3.20.010 General qualifications for Tribal Council candidates.
Any Tribal member may announce their candidacy for Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, or a specific district seat on the Tribal Council. The Election Board shall review the candidacy and certify the candidacy if the following qualifications are met:
(a) Disclosure of Conviction for Fraud or Moral Turpitude. In accordance with Article III, Section 5(a) of the Constitution, the following requirements apply to all candidates for any Tribal office or appointee:
(1) No person who is a candidate for or elected to any Tribal office, or is to be appointed by the Yurok Council to any position of trust shall ever have been convicted of gross misconduct, been terminated from employment with the Tribe for theft, fraud, embezzlement, or have been convicted of a crime requiring registration as a sex offender and/or have been convicted or exonerated due to successful affirmative defense to murder.
(2) No person who is a candidate for or elected to any Tribal office, or is to be or has been appointed by the Yurok Council to any position of trust shall, at the time of candidacy, election or appointment, have been convicted of any violent felony or crime of moral turpitude within 10 years of the date of election or appointment.
(3) Every candidate for election or appointment to any Tribal office or position who ever has been convicted, or found not guilty due to an affirmative defense except self-defense, of any felony or crime of moral turpitude shall, upon announcement of his/her candidacy or application for appointment, fully disclose to the Yurok Council the fact and date of each such conviction, the court in which convicted, the sentence imposed and the place and manner in which the sentence was served or otherwise discharged.
(4) Each candidate for elected or appointed office shall be subject to a criminal background check.
(b) Disclosure of Charges of Fraud or Moral Turpitude. In accordance with Article III, Section 5(b) of the Constitution, any person who, upon or subsequent to announcing his or her candidacy for election to any Tribal office, is formally charged with, but not yet convicted of, any crime of violence or moral turpitude, shall disclose to the Election Board the fact of such prosecution upon becoming aware of the pending legal action.
(c) Failure to Disclose. In accordance with Article III, Section 5(c) of the Constitution, any person required to make a disclosure of a conviction or prosecution and who fails to do so upon announcing his or her candidacy may be barred or removed from the office or appointed position for which the person was a candidate when the required disclosure was not made.
(d) Tribal Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson. In accordance with Article III, Section 6 of the Constitution, a candidate for Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson must be a Tribal member at least 30 years of age upon election, and must actually reside and maintain their principal residence within 60 miles of the Tribal Ancestral Territory for at least one year immediately prior to election and remain in residence throughout the term of office.
(e) District Council Members. A candidate for District Council member must be a Tribal member of at least 25 years of age upon election, must be registered with and actually reside and maintain their principal residence within the district 30 days immediately prior to election, and must remain an actual resident of the district throughout the term of office. [Ord. 76 § 4301, amended, 6/23/2022; Ord. 56 § 4301, amended, 5/9/2019; Ord. 42 § 4301, adopted, 3/4/2015.]