Special Opelika City Election on August 24th

June 21, 2010

The Opelika City Council members reconvened in the City Council Chambers at Opelika City Hall Friday morning to consider the Ordinance which calls for a special City election to be held on August 24^th for the citizens in Ward 5 to vote for a new Council member, after the tragic and unexpected death of Ward 5 Council member, Dr. William Lazenby. Ordinance No. 111-10 passed.

What this means for citizens in Ward 5: There will be a special municipal election held on Tuesday, August 24, 2010 for the purpose of electing a Council Member for City Council Place Number 5.

Qualification Dates and Requirements

Qualifications begin Tuesday, June 22, 2010 and will last through July 6, 2010. Candidates must meet the following criteria to be able to qualify:

Must reside within the boundaries of District No. 5
Must have resided within District No. 5 for thirty (30) days or more immediately preceding the date of such election, and who are qualified to vote in the county precinct which embraces and covers that part of the corporate limits of the City of Opelika in which the elector resides.
Must file a statement of candidacy with the City Clerk between June 22^nd and July 6^th at 5:00 p.m. The City Clerk’s office is located on the 2^nd floor of Opelika City Hall, located at 204 South 7^th Street in downtown Opelika.

Voting Dates

Polls for the Special Election in District No. 5, which are located at the Alabama Army National Guard Armory, located at 300 Consumer Avenue, will open at 7:00 a.m. and will close at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 24, 2010.

For those residents of District No. 5, who will be out of town for the elections on August 24, 2010, absentee ballots may be cast. Applications for “Absentee Ballots” can be filled out in the City Clerk’s Office from Tuesday, August 10, 2010 until Thursday, August 19, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. You will be required to provide “Voter Identification” at the time you fill out the application. For more information on this, please feel free to contact Mr. Robert Shuman, Opelika City Clerk, at (334) 705-5110.

According to Ordinance No. 111-10 “the Council shall meet in the Council Chambers in the Municipal Building at 12:00 Noon on Tuesday, August 31, 2010, for the purpose of canvassing the results and declaring the results of the election. The record of the results of the election shall be recorded in the minutes and proceedings of the Council and when so recorded shall be conclusive evidence of the matters stated and the validity of the election unless contested as required by law.”

Runoff Election

Should a runoff election be required, it shall be held on Tuesday, October 12, 2010. And, according to the Ordinance “…the Council shall meet in the Council Chambers in the Municipal Building at 12:00 Noon on Tuesday, October 19, 2010, for the purpose of canvassing the results and declaring the results of the runoff election. The record of the results of the runoff election, if required, shall be recorded in the minutes and proceedings of the Council and when so recorded shall be conclusive evidence of the matters therein stated and the validity of the runoff election, unless contested as required by law.”