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City Council Agenda Form
City Council Meeting Date: 08/20/2019
Item No.
Subject: Ordinance No. XX-2019; amending Chapter 2 Administration, Article Ii City Council,
Division 1, Section 2-28 Code Of Conduct; regarding consideration of matters before the City
Council in furtherance of ensuring efficient, effective and decorous meetings; amending the
Codes of Conduct for City Council Members; Advisory Board and Committee Members; And
Further Protect The City From Possible Risks Related To Conducting Business Within The
City's Computer Network And Outside Of The Official City Website And Social Media
Platforms; And Prescribing Penalties For Violating Said Code As Specifically Set Forth
Hereunder; Providing For The Repeal Of Prior Inconsistent Ordinances And Resolutions;
Incorporation Into The Code; Severability; And An Effective Date.
Departments: City Clerk's Office and Community Services
Summary: The Brevard County Supervisor of Elections, on behalf of the City of Cape
Canaveral and all other cities/towns in Brevard County, conducts municipal elections. At its
Clerks Meeting of Monday, July 15, 2019, the Brevard County City Clerks' Association was
given a presentation by the Brevard County Supervisor of Elections (BCSOE) Lori Scott and
Staff, requesting cities/towns adjust their qualifying dates for the period to end 78 days prior to
the date of an election, allowing time for ballot processing. BCSOE Scott referred to a Florida
Secretary of State Directive (Attachment 1, Exhibit "A") and Governor Ron DeSantis Directive
(Attachment 2) for bilingual election materials. The Directives affect ballot requirements for the
2019 and 2020 elections and beyond. As a result, City Attorney Anthony Garganese drafted
Ordinance No. 14-2019 (Attachment 1) for City Council consideration.
The City is granted the authority, under Section 2(b), Article VIII, of the State Constitution, to
exercise any power for municipal purposes, except when expressly prohibited by law and is
empowered to adopt emergency ordinances by two-thirds vote of the members present pursuant
to Section 2.14 of the City Charter and generally under Section 166.041(3)(b), Florida Statutes.
Highlights of Ordinance No. 14-2019 include:
• Madera v. Lee, No. 1:18-cv-152-MW/GRJ (N.D. Fla. May 10, 2019) (hereinafter
"Election Case"); plaintiffs who are voters educated in Puerto Rico brought suit to
enforce the plain provisions of Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act and require Spanish
language ballots in certain elections held in the State of Florida; and
• On May 10, 2019, the Federal District Court issued a preliminary injunction in the
Election Case in favor of the plaintiffs requiring the provision of Spanish language
ballots in elections held in certain counties including Brevard County; and
• The preliminary injunction order states that "[c]ompliance with this Order is not
optional"; and
• The Election Case pertains to the application of Section 4(e) under the Voting Rights
Act of 1965 which contains a Congressional declaration that to secure the rights under
the fourteenth amendment of persons educated in American -flag schools (including
schools in Puerto Rico) in which the predominant classroom language was other than
English, it is necessary to prohibit the State from conditioning the right to vote of such
persons on the ability to read, write, understand, or interpret any matter in the English
language; and
Regular City Council Meeting
Date: 08/20/2019
Item No.
Page 2 of 3
• The Federal District Court's order emphasizes that it is ordering compliance with the
plain language of Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by requiring Spanish
language ballots, and the Florida Secretary of State conceded in the Election Case that
compliance is not optional; and
• Pursuant to the Secretary of State Directive, Supervisor of Elections were directed to not
only have official Spanish language ballots and other election materials prepared before
voting related to the March 17, 2020 presidential primary election, including early voting
and vote -by -mail, but the directive also requires that Supervisor of Elections running
municipal elections between the date of the May 10, 2019 Federal District Court Order
through March 16, 2020 to provide facsimile sample ballots and other election materials
in Spanish to voters who fall within the ambit of Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act.
The BCSOE will be conducting the City election on November 5, 2019, and has requested the
City of Cape Canaveral complete and provide all ballot referendum language and a list of
qualified Council candidates meeting the deadline of no later than 78 days prior to the City
election, Monday, August 19, 2019. Pursuant to Section 26-3 of the City Code, the current
qualifying period for all candidates running for office shall be at any time after Noon of the 88th
day prior to the general election and no later than Noon of the 74th day. As such, the City's
current qualifying deadline for the 2019 City Election must be shortened by four (4) days for
the City to comply with the request made by the BCSOE.
Therefore, in order to meet those Directives of the State and the BCSOE deadline of August 19,
2019, Staff recommends the City Council:
1. Declare that it supports the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the provisions of Section
4(e), and therefore, for purposes of complying with the directive given by BCSOE in
furtherance of the Federal District Court Order and the Secretary of State Directive, the
City Council desires to expeditiously modify the qualifying period for the City's 2019
election by shortening the qualifying period by 4 days so that the City Clerk may provide
all ballot referendum language and a list of Council candidates to the Brevard County
Supervisor of Elections no later than 78 days prior to the November 5, 2019 City
election; and
2. Declare that an emergency exists, due to the fact that Qualifying Candidates for the 2019
City Council Election commences in a few days on August 9, 2019, and therefore,
relevant to securing voting rights and conducting the 2019 City Election and that the use
of Ordinance No. 14-2019 is a legitimate and necessary action to take by the City Council
in order for the City to timely comply with the Spanish language ballot legal
requirements set forth in the Election Case and Secretary of State Directive; and
3. Declare intent to permanently amend the Qualifying Dates set forth in Section 26-3 of
the City Code by regular ordinance prior to the May 17, 2020 deadline expressed in the
Federal District Court Order.
Per Section 2 of the Emergency Ordinance:
The intent and purpose of this Section is to amend the qualifying dates only for the 2019 City
Council election. Notwithstanding the provisions set forth in Section 26-3, the qualifying period
for the 2019 City Election shall be as follows:
Regular City Council Meeting
Date: 08/20/2019
Item No.
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The qualifying period for candidates for the offices of the mayor and city council
shall be at any time after 12:00 noon of the 88th day prior to the general election
(August 9, 2019) and no later than 12:00 noon of the 78th day prior to the date of
the general election (August 19, 2019).
Per Section 3:
This Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon adoption by the City Council of the
City of Cape Canaveral, Florida, and shall stand repealed as of the 6l st day following the date
on which this Ordinance was adopted in accordance with Section 2.14 of the City Charter.
At the time of this writing, a Notice of Public Hearing advertisement for Ordinance No. 14-2019
was scheduled to appear in the legal section of Florida Today on Thursday, August 1, 2019.
Submitting Director: Mia Goforth and Joshua Surprenant Date:
Attachments:
(1) Ordinance No. 14-2019 with Exhibit "A" - Florida Secretary of State Directive 2019-03
"Spanish Assistance for Supervisor Run Municipal Elections."
(2) April 11, 2019 News Release "Governor Ron DeSantis Directs Florida Department of
State to Address Availability of Spanish Language Ballots for the 2020 Elections."
Financial Impact: Staff time/effort to prepare Agenda Item; cost of advertisement.
Reviewed by Administrative/Financial
Services Director: John DeLeo Date:
The City Manager recommends City Council take the following action:
Approve Ordinance No. XX-2019.
Approved by City Manager: David L. Greene Date: