Election board recommends July 13 special election to fill Riverdale Park Ward 5 vacancy

The Riverdale Park Board of Elections voted to recommend that the mayor and council schedule a special election to fill a Ward 5 vacancy on Sunday, July 13. Committee member (S3) moved the recommendation and Chair (S2) seconded; the board approved the recommendation by voice vote.

Jessica (S4), the board’s elections staff member, told the group that the town code (chapter 2, article 2) requires a special election to be held no sooner than 30 days and no later than 45 days after a vacancy is declared. She said the mayor and council plan to declare the vacancy on June 2 when newly sworn officials take office, producing a possible election window between July 2 and July 17. "There will be no surprise that there is some ambiguity in the code," Jessica said, noting a recent change to the regular-election filing deadline created uncertainty about the appropriate special-election filing period.

To resolve that ambiguity, the town attorney recommended using a 25-day filing deadline for the special election instead of the 65-day regular-election deadline. Working backward from the recommended July 13 election date, the board calculated a candidate filing deadline of Wednesday, June 18, and agreed the board must be available to review any candidate packets by then. "So that's the date we really need to make sure that we have the board available to review candidate packets," Jessica said.

The board also discussed contingency steps if no candidate qualifies by the filing deadline. Jessica read the relevant code language: "If this special election is canceled due to a lack of valid candidates, the mayor shall appoint within 45 days after the declaration of the vacancy, with confirmation of a majority of the remaining council members, a qualified person from the ward." She and other members said that if no ward resident can be found after public notice, the mayor may appoint a qualified person from the town at large following publication.

Members considered practical logistics for a short-notice special election, including staffing, ballot printing and counting, a ballot drop box site in Ward 5 and mail‑in ballot handling. Jessica said ElecTech can print ballots within a day or two if the board chooses that route, but for a small special election the board could also hand-count ballots. A board member proposed placing a temporary drop box near the bridge in Ward 5; Jessica said the board had already identified a location and could prepare it quickly.

The board discussed turnout patterns when deciding between Sunday and Monday voting; members recalled higher turnout on the Sunday early‑voting day and ultimately amended the motion to recommend the specific date of July 13. Committee member (S3) moved that the board "invite the council to consider setting the date of the election for a Sunday," later amending to July 13; Chair (S2) seconded and the motion passed by voice vote.

The board scheduled preparatory work and meetings: Jessica said she will draft public notices for the town crier and prepare mail‑in ballot materials; the board planned to meet the week of June 4 to finalize logistics and to convene on June 18 (the filing deadline) to review any candidate packets. The recommendation will be presented to the mayor and council at their June 2 meeting when the vacancy is formally declared.

The board did not bind the mayor and council; its action is a recommendation for council consideration. If the council sets a different date or timetable, the filing deadline and other logistics would be recalculated accordingly.