Delaware Code Title 22 Sec. 813 – Referendum
(a) Conduct of election; ballots; expenses. — On the day and during the hours specified for any referendum, the proposed charter amendment or amendments shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the municipal corporation. The official or officials thereof whose duty it is to arrange for and conduct the regular municipal elections shall perform the same duties so far as relevant to the referendum election on the proposed charter amendment or amendments. The referendum election shall be conducted generally according to the procedures and practices observed for regular municipal elections, except as specifically or necessarily modified by this subchapter. The wording specified in the proposal for a charter amendment or amendments shall be placed on the ballots or voting machines used at the referendum election. The expenses of the referendum election and all necessary or proper expenses of a charter commission shall be defrayed by the municipal corporation.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 22 Sec. 813
- Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
- Charter amendment: means language which will amend, adopt or repeal a municipal charter. See Delaware Code Title 22 Sec. 801
- Chief executive officer: means the mayor if such there be or, if there be none, then it means the president of the legislative body of a municipal corporation or, if there be none, then it means the presiding officer of the legislative body of a municipal corporation. See Delaware Code Title 22 Sec. 801
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Municipal corporation: includes all cities, towns and villages created before or after December 28, 1961, under any general or special law of this State for general governmental purposes which possess legislative, administrative and police powers for the general exercise of municipal functions and which carry on such functions through a set of elected and other officials. See Delaware Code Title 22 Sec. 801
- State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
(b) Officials to tally and certify results. — The official or officials charged with the duty to arrange for and conduct the referendum, promptly following the closing of the polls, shall tally the results thereof and shall forthwith certify the results of the referendum to the chief executive officer of the municipal corporation.
(c) Proclamation of result; effective date of amendment. — The chief executive of the municipal corporation shall proclaim the result of the referendum within 10 days after receiving certification from the official or officials who tally the vote. If a majority of those who vote on any question submitted to the voters of the municipal corporation shall cast their votes in favor of the proposed charter amendment or amendments, it shall be adopted; provided, however, that no charter amendment so adopted will be effective until the chief executive officer files copies thereof with the Governor, President Pro Tem of the Senate, Speaker of the House, Secretary of State and the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau, and until the General Assembly shall have been in session 30 calendar days after such filing. During said 30-day period, failure of the General Assembly by statute to negate such charter amendment by a two-thirds majority of all members elected to each House thereof shall be deemed to be an assent by the General Assembly thereto and the charter amendment shall be as effective as if enacted into law by a statute of this State. Neither shall a charter amendment be effective until final adjudication of an action brought for judicial review of charter referendum pursuant to § 820 of this title.
22 Del. C. 1953, § ?813; 53 Del. Laws, c. 260.;