District elections shall be conducted in conformance with the Uniform District Election Law (Part 4 (commencing with Section 10500) of Division 10 of the Elections Code) and the laws generally applicable to districts created and operated pursuant to this division, except that during the transition period provided in Section 35232, the following shall apply:

(a) During the transition period, at district general elections, some directors shall be elected by resident voters while others shall be elected by landowner voters. Separate ballots shall be prepared and separate elections shall be conducted for those director positions which will be elected by resident voters and for those which will be elected by landowner voters. Notwithstanding Section 10555 of the Elections Code, these landowner voter elections and resident voter elections shall be conducted simultaneously.

(b) During the transition period, district elections shall continue, as presently authorized, to be conducted by all-mailed ballots pursuant to Section 4108 of the Elections Code. Following the transition period, the all-mailed ballot procedure may be revoked under the procedures of Section 4003 of the Elections Code or district elections may be consolidated with the statewide general election as provided by Section 10404 of the Elections Code.

(c) During the transition period, separate voter lists of resident voters and landowner voters eligible to vote within the district shall be prepared and maintained according to applicable provisions of law. Separate all-mailed ballot elections shall be held for the directors to be elected by resident voters and for those to be elected by landowner voters.

(d) During the transition period, district directors shall continue to be elected on an at-large basis. Following the transition period, the district board of directors may determine to establish director divisions in accordance with Section 35215.

(e) During the transition period, the district board of directors shall consist of seven directors. Following the transition period, the number of directors on the district board of directors may be changed in accordance with Sections 34708 and 34708.5.

(f) During the transition period, any district election held for the purpose of obtaining voter approval for bonded or other indebtedness shall be conducted as a landowner voter election. Following the transition period, any district election held for the purpose of obtaining voter approval for bonded or other indebtedness shall be conducted as a resident voter election.

(g) During the transition period, a person who qualifies according to Section 35234 both to be a director elected by resident voters and a director elected by landowner voters may run for the district board of directors on both the resident voter ballot and the landowner voter ballot on the same election date. In the event that the same person is elected to the district board on both ballots, the person shall be declared elected on the resident voter ballot and not elected on the landowner voter ballot. The candidate with the next highest number of votes on the landowner voter ballot shall be declared elected. If this procedure results in fewer remaining candidates than there are landowner voter director positions to be filled, then the unfilled positions shall be treated as vacant and filled according to subdivision (h).

(h) During the transition period, any vacancy on the district board shall be filled according to the procedures contained in Section 1780 of the Government Code. To be eligible to fill a vacancy, a person shall be qualified to be a director according to Section 35234 either as a director elected by resident voters if the person who vacated the position was elected by resident voters, or as a director elected by landowner voters if the person who vacated the position was elected by landowner voters.

(Amended by Stats. 1994, Ch. 923, Sec. 250. Effective January 1, 1995.)