Title
Resolution to Order Election and to Determine Ballot Question for Charter Amendment to Modify the Method for Counting Signatures of Nomination Petitions (7 Votes Required, Roll Call Vote)
Staff
Prepared by: Matthew Thomas, Assistant City Attorney
Body
Whereas, Section 13.9 currently reads:
Circulation and Signing of Nomination Petitions
SECTION 13.9
(a) Signatures on a petition form shall be disregarded unless the form was circulated by a registered elector of the City or the ward, as the case may be, from which the candidate named thereon seeks election. Each petition form filed as a part of a nomination petition shall be verified by the person who circulated it. The verification shall state that the signatures on the petition form were obtained by the circulator thereof, were signed in the circulator's presence, and that the circulator has good reason to believe and does believe that each of the signers is a registered elector of the City or ward from which the candidate named on the petition form seeks to be elected.
(b) If any person signs a greater number of petitions for any office than there will be persons elected to that office, that person's signature shall be disregarded on all petitions for that office.
Whereas, November 3, 2026 is available as an Election Date;
RESOLVED, That the following amended charter provision be placed on the ballot and submitted to the voters at the November 3, 2026 election date:
Circulation and Signing of Nomination Petitions
SECTION 13.9
(a) Signatures on a petition form shall be disregarded unless the form was circulated by a registered elector of the City or the ward, as the case may be, from which the candidate named thereon seeks election. Each petition form filed as a part of a nomination petition shall be verified by the person who circulated it. The verification shall state that the signatures on the petition form were obtained by the circulator thereof, were signed in the circulator's presence, and that the circulator has good reason to believe and does believe that each of the signers is a registered elector of the City or ward from which the candidate named on the petition form seeks to be elected.
(b) If any person signs a greater number of petitions for any office than there will be persons elected to that office, the signatures, if they bear the same date, shall not be counted on any petition for that office. If the signatures bear different dates, the signature bearing the earliest date shall be counted and all others shall be disregarded.
RESOLVED, If approved by voters, Section 13.9 would read:
Circulation and Signing of Nomination Petitions
SECTION 13.9
(a) Signatures on a petition form shall be disregarded unless the form was circulated by a registered elector of the City or the ward, as the case may be, from which the candidate named thereon seeks election. Each petition form filed as a part of a nomination petition shall be verified by the person who circulated it. The verification shall state that the signatures on the petition form were obtained by the circulator thereof, were signed in the circulator's presence, and that the circulator has good reason to believe and does believe that each of the signers is a registered elector of the City or ward from which the candidate named on the petition form seeks to be elected.
(b) If any person signs a greater number of petitions for any office than there will be persons elected to that office, the signatures, if they bear the same date, shall not be counted on any petition for that office. If the signatures bear different dates, the signature bearing the earliest date shall be counted and all others shall be disregarded.
RESOLVED, That November 3, 2026 is designated as the day for holding an election on the proposed Charter amendment;
RESOLVED, That the Clerk shall transmit a copy of the proposed amendment to the Attorney General and the Governor of Michigan and shall perform all other acts required by law for holding the election;
RESOLVED, That the proposed Charter amendment shall appear on the ballot in the following form:
AMENDMENT TO MODIFY THE METHOD FOR COUNTING SIGNATURES OF NOMINATION PETITIONS
Shall Section 13.9 of the City Charter be amended to specify that if an individual signs multiple candidates’ nomination petitions for a single elected office, only the earliest-dated signature shall count, and that if two or more signatures bear the same date, none of those signatures shall count? Currently, if an individual signs multiple candidates’ nomination petitions for a single office, every signature of that individual is disregarded, regardless of date.
¨ Yes ¨ No
RESOLVED, That the proposed Charter amendment and proposed ballot question shall be published in full in the Washtenaw County Legal News and on the City’s website; and
RESOLVED, That if the amendment is adopted, it shall take immediate effect.
Sponsored by: Council Administration Committee