Athens City Charter

Section 1. Be it further enacted, That elections of Councilpersons under this charter shall be held under the same provisions of the State law under which elections are prescribed to be held for such officials as Sheriff or Trustee of McMinn County, in all things except as to the time and date thereof, upon legal notice of the same, published in one or more of the newspapers of general circulation in the city.

Section 2. Be it further enacted, That all candidates shall be eligible to have their names placed on ballots only on the same conditions and in the same manner prescribed for the placing on the ballot of the names of candidates for such offices as Trustee and Sheriff of McMinn County.

Section 3. Be it further enacted, That all city elections, including all elections respecting bond issues, shall be held under the supervision of the County Board of Election Commissioners, and in accordance with the law governing all State and County elections, as hereinbefore set out.

This section may be enforced by appropriate ordinance.

All persons living within the limits of such corporation who shall be qualified to vote for members of the Legislature of this state, and who shall have been a resident of the city for thirty (30) days preceding such elections, or any qualified voter living in McMinn County who owns fifty percent (50%) interest in developable land in the city shall be entitled to vote in the precinct where such person resides or owns land and to have their vote counted in such election. The Council may authorize the ballots for these non-resident property owners to be cast by mail only, pursuant to procedures approved by the State Coordinator of Elections. [As amended by Priv. Acts 1992, ch. 215, § 1; Priv. Acts 2000, ch. 83, § 1; and Priv. Acts 2002, ch. 114, § 1]

Section 4. Be it further enacted, That the terms of all City councilpersons shall begin on the third Tuesday in November following the date of their election. [As replaced by Priv. Acts 1998, ch. 164, § 1; and as amended by Priv. Acts 2024, ch. 60, § 3]

Section 5. Be it further enacted, That a non-partisan municipal election shall be held in the City on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November of each even-numbered year. The incumbent councilpersons whose terms expire in July of 1999 shall have their terms extended to the third Tuesday in November of 2000. The incumbent councilpersons whose terms expire in July 2001 shall have their terms extended to the third Tuesday in November of 2002. Ties will be resolved by a flip of the coin. The councilpersons shall be elected to terms of four (4) years or until their successors are elected and qualified. [As replaced by Priv. Acts 1998, ch. 164, § 1; and as amended by Priv. Acts 2024, ch. 60, § 3]

Section 6. Be it further enacted, That no informalities in conducting any election held under this charter shall invalidate it if such election is conducted fairly and in substantial conformity with the requirements of this article.

Section 7. Be it further enacted, That any person holding an elective office of the City, whether by election, succession, or appointment to fill a vacancy, shall be subject to removal from office at a recall election in the manner provided herein.

1. (1) A recall of an incumbent of an elective office shall be initiated upon petition signed by the registered voters of the City of Athens. All councilpersons currently in office or hereafter elected shall be subject to recall and the petition shall contain signatures equal in number to at least twenty percent (20%) of the registered voters for the City of Athens on the date of the city election preceding the filing of the petition. Every recall petition shall name the officer against whom it is directed.
2. (2) Each elector signing a recall petition shall add to his signature his occupation, his residence, and the date of signing. Signatures on a recall petition may be on separate sheets but each sheet shall have appended to it the affidavit of some person, not necessarily a signer of the petition, that to the best of the affiant's knowledge and belief the persons whose signatures appear on the sheet are registered voters of the city.
   
   (3) ¹ A recall petition shall be tendered for filing to the McMinn County Commissioners of Elections. Those persons filing a recall petition shall also file a cash bond with the McMinn County Election Commission, equal to the cost of the proposed recall election. The cash bond or the unused portion thereof shall be refunded to those persons if the recall petition is determined to be invalid, the incumbent resigns before the Election Commission calls the recall election, or before the election is held. If the vote for recall is successful and the named incumbents are removed from office, the cost of the election shall become an obligation of the City and the cash bond shall be refunded. The Election Commission shall examine the petition to see whether it contains a sufficient number of apparently genuine signatures. The board may question the genuineness of any signature or signatures appearing on the recall petition and if it shall find that any such signature or signatures are not genuine, it shall disregard them in determining whether the petition contains a sufficient number of signatures. It shall also disregard any signature dated more than sixty (60) days before the date of the petition was tendered for filing. The board shall eliminate any sheet of the petition which is not accompanied by the required affidavit. The invalidity of any sheet of the petition shall not affect the validity of the petition if a sufficient number of signatures remains after eliminating such an invalid sheet. The board shall complete its examination of the petition within fifteen (15) days and shall thereupon file the petition if valid or reject it if invalid.
3. (3) As soon as the Commissioners of Elections of McMinn County have accepted a recall petition for filing, the chairman of the board shall notify the incumbent named in the petition that the petition has been filed. Upon receipt of such notice the incumbent may resign from his office and thereupon the recall proceedings shall terminate.
4. (4) If the incumbent against whom a recall petition is directed does not resign from his office within ten days after notice of the filing of such petition shall have been given to him, the McMinn County Commissioners of Elections shall arrange a recall election. If a regular or special election is to be held not less than thirty days nor more than ninety days after the ten days have expired, the recall question shall be placed before the voters at such an election. Otherwise a special recall election shall be fixed for a date not earlier than thirty days nor later than ninety days after the ten days have expired. The incumbent against whom a recall petition is directed may resign at any time prior to the recall election and thereupon the election shall not be held.
5. (5) The following question shall be presented to each elector in a recall election:--"Shall (name of officer) be recalled and removed from the office of (name of office)?" The above question shall appear as to every officer whose recall is to be voted upon and provision shall be made for the elector to vote "Yes" or "No" in the question.
6. (6) If a majority of the registered voters who vote on the question at a recall election shall vote "Yes," the incumbent shall be deemed recalled and removed from office, but if a majority of the registered voters shall vote "No," he shall remain in office.
7. (7) No person who has been removed from an elective office by a recall election or who has resigned from such an office after a recall petition directed to him has been filed, shall be eligible for election or appointment to any office of the city within two years after his removal or resignation.
8. (8) No recall petition shall be filed against any incumbent of an elective office within the first year or the last six months of the term of his office or within six months after an unsuccessful recall election against him but an officer who has been re-elected for a successive term shall be subject to recall also during the first year of such term. [As amended by Priv. Acts 1959, ch. 105; Priv. Acts 1998, ch. 164, § 2; and Priv. Acts 2024, ch. 60, § 1]

¹Priv. Acts 1953, chapter 455 provided for two subsections (3) of Article IV, section 7. When Priv. Acts 1998, chapter 164 amended subsection (3) of Article IV, section 7, in the judgment of the compiler, it was in reference to this subsection.