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Posted: July 25, 2019
Rapid City
Agenda Item Summary

Agenda Item Ref. #: LF073119 12

Agenda Item Title:

Second Reading and Recommendation of Ordinance No. 6352, An Ordinance Removing the Requirement to have a Runoff Election for Municipal Offices by Repealing Section 1.16.030 of the Rapid City Municipal Code

Origination Group:
Legal & Finance Committee
Origination Meeting Date:
07/31/2019
Stage 2 Group Name:
Legal & Finance Committee
Stage 2 Meeting Date:
08/14/2019
City Council First Reading Date:
08/05/2019
City Council Second Reading Date:
08/19/2019
Staff Contact:
Joel Landeen, City Attorney
Agenda Item Summary:
Prior to July 1st, 2009, a candidate for municipal office was required to receive a majority of the votes cast (50% plus 1) to be elected to office. The legislature changed the law so that the person who received the most votes could be elected to office, even if the person received less than the majority of the votes cast. State law allowed municipalities to adopt an ordinance that retained the requirement that candidates for municipal office obtain a majority of the votes cast to be elected to office. Rapid City adopted Ordinance #5520 in 2009 in order to require candidates to receive a majority of the votes cast to be elected. Since the ordinance was adopted, there have been eight runoff elections for alderman and one runoff election for mayor. In every single runoff election since the ordinance was adopted, the candidate who received the most votes in the original election was the same candidate who was elected in the runoff. While the additional election did not alter the result, it did cost the taxpayers approximately $25,000. Since the ordinance was adopted these additional elections have cost the taxpayers several hundred thousand dollars and have not changed a single result. Based on ten (10) years of evidence that runoff elections have little to no impact, but do result in increased costs to the taxpayer, I would recommend that Ordinance #5520 be repealed and we rely on the language in SDCL 9-13-25. This provision states that the candidate who receives the most votes for any office shall be elected.

Funding Source & Fiscal Impact (if applicable):

Funding Cost Center
There is no funding source, but if adopted it would save money by avoiding the additional cost of a municipal runoff election which is approximately $25,000.

Recommendations:

Origination Recommendation Action:
Approve
City Council Options:
If you are uncomfortable relying completely on state law, I think you could amend the existing ordinance to require a runoff election only where the candidate with the highest number of votes did not receive a minimum threshold percentage of the votes cast. (i.e. if the candidate with the most votes received less than 35% of the votes cast a runoff would be required)

Attachments & Links to Download:

pdf LF073119 12 Ordinance No. 6352

Published in 2019 - LF Agenda Items
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