Kennesaw schedules hearings to align candidate qualifying with Georgia Municipal Election Code

Presiding officer opened the June 30 work session and introduced two public hearings, including a proposed charter amendment to section 5.02 that would align the city’s candidate qualifying period with the Georgia Municipal Election Code, using the third Monday in August as the qualifying date. City staff said this is the first of two public hearings; the amendment was advertised June 27 in the MDJ and will be advertised again July 4 and July 11, with a final public hearing set for July 21.

City staff explained the change is procedural: it aligns the city’s qualifying window with Cobb Elections and state guidance so that qualifying would follow the Municipal Election Code’s calendar. Councilmembers asked whether the city could choose an earlier qualifying date; staff answered the city cannot establish an earlier date than the state code allows. One parallel update to Chapter 42 of the municipal code will be considered at a separate single public hearing on July 7 to make the same modification in another code location.

The council did not vote on the amendment at the work session; staff outlined the required advertisements and the date of the final public hearing. The item will return to the council for consideration after the second public hearing and statutory noticing requirements are met.