22-29-113. General provisions relating to special district elections.

(a) In a special district election not held in conjunction with a general or statewide special election, absentee voting shall be conducted in accordance with rules promulgated by the secretary of state under W.S. 22-29-114 which shall be consistent with procedures for mail ballot elections.

(b) In a special district election the following rules shall apply:

(i) An elector casting a ballot may write in the name of any person for a director office;

(ii) The person or persons receiving the largest number of votes is elected to office;

(iii) Candidates for director offices shall not be required to file campaign finance reports under W.S. 22-25-101 through 22-25-115.

(c) All special district elections which are not conducted in conjunction with any other election, shall be at the expense of the district. Provided, however, any district may apply to the county for financial help to cover election expenses. The county commissioners, in their sole discretion, shall determine whether the county provides election financial help to special districts. For special district elections conducted in conjunction with other elections, the special district may be required to pay only those expenses which are reasonably attributable or allocable to the district's participation in the election. The expenses shall not include any fixed cost associated with an election.

(d) Each year, each special district subject to this act shall file with the county commissioners and county clerk a list of the names, addresses and terms of the current directors. The filing deadline is the last day of April.

(e) No special registration shall be held for any election authorized under this chapter. Any voter not otherwise registered who makes an affidavit evidencing his qualifications to vote is deemed registered for that election.

(f) In the event the establishment of a district shall fail by protest as provided in W.S. 22-29-109(d), no action to establish such district, or any part thereof, may again be commenced for a period of six (6) months. In the event the establishment of the district shall fail as a result of being defeated at a public election no action to establish such district, or any part thereof, may again be commenced for a period of one (1) year.

(g) No informalities in the conduct of the formation or related matters or subsequent director elections shall invalidate the formation or election results if notice is given substantially as provided in this chapter and the election is fairly conducted.

(h) The official ballot shall contain the following information:

(i) The name of the district;

(ii) The county or counties in which the district is located and the date of the election;

(iii) The number of offices to be filled, the length of term for each office, and the number and names of candidates for each office for whom each voter is entitled to vote;

(iv) Any ballot proposition upon which the electors are required to vote.

(j) The names of candidates shall appear without party designation, one (1) name to a line. Sufficient blank lines for write-in candidates shall be provided for each office.

(k) A tie vote shall be broken by lots cast by the canvassing authority.

(m) All special district elections, including mail ballot elections, shall be overseen by the county clerk in the county wherein the special district exists. If the special district exists in more than one (1) county, the county clerk of the county wherein the largest portion of the special district exists shall oversee the election. The county clerk shall determine whether the election shall be conducted by the county clerk or the special district, taking into account each special district's expertise, manpower and ability to conduct an election. "Oversee" as used in this subsection may include training, advice or assistance but does not include responsibility for the actions, conduct or outcome of the election unless the county clerk conducts the election.