Special Election Petition Submitted By Carlsbad Residents

From the City of Carlsbad:

October 30, 2019

Voters from City Council District 1 in Carlsbad submitted a petition to the City of Carlsbad Wednesday afternoon calling for a special election to fill the vacancy created when Council Member Barbara Hamilton resigned Oct. 9. After an administrative review by the Office of the City Clerk to ensure the petition contains the required 1,652 signatures, city staff will deliver the petition to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters, which is in charge of verifying the signatures.

Get more information about the City Council vacancy.

City staff said they expect to deliver the petition to the county late Wednesday. The Registrar of Voters has 30 days to verify the signatures, but staff there have said it will likely be done much sooner given the relatively small number of signatures required.

The registrar will notify the City of Carlsbad when its review is complete. If the petition meets all the requirements, the next step is for the Carlsbad City Council to pass a resolution acknowledging the sufficiency of the petition and setting the date for the special election.

The deadline to call a March 3 election is Nov. 10. The deadline for the April 14 election is Dec. 22.

The next regular City Council meeting is Nov. 12. However, a special City Council meeting may be scheduled with 24 hours’ notice.

When a vacancy occurs, the City Council may either appoint someone or call a special election.

The City Council voted Oct. 22 to conduct an appointment process and was scheduled to consider applicants at the Nov. 19 meeting. Under city law, if 10% of voters sign a petition within 60 days of a vacancy, the City Council must fill the vacancy by an election.

This press release was produced by the City of Carlsbad. The views expressed here are the author’s own.