City of Hyattsville - File #: HCC-96-FY21

• File #: HCC-96-FY21
• Version: 1
• Type: Consent Item
• Status: Passed
• File created: 10/11/2020
• In control: City Council
• On agenda: 10/19/2020
• Final action: 10/19/2020
• Title: Schedule Public Hearing for Hyattsville Charter Amendment Resolution 2020-01: Election Day, Certification of Election, and Council Organizational Meeting
• Sponsors: City Administrator
• Indexes: Charter Amendment, Legislative
• Related files: HCC-9-FY21, HCC-97-FY21, HCC-154-FY21, HCC-204-FY21, HCC-153-FY21

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
10/19/2020	1	City Council	Approved	Pass

Submitted by: Laura Reams
Submitting Department: City Clerk
Agenda Section: Consent

Item Title:
title
Schedule Public Hearing for Hyattsville Charter Amendment Resolution 2020-01: Election Day, Certification of Election, and Council Organizational Meeting
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Suggested Action:
recommendation
I move the Mayor and Council schedule a Public Hearing on Monday, November 16 at 6:30 PM for Hyattsville Charter Amendment Resolution 2020-01, a resolution amending Article II of the City of Hyattsville's Charter to alter the day in which the newly elected Mayor and Council take office and alter the day of the Mayor and Council's organizational meeting; amending Article 4 IV of the City's Charter to alter Election Day, change the time by which certification of the Election must take place and include related clarifying language.
end

Summary Background:
In November 2018, Mayor Hollingsworth and Councilmembers Ward, Suiter, and Lawrence submitted a motion proposing the City make revisions to the Election Code necessary to enable the Board of Elections Supervisors to distribute, proactively, a Vote-by-Mail ballot to all registered voters in the City of Hyattsville (on State and city-only registries) and appropriate funds necessary to support this effort in the 2021 municipal election. Council discussed the motion on November 19, 2018. Council indicated support for bringing the proposal back for further discussion after evaluation by the Board of Supervisors of Elections. The Board made a commitment to Council to research the feasibility and logistics of moving to a Vote-by-Mail system post-Election 2019.

Since that time, and with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a renewed national initiative for Vote-by-Mail elections. Locally, several elections have been held by mail including the State primary and the Cities of Rockville and New Carrollton. Benefits of an all Vote-by-Mail election include increased voter turnout and civic engagement.

The Board and...