(A) Municipalities are authorized to transfer authority for conducting municipal elections to the county elections commission. County elections commissions are authorized to conduct municipal elections.

(B) As a condition of the transfer of authority to conduct elections pursuant to this section, the governing bodies of the municipality and the county must agree to the terms of the transfer and enact ordinances embodying the terms of that agreement. The municipal ordinance must state what authority is being transferred and the county ordinance must accept the authority being transferred.

(C) When the total responsibility for the conduct of a municipal election is transferred to a county election commission, pursuant to the provisions of this section, the municipal election commission is abolished.

(D) If the municipality, by ordinance transfers a portion of the responsibilities for the conduct of a municipal election to a county election commission, the municipality shall not abolish the municipal election commission.

(E) A municipality which by ordinance transfers authority for conducting municipal elections to the county election commission under this section may by ordinance set the filing dates for municipal offices, and the date by which candidates must be certified to the appropriate authority to be placed on the ballot, to run concurrently with the filing dates set by law for countywide and less than countywide offices or other filing dates as may be mutually agreed upon between the municipality and the county election commission.

HISTORY: 1992 Act No. 289, Section 1; 1996 Act No. 443, Section 1; 1998 Act No. 412, Section 3.