ELECTIONS

Reno City Charter art. V

in effect

Reno City Charter, art. V, § 5.010 General elections. [Effective January 1, 2024.]

Sec. 5.010 - General elections. [Effective January 1, 2024.] 1. On the date fixed by the election laws of the State for the statewide general election in November 2002, and at each successive interval of 6 years, there must be elected at the general election, a Municipal Judge, who holds office for a term of 6 years and until his or her successor has been elected and qualified. 2. On the date fixed by the election laws of the State for the statewide general election in November 2002, and at each successive interval of 4 years, there must be elected at the general election, a Mayor, Council Members from the second and fourth wards, and a City Attorney, all of whom hold office for a term of 4 years and until their successors have been elected and qualified. 3. On the date fixed by the election laws of the State for the statewide general election in November 2004, and at each successive interval of 6 years, there must be elected at the general election, one or more Municipal Judges, other than the Municipal Judge referred to in subsection 1, all of whom hold office for a term of 6 years and until their successors have been elected and qualified. 4. On the date fixed by the election laws of the State for the statewide general election in November 2004, and at each successive interval of 4 years, there must be elected at the general election, Council Members from the first, third and fifth wards all of whom hold office for a term of 4 years and until their successors have been elected and qualified. 5. On the date fixed by the election laws of the State for the statewide general election in November 2024, and at each successive interval of 4 years, there must be elected at the general election a Council Member from the sixth ward, who holds office for a term of 4 years and until his or her successor has been elected and qualified. 6. In the general election: (a) A candidate for the office of Council Member must be elected only by the registered voters of the ward that the candidate seeks to represent. (b) Candidates for the offices of Mayor, Municipal Judge and City Attorney must be elected by the registered voters of the city at large. (Ch. 662, Stats. 1971 p. 1977; A—Ch. 561, Stats. 1977 p. 1395; Ch. 373, Stats. 1979 p. 645; Ch. 9, Stats. 1993 p. 21; Ch. 87, Stats. 2001 p. 557; Ch. 349, Stats. 2013 p. 1828; Ch. 584, Stats. 2017 p. 4200, 4201, effective January 1, 2024)

Reno City Charter, art. V, § 5.020 Primary elections; declaration of candidacy. [Effective January 1, 2024.]

Sec. 5.020 - Primary elections; declaration of candidacy. [Effective January 1, 2024.] 1. A candidate for any office to be voted for at an election must file a declaration of candidacy with the City Clerk. All filing fees collected by the City Clerk must be deposited to the credit of the General Fund of the City. 2. If for any general election, there are three or more candidates for any office to be filled at that election, a primary election for any such office must be held on the date fixed by the election laws of the State for statewide elections, at which time there must be nominated candidates for the office to be voted for at the next general election. If for any general election there are two or fewer candidates for any office to be filled at that election, their names must not be placed on the ballot for the primary election but must be placed on the ballot for the general election. The general election must be held on the date fixed by the election laws of the State for the statewide general election. 3. In the primary election: (a) The names of the two candidates for Municipal Judge, City Attorney or a particular City Council seat, as the case may be, who receive the highest number of votes must be placed on the ballot for the general election. (b) Candidates for Council Member must be voted upon only by the registered voters of the ward that the candidate seeks to represent. (c) Candidates for Mayor, Municipal Judge and City Attorney must be voted upon by all registered voters of the City. (Ch. 662, Stats. 1971 p. 1977; A—Ch. 9, Stats. 1993 p. 22; Ch. 462, Stats. 1993 p. 1468; Ch. 210, Stats. 1997 p. 738; Ch. 570, Stats. 1997 p. 2791, 2796; Ch. 686, Stats. 1997 p. 3481; Ch. 100, Stats. 1999 p. 274; Ch. 376, Stats. 2005 p. 1438; Ch. 349, Stats. 2013 p. 1829; Ch. 584, Stats. 2017 p. 4202, effective January 1, 2024)

Reno City Charter, art. V, § 5.030 Applicability of state election laws; elections under City Council control.

Sec. 5.030 - Applicability of state election laws; elections under City Council control. 1. All elections held pursuant to this Charter must be governed by the provisions of the election laws of this State, so far as those laws can be made applicable and are not inconsistent herewith. 2. The conduct of all elections must be under the control of the City Council. For the conduct of elections, for the prevention of fraud in those elections, and for the recount of ballots in cases of doubt or fraud, the City Council shall adopt by ordinance all regulations which it considers desirable and consistent with law and this Charter. (Ch. 662, Stats. 1971 p. 1978; A—Ch. 9, Stats. 1993 p. 23)

Reno City Charter, art. V, § 5.040 Qualifications, registration of voters.

Sec. 5.040 - Qualifications, registration of voters. 1. Every person who resides within the City at the time of holding any election, and whose name appears upon the official register of voters in and for the City, is entitled to vote at each election, whether special, primary or general, and for all officers to be voted for and on all questions that may be submitted to the people at any primary, general or special election, except as otherwise provided in this article. 2. The City Council may provide for supplemental registration. (Ch. 662, Stats. 1971 p. 1978; A—Ch. 561, Stats. 1977 p. 1396; Ch. 9, Stats. 1993 p. 23)

Reno City Charter, art. V, § 5.050 Names on ballots.

Sec. 5.050 - Names on ballots. 1. The full names of all candidates, except those who have withdrawn, died or become ineligible, must be printed on the official ballots without party designation or symbol. 2. If two or more candidates have the same surname or surnames so similar as to be likely to cause confusion and: (a) None of them is an incumbent, their middle names or middle initials, if any, must be included in their names as printed on the ballot; or (b) One of them is an incumbent, the name of the incumbent must be listed first and must be printed in bold type. (Ch. 662, Stats. 1971 p. 1978; A—Ch. 312, Stats. 2003 p. 1730)

Reno City Charter, art. V, § 5.060 Ballots for ordinances and Charter amendments.

