1.35.20 General Guidelines for St. Paul Island Tribal Elections.
(a) Secret Ballots. All tribal elections shall be conducted by secret balloting.
(b) Preparing Ballots. Ballots shall be prepared as directed by the St. Paul Island Tribal Council.
(c) Outcome of Elections.
(1) Elections for Tribal Council Members. The highest number of votes received by candidates shall determine the outcome of elections for Council members.
(2) Special Elections. The outcome of special elections shall be determined by a simple majority (greater than fifty percent (50%)) of qualified voters casting their votes during the election unless otherwise provided by the St. Paul Constitution or by code.
(d) Election Formats. Elections shall take place during polling hours to be set by the St. Paul Island Tribal Council; provided, that in the event of a tie in elections for Tribal Council members, an election to break the tie may be held at the Annual Tribal Membership Meeting following the close of the polls and the counting of all votes.
(e) Ballot Box. Cast ballots shall be kept in a locked ballot box until the votes are counted by the Election Judges.
(f) Unclear Ballots. If an unclear ballot is received, that ballot shall be reviewed by the Election Committee to determine if it should be discarded in whole or part. The number of such discarded ballots shall be noted in the Certification of the Election.
(g) Proxies. Proxy voting shall not be permitted.
(h) Notice of Elections. Notice of tribal elections shall be posted in at least three public places in St. Paul, a minimum of seventy (70) days prior to elections for Tribal Council members, and a minimum of forty-five (45) days prior to special elections, unless a different length of time is otherwise specified by the Tribal Constitution or by tribal ordinance.
(i) Campaigning Distance from Polls. There shall be no campaigning, or materials used for campaigning, within five hundred (500) feet of any tribal election place. Noncompliance with this section as determined by the Election Judges automatically disqualifies a candidate for the election.
(j) Tie Votes and Run-Off Elections. In the event of a tie for a Tribal Council seat, the run-off election shall be held at the annual meeting following the close of the election polls. For other elections, the measure shall fail if the result is a tie vote. [Certificate of Adoption passed April 22nd, 2008; 2008 Code § 1.7.2]