryland Regulations.
"Ballot" or "ballots" means paper ballots, ballots, provisional ballots or the labels which appear on the face of voting machines, whichever in context would be appropriate.
3. "Ballot" or "official ballot" includes:
a. an absentee ballot;
b. a mail-in ballot
c. a provisional ballot;
d. a document ballot; or
e. a voting machine ballot
"Ballot" or "official ballot" does not include:
a. a sample ballot; or
b. a specimen ballot.
4. "Ballot drop box" means a secure, durable, and weatherproof container officially designated by the City exclusively for voters to deposit election-related materials in person, including mail-in ballots, mail-in ballot applications, and voter registration applications.
5. “Ballot question” means a proposition formally presented to city-registered voters on the ballot for their approval or rejection.
6. "Board" means the Board of Supervisors of Elections of the City and the respective members of the board. However, where the City Council delegated responsibility for administering an election under this title has been delegated by the City Council to the Board of Supervisors of Elections of the County, "board" refers to that body where such construction would be reasonable.
7. "Campaign manager" means any person appointed or designated by any candidate or the candidate's representative to exercise general overall responsibility for the conduct of a political campaign.
8. "Campaign contributions" are funds received, in-kind services, and other financial transactions required to be included in the candidate's campaign finance report per § 33.13.02 of the Maryland Code of Regulations (COMAR).
9. "Chair", for the purposes of § 4.44, means the leader of a political committee. The Chair shall be a registered voter of the State of Maryland and be in good standing with the election board. A candidate may serve as Chair of their own committee. A lobbyist shall not be a Chair.
10. "Campaign manager" means any person appointed or designated by any candidate or the candidate's representative to exercise general overall responsibility for the conduct of a political campaign.
11. "Campaign Material" is defined in § 4.44.085.
12. "Candidate" means any person who files a certificate of candidacy for any public or party office. Candidate also has the meaning defined in § 4.20.030.
13. "Canvass" means the entire process of vote tallying, vote tabulation, and vote verification or audit, culminating in producing and certifying the official election results.
14. "Challenger" or "watcher" means registered voters designated by a candidate, political party, or other group to be in a precinct to observe for the purpose of observing an election. These individuals may observe the set-up of the voting units, voting throughout the day, and the closing procedures.
15. "Central committee" means the City governing body of a political party.
16. "Clearly identified" is defined in § 4.44.085.
17. "Contributions" means the gift, transfer or promise of gift or transfer of money or other thing of value to any candidate, or a candidate's representative, or a representative of any political party or partisan organization to promote or assist in the promotion of the success or defeat of any candidate, political party, principle or proposition submitted to a vote at any election.
18. "Donation" is defined in § 4.44.085.
19. "Election" means any primary, general, special election or referendum election of the City.
20. "Election cycle" means that period of time beginning on the day after the day of a general election as established by Article II, Section 5 of the Charter of the City of Annapolis and ending on the day of the next general election as established by that charter provision. A Special Election conducted pursuant to Article II, Section 7 of the Charter of the City of Annapolis shall constitute a separate election cycle for those running in the Special Election.
21. "Expenditure" means any gift, transfer, disbursement or promise of money or valuable thing by any candidate, treasurer or other agent of the candidate, political party or partisan organization to promote or assist in the promotion of the success or defeat of any candidate, political party, principle or proposition submitted to a vote at any election.
22. "Fundraising" in this chapter pertains to political fundraising.
23. "General election" means the election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in the month of November, at which the voters of the City vote for candidates for Mayor and aldermen.
24. "Independent Expenditure" is defined in § 4.44.085.
25. "Infamous crime" means any felony, treason, perjury, or any crime involving an element of deceit, fraud or corruption.
26. "Judge" means any person who is a registered voter of the City of Annapolis or Anne Arundel County designated as a judge of election and shall include book judges and machine attendants. Judges" refers to a combination of judges which shall, at all times, include judges affiliated with the majority party and the principal minority party.
27. "Majority party" means the principal political party to which the incumbent Mayor belongs, if the incumbent Mayor is a member of one of the two principal political parties; if the incumbent Mayor is not a member of one of the two principal political parties, "majority party" means the principal political party whose candidate for Mayor received the highest number of votes at the last preceding general election.
28. “Mail-in Ballots” means ballots requested and then submitted by mail, in person, or drop-box.
29. "Partisan organization" means any combination of two or more persons formed for the purpose of assistingto assist the promotion of the success or defeat of any candidate, political party, principle or proposition to be submitted to a vote at any election.
30. "Party" or "political party" means an organized group of the electorate that attempts to control government through the election of its candidates to office, and which polled three percent of the entire vote cast in the City in the last presidential general election held in the City. "Party" or "political party" shall also include any political party recognized as such by the Maryland State Board of Elections or its successors.
31. "Petitioner" means:
a. For the purposes of § 4.20, a candidate for public or party office who has been defeated based on the certified results of any City election
b. For the purposes of § 4.40, City residents who have completed required the ballot question process as prescribed in § 4.40.
32. "Person" means an individual, association, unincorporated association, corporation, or any other entity. "Person" also has the meaning defined in § 4.44.085.
33. "Political agent" means any person appointed by any candidate, a candidate's representative, a political party or partisan organization to promote or assist in the promotion of the success or defeat of any candidate, political party, principal or proposition submitted to a vote at any election.
34. "Political committee" means any combination of two or more persons appointed by a candidate or any other person or formed in any other manner which assists or attempts to assist in any manner the promotion of the success or defeat of any candidate, candidates, political party, principle or proposition submitted to a vote at any election.
35. "Principal minority party" means the other of the two principal political parties.
36. "Principal political party" means a political party recognized by the State Board of Elections which is required to nominate its candidates for public office in the primary elections.
37. "Provisional ballot" means a ballot distributed to an individual after the individual has completed a temporary certificate of registrationthat is cast by an individual but not counted until the individual's qualifications to vote have been confirmed by the local board.
38. "Registration" means the act by which a person becomes qualified to vote in any election in this City.
39. "Residence" means a place of fixed permanent domicile.
40. "Treasurer" means any person appointed by a candidate, political agent, political committee, or political party or partisan organization to receive or disburse money or other things of value to promote or assist in the promotion of the success or defeat of any candidate, political party, principle or proposition submitted to a vote at any election.
41. "Unaffiliated" means any voter who has declined to affiliate with a political party.
42. Watcher. See "challenger" above.
43. "Write-in vote" means a vote cast, in a contest at a general election, for an individual whose name is not on the ballot for that contest.
SECTION II: AND BE IT FURTHER ESTABLISHED AND ORDAINED BY THE ANNAPOLIS CITY COUNCIL that this ordinance shall take effect upon passage.