Sec. 5.060 - Ballots for ordinances and Charter amendments. An ordinance or Charter amendment to be voted on in the City shall be presented for voting by ballot title. The ballot title of a measure may differ from its legal title and shall be a clear, concise statement describing the substance of the measure without argument or prejudice. Below the ballot title shall appear the following question: "Shall the above described (ordinance) (amendment) be adopted?" The ballot or voting machine or device shall be so marked as to indicate clearly in what manner the voter may cast his or her vote, either for or against the ordinance or amendment. (Ch. 662, Stats. 1971 p. 1978; A—Ch. 669, Stats. 1971 p. 2055)

Reno City Charter, art. V, § 5.070 Availability of lists of registered voters.

Sec. 5.070 - Availability of lists of registered voters. If, for any purpose relating to an election or to candidates or issues involved in that election, any organization, group or person requests a list of registered voters of the City, the department, office or agency which has custody of the official register of voters shall, except as otherwise provided in NRS 293.5002 and 293.558, permit the organization, group or person to copy the voters' names and addresses from the official register of voters or furnish such a list upon payment of the cost established by the election laws of the State. (Ch. 662, Stats. 1971 p. 1979; A—Ch. 561, Stats. 1977 p. 1396; Ch. 9, Stats. 1993 p. 23; Ch. 581, Stats. 2001 p. 2972; Ch. 470, Stats. 2005 p. 2304; Ch. 349, Stats. 2013 p. 1830)

Reno City Charter, art. V, § 5.080 Watchers and challengers.

Sec. 5.080 - Watchers and challengers. A candidate is entitled upon written application to the election authorities at least 5 days before the election to appoint two persons to represent him or her as watchers and challengers at each polling place where voters may cast their ballots for him or her. A person so appointed has all the rights and privileges prescribed by watchers and challengers under the election laws of this State. The watchers and challengers may exercise their rights throughout the voting and until the ballots have been counted. (Ch. 662, Stats. 1971 p. 1979)

Reno City Charter, art. V, § 5.090 Voting machines.

Sec. 5.090 - Voting machines. The City Council may provide for the use of mechanical or other devices for voting or counting the votes not inconsistent with law or regulations of the Secretary of State. (Ch. 662, Stats. 1971 p. 1979)

Reno City Charter, art. V, § 5.100 Election returns; canvass; certificates of election; entry of officers upon duties; tie vote procedure.

Sec. 5.100 - Election returns; canvass; certificates of election; entry of officers upon duties; tie vote procedure. 1. The election returns from any special, primary or general election must be filed with the City Clerk, who shall immediately place those returns in a safe or vault, and no person may handle, inspect or in any manner interfere with those returns until canvassed by the City Council. 2. The City Council and City Manager shall meet within 10 days after any election and canvass the returns and declare the result. The election returns must then be sealed and kept by the City Clerk for 6 months, and no person may have access thereto except on order of a court of competent jurisdiction or by order of the City Council. 3. The City Clerk, under his or her hand and official seal, shall issue to each person declared to be elected a certificate of election. The officers elected shall qualify and enter upon the discharge of their respective duties at the first regular City Council meeting following their election. 4. If any election results in a tie, the City Council shall summon the candidates who received the tie vote and determine the tie as provided in this subsection. The City Clerk shall provide and open in the presence of the candidates who received the tie vote an unused 52-card deck of playing cards, removing any jokers and blank cards. The City Clerk shall shuffle the cards thoroughly and present the shuffled deck to the City Manager, or to the person designated by the City Manager for this purpose. One of the candidates who received the tie vote shall then draw one card from the deck, and the City Clerk shall record the suit and number of the card. The card then must be returned to the deck, and the City Clerk shall shuffle the cards thoroughly and present the shuffled deck to the City Manager, or to the person designated by the City Manager for this purpose, and another of the candidates who received the tie vote shall draw one card from the deck. This process must be repeated until each of the candidates who received the tie vote has drawn one card from the deck and the result of each draw has been recorded. The candidate who draws the high card shall be deemed the winner of the election. For the purposes of this subsection, aces are high and twos are low. If the candidates draw cards of otherwise equal value, the card of the higher suit is the high card. Spades are highest, followed in descending order by hearts, clubs and diamonds. The City Clerk shall issue to the winner a certificate of election. (Ch. 662, Stats. 1971 p. 1979; A—Ch. 561, Stats. 1977 p. 1396; Ch. 373, Stats. 1979 p. 646; Ch. 9, Stats. 1993 p. 24; Ch. 349, Stats. 2013 p. 1830)

Reno City Charter, art. V, § 5.110 Contest of election.

Sec. 5.110 - Contest of election. A contested election for any municipal office shall be determined according to the law of the State regulating proceedings in contested elections in political subdivisions. (Ch. 662, Stats. 1971 p. 1979)

Reno City Charter, art. V, § 5.120 Reports of Campaign Contributions.

Sec. 5.120 - Reports of Campaign Contributions. 1. The City Council shall adopt an ordinance requiring the Mayor and each member of the City Council to report contributions received during every year other than the year in which the general election for that office is held. 2. The reports required by an ordinance adopted pursuant to subsection 1 must be in addition to the reports required by chapter 294A of NRS. 3. As used in this section, "contribution" has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 294A.007. (Added—Ch. 584, Stats. 2017 p. 4200)

Source: City of Reno, Nevada, Administrative Code, City Charter and Annexation and Land Development Code (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/nv/reno/codes/administrative_code?nodeId=PT1RECH_ARTVELFetched: 11/1/2026