The County of San Diego Registrar of Voters has found that a petition calling for a special election in Carlsbad’s City Council District 1 has sufficient valid voter signatures, 1,652 or 10 percent of registered voters in the district. A special City Council meeting is being planned for Friday, Nov. 8, at 8 a.m. to adopt resolutions accepting the registrar’s finding and scheduling a special election.
The next regularly scheduled City Council meeting is Nov. 12, but special City Council meetings may be called with 24 hours’ notice. The deadline for the March 3 election is Nov. 10.
Under the Carlsbad Municipal Code, the City Council may still appoint someone to fill the vacancy. If that happens, the new City Council member would serve until the special election.
ORIGINAL STORY 10/30/19
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 contained the required 1,652 signatures, city staff delivered 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.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. If that happens, the City Council may still proceed with the appointment process, and the person appointed would serve until the special election.
Office of the City Clerk
clerk@carlsbadca.gov
760-434-2808
