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Shelby council advances charter amendment to align candidate filing deadline with county
Summary
Shelby City Council voted to move a proposed charter amendment to the ballot that would change the city's candidate filing deadline from 75 days to 90 days before an election, a change the Board of Elections says would allow residents time to challenge petitions.
Shelby City Council moved on June 16 to send a proposed charter amendment to voters that would change the city's candidate filing deadline from 75 days to 90 days before an election; the first reading passed on a roll-call vote of the four members present.
Supporters told the council the change would bring Shelby into alignment with the rest of the county and give residents an opportunity to file challenges to candidate petitions.
Councilman McCullough, the ordinance's sponsor, said the measure failed by a 3-2 vote last year and was postponed to let an absent member return and weigh in. Matt Fennepale, director of the Board of Elections, told the council Shelby voters currently lack the same window to challenge petitions that the rest of county residents have. "Shelby voters are are disenfranchised, because the law reads that if you wanna protest a candidate's petition, you have to do that by the close of business of the 74th day," Fennepale said, adding that because Shelby's filing deadline is shorter the board may not meet in time to accept a challenge under current rules. He recommended putting the change to voters rather than leaving the issue to council action alone.
Fennepale and Deputy Director James Zimmerman also explained operational effects: changing the deadline would require the board to adjust ballot layout schedules and could create duplicate certification work for county offices, which would add cost and timing complexity. Fennepale said that, despite the administrative impacts, the proposed amendment should be decided by Shelby voters.
Council members who spoke during the discussion backed moving the question to the ballot, saying the change simply extends the period residents have to contest petitions and does not change the basic petition process or the time available to collect signatures. The first reading passed by roll call; council indicated the matter will appear for additional readings before being placed on the ballot for voter approval.
The ordinance was recorded on the agenda as Order No. 15, 2025. No effective date for the change was set in the council action; the measure will advance to subsequent readings as required by council rules.
