Effective - 28 Aug 2006
238.216. Election procedure, duties of court — application for ballot, contents — mail-in elections, affidavit form, procedure — unanimous verified petition submitted, when — results entered, how. — 1. Except as otherwise provided in section 238.220 with respect to the election of directors, in order to call any election required or allowed under sections 238.200 to 238.275, the circuit court shall:
(1) Order the county clerk to cause the questions to appear on the ballot on the next regularly scheduled general, primary or special election day, which date shall be the same in each county or portion of a county included within and voting upon the proposed district;
(2) If the election is to be a mail-in election, specify a date on which ballots for the election shall be mailed, which date shall be a Tuesday, and shall be not earlier than the eighth Tuesday from the issuance of the order, and shall not be on the same day as an election conducted under the provisions of chapter 115; or
(3) If all the owners of property in the district joined in the petition for formation of the district, such owners may cast their ballot by unanimous verified petition approving any measure submitted to them as voters pursuant to this chapter. Each owner shall receive one vote per acre owned. Fractional votes shall be allowed. The verified petition shall be filed with the circuit court clerk. The filing of a unanimous petition shall constitute an election under sections 238.200 to 238.275 and the results of said election shall be entered pursuant to subsection 6 of this section.
2. Application for a ballot shall be conducted as follows:
(1) Only qualified voters shall be entitled to apply for a ballot;
(2) Such persons shall apply with the clerk of the circuit court in which the petition was filed;
(3) Each person applying shall provide:
(a) Such person's name, address, mailing address, and phone number;
(b) An authorized signature; and
(c) Evidence that such person is entitled to vote. Such evidence shall be:
a. For resident individuals, proof of registration from the election authority;
b. For owners of real property, a tax receipt or deed or other document which evidences ownership, and identifies the real property by location;
(4) No person shall apply later than the fourth Tuesday before the date for mailing ballots specified in the circuit court's order.
3. If the election is to be a mail-in election, the circuit court shall mail a ballot to each qualified voter who applied for a ballot pursuant to subsection 2 of this section along with a return addressed envelope directed to the circuit court clerk's office with a sworn affidavit on the reverse side of such envelope for the voter's signature. Such affidavit shall be in the following form:
| I hereby declare under penalties of perjury that I am qualified to vote, or to affix my authorized signature in the name of an entity which is entitled to vote, in this election. | ||
| Subscribed and sworn to before me this ______ day of ______, 20______ | ||
| __________________ | ||
| Authorized Signature | ||
| __________________ | __________________ | |
| Printed Name of Voter | Signature of notary or other officer authorized to administer oaths. | |
| __________________ | ||
| Mailing Address of Voter (if different) | ||
4. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2 of section 238.220, with respect to the election of directors, each qualified voter shall have one vote, unless the qualified voters are property owners under subdivision (2) of subsection 2 of section 238.202, in which case they shall receive one vote per acre. Each voter which is not an individual shall determine how to cast its vote as provided for in its articles of incorporation, articles of organization, articles of partnership, bylaws, or other document which sets forth an appropriate mechanism for the determination of the entity's vote. If a voter has no such mechanism, then its vote shall be cast as determined by a majority of the persons who run the day-to-day affairs of the voter. Each voted ballot shall be signed with the authorized signature.
5. Mail-in voted ballots shall be returned to the circuit court clerk's office by mail or hand delivery no later than 5:00 p.m. on the sixth Tuesday after the date for mailing the ballots as set forth in the circuit court's order. The circuit court's clerk shall transmit all voted ballots to a team of judges of not less than four, with an equal number from each of the two major political parties. The judges shall be selected by the circuit court from lists compiled by the election authority. Upon receipt of the voted ballots, the judges shall verify the authenticity of the ballots, canvass the votes, and certify the results. Certification by the election judges shall be final and shall be immediately transmitted to the circuit court. Any qualified voter who voted in such election may contest the result in the same manner as provided in chapter 115.
6. The results of the election shall be entered upon the records of the circuit court of the county in which the petition was filed. Also, a certified copy thereof shall be filed with the county clerk of each county in which a portion of the proposed district lies, who shall cause the same to be spread upon the records of the county commission.
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(L. 1997 S.B. 303, A.L. 2001 H.B. 202, A.L. 2005 S.B. 420 & 344, A.L. 2006 S.B. 931)