Chapter 94 Oregon Laws 2003

AN ACT

HB 2475

Relating to irrigation district elections; creating new provisions; and amending ORS 198.430 and 545.041.

Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:

SECTION 1. ORS 545.041 is amended to read:

545.041. (1) The election shall be conducted, as nearly as practicable, in accordance with the general election laws of the state, except that the provisions of the election laws as to the form of ballot and as to the nomination of candidates shall not apply. No particular form of ballot shall be required. An absent elector may obtain an absentee ballot and vote, as nearly as practicable, in the manner provided for absentee electors in ORS chapter 253.

(2)(a) Nominations for candidates for the board of directors may be made by petition, signed by at least 10 electors in the proposed district or division[,] who are qualified to vote for the directors nominated by them. Nominations may also be made at an assembly of not less than 25 electors. [Nominations by petition or by assembly shall be filed with the county clerk at least 35 days next preceding the date of election.]

(b) Not more than one of the electors of a multiple ownership as described in ORS 545.007 (1)(a) may sign a nominating petition or vote at an assembly. Nominations by petition or by assembly shall be filed with the county assessor before they are filed with the county clerk under this subsection. If a nomination is made at an assembly, the nomination shall be filed under this paragraph with a list of the names and addresses of the electors who voted at the assembly. The county assessor shall verify that not more than one of the electors of a multiple ownership as described in ORS 545.007 (1)(a) has signed a nominating petition or voted at an assembly. The county assessor shall provide written confirmation of the assessor’s verification to the person filing the nomination.

(c) Nominations by petition or by assembly shall be filed with the county clerk at least 35 days next preceding the date of election. The nomination shall be accompanied by a copy of the written confirmation of verification provided by the county assessor under this subsection.

(d) The county clerk shall have the names of all persons nominated placed on the ballots as candidates for the offices for which they have been nominated. The ballots shall have a blank line under the printed names, on which may be written the name of any candidate voted for.

(3) A nominating petition shall contain:

(a) The name by which a candidate is commonly known. The candidate may use a nickname in parentheses in connection with the candidate’s full name;

(b) The address information of the candidate;

(d) The term of office for which the candidate seeks nomination;

(e) A statement that the candidate is qualified for the office;

(f) A statement that the candidate is willing to accept the nomination and, if elected, the office;

(g) The signature of the candidate;

(h) The printed name and address of each elector who signed the petition; and

(i) A statement by the circulator of the petition that the circulator is personally acquainted with the electors who signed the petition and affirms that the signatures are genuine.

(4) If an elector is not shown as an owner of land on the last equalized assessment roll or is not shown as having authority to vote on behalf of an owner of land, the elector shall furnish the county clerk with written evidence, satisfactory to the county clerk, that the elector:

(a) Is a legal representative of the owner;

(b) Is entitled to be shown as the owner of land on the next assessment roll;

(d) Is authorized to sign for and on behalf of any public agency owning land.

(5) The county court shall meet on the first Monday that is at least 10 days after the election, canvass the votes cast, and enter an order declaring the result of the election. If upon the canvass it appears that at least three-fifths of the votes cast are “Irrigation District – Yes,” the court shall, by an order entered on its minutes, declare the territory organized as an irrigation district under the name designated by the county court under ORS 545.033 (1), and shall declare the persons receiving, respectively, the highest number of votes for the several available director positions to be elected to those positions. The court shall cause a copy of the order, duly certified, to be immediately filed for record in the office of the county clerk of each county in which any portion of the district is situated.

(6) After the date of organization of an irrigation district, the county court of any county including any portion of the district shall not allow another district to be formed that includes any lands in the existing district, without first securing consent for the formation from the existing district.

(7) From and after the date of the filing of the order under subsection (1) of this section, the organization of the district is complete, and the directors may enter upon the duties of their offices upon qualifying as provided by law. They shall hold office until their successors are elected and qualified.

SECTION 2. ORS 198.430 is amended to read:

198.430. (1) A petition for recall of a district officer of a district other than a district defined in ORS 255.012 shall be filed with the officer with whom a petition for nomination to such office should be filed. Except as provided in this subsection, if there is no such officer or if the officer is the district officer against whom the petition is being filed, the petition shall be filed with the county clerk of the county in which the administrative office of the district is located. In the case of an irrigation district organized under ORS chapter 545, if there is no such officer or if the officer is the district officer against whom the petition is being filed, the petition shall be filed with the board of directors of the irrigation district.

(2) The petition shall be signed by a number of persons who are qualified to vote in the district, that is equal to but not less than the lesser of:

(a) Fifteen percent of the persons who are qualified to vote in the district, or subdivision of the district from which the district officer was elected; or

(b) Fifteen percent of the total votes cast in the electoral district for all candidates for Governor at the most recent election at which a candidate for Governor was elected to a full term.

(3) The person circulating the signature sheet shall certify on each sheet that every person who signed the sheet did so in the presence of the person circulating the sheet and that the person circulating the sheet believes that each signer stated the correct residence address of the signer and is a person qualified to vote in the district.

(4) In those districts where a person qualified to vote must be an elector, the petition, before filing, shall be submitted to the county clerk who shall compare the signatures of the persons signing the petition with the signatures of electors on the register of electors and, on the face of each signature sheet, shall make a certificate of the number of signatures the county clerk believes to be genuine. In other districts, the officer who receives the petition for filing, before filing the petition, shall verify the signatures and make a certificate of the number of signatures the officer believes to be genuine.

(5) The district shall pay the expense of verifying the signatures and of calling and conducting the election. The election shall be conducted in the district, or in the subdivision of the district from which the district officer was elected, in accordance with the law governing election of district officers.

(6) A person who is qualified to vote in a district under this section is a person who is qualified, under the law applicable to the district, to vote in an election at which members of the governing body of the district are elected.

(7) A recall petition is void unless the petition is filed not later than the 100th day after the date of the first signature on the petition. Not later than the 90th day after the date of the first signature, the petition shall be submitted for signature verification to the county clerk or other officer described in subsection (4) of this section who shall make the certificate of the number of genuine signatures not later than the 10th day after the date of submission. The petition must contain only original signatures. A recall petition shall not be accepted for signature verification if the petition contains less than 100 percent of the required number of signatures. A recall petition shall not be accepted for filing until 100 percent of the required number of signatures have been verified.

SECTION 3. (1) The amendments to ORS 545.041 by section 1 of this 2003 Act apply to nominations for candidates for the board of directors of an irrigation district that are filed on or after the effective date of this 2003 Act.

(2) The amendments to ORS 198.430 by section 2 of this 2003 Act apply to recall petitions for irrigation district directors filed on or after the effective date of this 2003 Act.

Approved by the Governor May 24, 2003

Filed in the office of Secretary of State May 27, 2003

Effective date January 1, 2004

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