§ 92. Signatures and affidavits to petitions filed under three preceding sections; form of submission of ordinance; all city elections to conform to state law.

The signatures to petitions filed under the provisions of the last three sections [§§ 89—91] need not be all on one paper or one sheet of paper, but separate petitions may be circulated and signed and the aggregate number of names on all of such petitions, if equal to the number required in this act [this Charter], shall be sufficient. The circulator of each paper shall make and append thereto an affidavit that each signature thereon is the signature of the person whose name it purports to be. The residence address of each signer shall accompany the signature. All such petitions shall be filed with the city clerk and shall be deemed and held to be sufficient if they appear to be signed by the requisite number of signers and such signers shall be deemed and held to be qualified voters, unless a protest in writing, under oath, shall be filed with the city clerk by some qualified voter within fifteen days after such petitions are filed, which protest shall set forth the name of each signer protested against and the ground therefor. It shall be the duty of the city clerk as soon as possible and within twenty-four hours after the filing of such protest to mail a notice to each signer so protested against at his address as given in the petition, requiring him to be and appear before the city registrars at a time fixed in said notice, not less than twenty-four hours nor more than forty-eight hours after the mailing of such notice, for the purpose of defending his right to sign said petition. If it shall be proven by satisfactory evidence that such person is not a qualified signer of such petition, then his name shall be stricken therefrom. All evidence taken shall be under oath, and any signer present at the hearing may be called as a witness by the protestant or testify in his own behalf. All hearings shall be summary and shall be concluded within fifteen days after such petition is filed. The city registrars [see § 9] shall forthwith certify the result of their examination to the city clerk and such city clerk shall serve a copy of such certificate upon the person or persons named in the petition as representing the signers thereof. When the petition contains a sufficient number of qualified signatures the city registrars shall forthwith file the same with the city clerk, and he shall transmit the same to the city council, which shall call an election as provided for in the three preceding sections [§§ 89—91] of this act [this Charter]. All petitions filed in the city clerk's office shall be public records. When any petition contains a form of submission of the ordinance petitioned for and such form is a reasonably fair description thereof, the same shall be placed on the ballot and no petition filed subsequently shall be permitted to use any form of submission that is so similar to the one previously filed as to tend to confuse the voter, and, in case of such conflict, the person presenting the subsequent petition may file a form of submission which shall be placed upon the ballot, provided, the same shall fairly describe the ordinance, or amendment to an ordinance, petitioned for and shall not be in conflict with any prior forms of submission or tend to confuse the voter.

The city council shall so frame all forms of submission that the voter can, by making a cross in a square in front of some appropriate words, vote either for the ratification or the rejection of the proposed measure, but no ballot shall be rejected from which the reasonable intention of the voter however he shall have marked the same, can be ascertained. All city elections, regular or special, shall conform as nearly as possible to the election statutes contained in chapter 3 of the Code of West Virginia.