Ordinance committee advances change to registrar-of-voters hours to common council

Ordinance committee members voted July 15 to send a proposed amendment to Chapter 9, Article 4, Section 9-10 (Registrar of Voters) to the full common council for consideration.

The change would allow the mayor to extend office hours for the registrar of voters and would require that the registrar or a designee be present in the office to assist the public during posted hours and extended hours. Committee members said the change is intended to increase availability around elections.

Committee members opened a public hearing on the amendment; no members of the public attended and the committee reported receiving no emails about the item. After brief discussion among members, the committee moved the amendment to the full common council. The committee vote passed with six members in favor.

No formal amendments to the proposed text were recorded during the committee discussion. The committee did not take further direction to staff beyond forwarding the ordinance to the council. The measure will return to the full common council for deliberation and any final vote.

Background: The proposed change appears limited to the city ordinance language for the registrar of voters (Chapter 9, Article 4, Section 9-10) and focuses on hours and on-site availability; the committee packet included the proposed text sent to members prior to the meeting. The committee chair noted the change is small and designed to make the registrar’s office more available for voters, especially during elections.

No public hearing testimony or written public comments were recorded on this item at the committee meeting.