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Resident urges council to revise ordinance moving municipal elections to county ballot
Summary
A local resident asked council to reconsider the proposed municipal election ordinance timing and to clarify administrative responsibilities and costs if the city moves to use county ballots for municipal elections.
A Morgantown resident urged council on July 22 to revisit language in a municipal election ordinance and delay its start date so the city can align the change with upcoming census and redistricting work.
Caller California Carlson of the Fifth Ward told council that moving municipal elections onto the county ballot takes local control from municipalities and could reduce attention to municipal races. Carlson recommended the ordinance start in 2032 rather than 2030 to allow the city to incorporate the 2030 U.S. census and the 2031 legislative redistricting process into ward boundary planning.
Carlson asked council to clarify administrative questions in the ordinance, including whether candidate filing and nomination petitions would remain the responsibility of the city clerk or transfer to the county clerk, and whether campaign finance reports would still be filed with the city clerk. Carlson also said the fiscal memo accompanying the ordinance stated the county clerk described pro-rata costs as negligible, but he highlighted the per-voter cost implications for municipalities with different voter rolls and warned of additional campaign costs for candidates on larger county ballots.
The ordinance was not on the council’s agenda for the July 22 meeting; Carlson made his remarks during the public comment period. Councilors acknowledged receipt of his email and comment; no formal action was taken during the meeting.
