The Cottonwood Community Awareness Group heard a presentation on the city’s election process by City Clerk Tami Mayes during its meeting Tuesday, Feb. 27.
The city council consists of seven members, a mayor, a vice mayor and five council members, all of whom serve four-year terms. The terms are staggered, with the mayor and three council members’ terms expiring in 2024 and the other three council members’ terms expiring in 2026.
The primary election for the city will take place on July 30; voters must be registered by July 1. The general election will be held on Nov. 5, and voters must be registered by Oct. 7. Mayes added that a general election is not needed for any seat for which any candidate receives the majority of votes cast at the primary election.
If no candidate receives a majority of votes cast during the primary election, then the primary election is considered a true primary for the nomination of candidates and a general election is a runoff held to vote for those candidates.
In the general election for council, the candidates who receive the greatest numbers of votes will be declared elected to office, if they reach 50% plus 1 vote of the total number of votes cast. If two or more candidates receive an equal number of votes for the same office, a rarity, the city clerk will draw lots to determine the winner.
To run for city council, an individual must be a qualified elector, meaning that they must be a U.S. citizen, be 18 years of age or older, have established Arizona residency for 29 days prior to the election, have not been convicted of treason or a felony and have the ability to write their own name or mark unless prevented by physical disability. The city has additional requirements, including being 18 or older by the date of filing nomination papers, the ability to write, speak and read English and to have city residency for one year prior to the election.
In Cottonwood, individuals must be nominated for office in the primary through a petition process, which Mayes explained is the only way to place a candidate’s name on the ballot. The first step is to get an election packet from the City Clerk and to sign a statement of interest form. Candidates for council must obtain at least 122 and no more than 244 nominating signatures from city residents; the number is calculated using the total number of votes cast for the mayor’s office in the election the mayor was selected.
As of press time, there are three candidates for mayor and eight running for the three open seats on council.
Mayes also addressed write-in candidates and the process for allowing a qualified elector who missed the deadline to put their name on the ballot. A write-in candidate is someone who has not circulated petitions so their name will not appear on the ballot.
Once a mayor and council members are elected, they will have 20 days following the canvass of the general election votes to assume their office.
Election dates to remember:
- Arizona presidential preference election: March 19.
- Federal, state and city primary elections: July 30.
- Federal, state and city general elections: Nov. 5.
Residents can register to vote online at ServiceArizona.com.
