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Haslet charter commission debates election rules, districting and runoffs
Summary
Members of the Haslet Charter Commission reviewed a draft Article 7 on elections and clashed over whether to use districts or at-large seats, whether runoffs should be required in small districts, and how to reference changing state law; commissioners agreed to add wording referencing the "current" Texas Constitution and Election Code and to seek public input.
The Haslet Charter Commission spent most of its meeting reviewing the elections article of a draft charter and weighing how to structure future city elections, including whether council seats should be elected by district or at-large and whether runoffs should be required in small districts.
The commission's elections subcommittee presented its outline — election authority, filing, ballot form and preparation, voting procedures, tabulation and canvassing, majority and runoff rules, recall, initiative and referendum, campaign finance and severability — and recommended deferring to the Texas Election Code where appropriate. "We tried to look at current charters, more current that would be more up to date with which would apply to us," a subcommittee presenter said (Speaker 1). Commissioners agreed to add an opener stating elections "shall be conducted in accordance with the then-current constitution and laws of the state of Texas."…
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