Sunnyvale Municipal Code Ch. 2.28 Elections

(a) Pursuant to Article VI of the City Charter, the city council consists of a mayor elected by all city voters and six city council members elected in the electoral districts established by this chapter and subsequently reapportioned pursuant to applicable local, state, and federal law.

(b) The six city council member districts shall be as shown in the map attached to the ordinance codified in this chapter as Exhibit A and incorporated herein by reference, and shall continue in effect until they are amended or repealed in accordance with law. The city clerk shall keep a true and correct copy of this map on file and available to the public.

(c) If necessary to facilitate the implementation of this chapter, the city clerk is authorized to make technical adjustments to the district boundaries that do not substantively affect the populations in the districts, the eligibility of candidates, or the residence of elected officials within any district. The city clerk shall consult with the city manager and city attorney concerning any technical adjustments deemed necessary and shall advise the city council of any such adjustments required in the implementation of the districts.

(Ord. 3152-19 § 1)

The mayor and council members of the city council in city council Districts 2, 4, and 6 shall be elected beginning at the general municipal election in November 2020, and every four years thereafter, as such city council districts may be amended. city council members shall be elected from city council Districts 1, 3, and 5 beginning at the general municipal election in November 2022, and every four years thereafter, as such city council districts may be amended.

(Ord. 3152-19 § 1)

Each candidate filing a statement must pay in advance his or her estimated pro rata share of the total cost of printing, handling, translating, and mailing the candidate's statement as a condition of having his or her statement included in the voter's pamphlet. This estimated pro rata cost is determined by the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters prior to each election. A candidate for any office of the city council may submit a petition containing signatures of registered voters in lieu of paying all or a portion of the costs of the candidate's statement assessed pursuant to Section 13307 of the Elections Code of the state of California as follows:

(a) If a candidate for mayor submits a petition containing not less than two hundred fifty valid signatures, or a candidate for any city council district submits a petition containing not less than one hundred valid signatures, then the city shall assume the entire cost of that candidate's statement and the candidate shall not be liable for payment of any of the costs thereof assessed pursuant to Section 13307 of the Elections Code.

(b) A candidate who submits a petition containing less than the number of valid signatures set forth in subsection (a) of this section shall be given a credit toward the cost of the candidate's statement assessed pursuant to Section 13307 of the Elections Code of a pro rata amount for each valid signature contained in the petition. The pro rata amount shall be approximately 1/250th of the cost of the mayor's candidate statement and 1/100th of the cost of a district candidate's statement, rounded to the nearest whole dollar amount. In the event the total credit allowed to a candidate is less than the cost of the candidate's statement assessed pursuant to Section 13307 of the Elections Code, then the candidate shall be responsible for the remainder of the cost. In the event the total credit allowed equals or exceeds the actual cost of the statement, whether or not the number of valid signatures required by subsection (a) of this section have been obtained, the candidate shall be relieved of any obligation for the cost of the statement. In no event shall the city make any payment to a candidate or in any way become obligated to a candidate by reason of the fact that the credit calculated may exceed the actual cost of the statement.

(c) Except as otherwise provided in this section, any registered voter may sign an in lieu petition for any candidate for whom he or she is eligible to vote.

(d) A registered voter may only sign an in lieu petition for one candidate for any city council district and one candidate for mayor. If a registered voter signs in lieu petitions for more than one candidate for any city council district or more than one candidate for mayor, the voter's signature shall be valid only on the petition which is filed first in time with the city clerk.

(e) A registered voter may, but is not obligated, to sign both a candidate's nomination papers and an in lieu petition for that candidate. Any voter desiring to sign both a candidate's nomination papers and in lieu petition shall be obligated to sign each separately. The signing of one by a voter shall not be deemed automatically to constitute the signing of the other.

(f) A candidate may only obtain nomination papers for one council office at a time. If papers are obtained for one council office and the candidate decides to run for a different council office, the papers obtained for the initial office must be returned before the other papers are obtained. The city clerk shall furnish to each candidate, upon request, and without charge therefor, forms for securing signatures. The city clerk shall fill in the name of the candidate, the election date, and the office being filed for on all pertinent election forms. The forms may be issued at the time a candidate is issued nomination papers for the office of city council, or at any time after such issuance and before such nomination papers are filed with the city clerk. The in lieu petition shall be filed by the candidate with the city clerk at the time the nomination papers for that candidate are filed. The entire in lieu petition, and all pages thereof, shall be filed at one time with the nomination papers. A candidate shall not be entitled to file additional signatures either prior to or subsequent to the time of filing of the nomination papers.

(g) The petition shall be in such form as may be prescribed by the city clerk. Candidates shall utilize the forms provided by the city clerk. No forms prepared by the city clerk shall be altered. If a form is altered, it shall not be accepted for filing. Collection of signatures is not considered to be an alteration of a form.

(h) As soon as is practicable following filing of in lieu petitions, the city clerk shall examine such petitions, or cause such petitions to be examined, for the purpose of determining the number of valid signatures thereon. Upon completing examination of all petitions for the various candidates, the city clerk shall give written notice to each candidate of the number of valid signatures contained in the petition submitted by that candidate and the total credit which the candidate will be allowed toward the cost of the statement. Each candidate may submit more than the minimum number of signatures required to obtain a statement cost fully paid by the city to allow for subsequent losses due to invalidity of some signatures. The clerk shall not be required to determine the validity of more than two hundred fifty signatures for candidates for mayor or one hundred signatures for candidates for any city council district. Candidates shall not be allowed additional time in which to collect supplemental signatures in the event the number of valid signatures is less than the number required in subsection (a) of this section to obtain a statement cost fully paid by the city.

(i) For the purposes of this section, the requisite number of signatures shall be computed from the latest registration figures forwarded to the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 2187 of the Elections Code prior to the first day on which petitions are available.

(j) If the number of signatures affixed to an in lieu petition filed pursuant to this section is one hundred or more, the city clerk may use a random sampling technique for the verification of signatures as set out in Section 8084 of the Elections Code.

(Ord. 2065-83 § 1; Ord. 2691-02 § 1; Ord. 3152-19 § 1; Ord. 3180-21 § 1)