(2) Within 10 days after the date a petition is offered for filing, the county clerk and the district secretary shall examine the petition and determine whether it is signed by the requisite number of qualified signers. If the requisite number of qualified signers have signed the petition the district secretary shall file the petition. If the requisite number have not signed, the secretary shall so notify the chief petitioners and may return the petition to the petitioners.
(3) A petition shall not be filed unless the certificate of the county clerk and the district secretary is attached thereto certifying that they have compared the signatures of the signers with the appropriate records, that they have ascertained therefrom the number of qualified signers appearing on the petition, and that the petition is signed by the requisite number of qualified signers. [1973 c.415 §4]