238.216. Election procedure, duties of court--application for ballot, contents--mail-in elections, affidavit form, procedure--unanimous verified petition submitted, when--results entered, how.
Election procedure, duties of court--application for ballot,contents--mail-in elections, affidavit form, procedure--unanimousverified petition submitted, when--results entered, how.
238.216. 1. Except as otherwise provided in section 238.220 withrespect to the election of directors, in order to call any electionrequired or allowed under sections 238.200 to 238.275, the circuit courtshall:
(1) Order the county clerk to cause the questions to appear on theballot on the next regularly scheduled general, primary or special electionday, which date shall be the same in each county or portion of a countyincluded within and voting upon the proposed district;
(2) If the election is to be a mail-in election, specify a date onwhich ballots for the election shall be mailed, which date shall be aTuesday, and shall be not earlier than the eighth Tuesday from the issuanceof the order, and shall not be on the same day as an election conductedunder the provisions of chapter 115, RSMo; or
(3) If all the owners of property in the district joined in thepetition for formation of the district, such owners may cast their ballotby unanimous verified petition approving any measure submitted to them asvoters pursuant to this chapter. Each owner shall receive one vote peracre owned. Fractional votes shall be allowed. The verified petitionshall be filed with the circuit court clerk. The filing of a unanimouspetition shall constitute an election under sections 238.200 to 238.275 andthe results of said election shall be entered pursuant to subsection 6 ofthis section.
2. Application for a ballot shall be conducted as follows:
(1) Only qualified voters shall be entitled to apply for a ballot;
(2) Such persons shall apply with the clerk of the circuit court inwhich the petition was filed;
(3) Each person applying shall provide:
(a) Such person's name, address, mailing address, and phone number;
(b) An authorized signature; and
(c) Evidence that such person is entitled to vote. Such evidenceshall be:
a. For resident individuals, proof of registration from the electionauthority;
b. For owners of real property, a tax receipt or deed or otherdocument which evidences ownership, and identifies the real property bylocation;
(4) No person shall apply later than the fourth Tuesday before thedate for mailing ballots specified in the circuit court's order.
3. If the election is to be a mail-in election, the circuit courtshall mail a ballot to each qualified voter who applied for a ballotpursuant to subsection 2 of this section along with a return addressedenvelope directed to the circuit court clerk's office with a swornaffidavit on the reverse side of such envelope for the voter's signature.Such affidavit shall be in the following form:
I hereby declare under penalties of perjury that I am qualified tovote, or to affix my authorized signature in the name of an entity which isentitled to vote, in this election.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this ............. dayof......................., 20.........
....................................
Authorized Signature.......................................................................... Printed Name of Voter Signature of notary or other
officer authorized to
administer oaths. .................................... Mailing Address of Voter (if different)
4. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2 of section 238.220,with respect to the election of directors, each qualified voter shall haveone vote, unless the qualified voters are property owners under subdivision(2) of subsection 2 of section 238.202, in which case they shall receiveone vote per acre. Each voter which is not an individual shall determinehow to cast its vote as provided for in its articles of incorporation,articles of organization, articles of partnership, bylaws, or otherdocument which sets forth an appropriate mechanism for the determination ofthe entity's vote. If a voter has no such mechanism, then its vote shallbe cast as determined by a majority of the persons who run the day-to-dayaffairs of the voter. Each voted ballot shall be signed with theauthorized signature.
5. Mail-in voted ballots shall be returned to the circuit courtclerk's office by mail or hand delivery no later than 5:00 p.m. on thesixth Tuesday after the date for mailing the ballots as set forth in thecircuit court's order. The circuit court's clerk shall transmit all votedballots to a team of judges of not less than four, with an equal numberfrom each of the two major political parties. The judges shall be selectedby the circuit court from lists compiled by the election authority. Uponreceipt of the voted ballots, the judges shall verify the authenticity ofthe ballots, canvass the votes, and certify the results. Certification bythe election judges shall be final and shall be immediately transmitted tothe circuit court. Any qualified voter who voted in such election maycontest the result in the same manner as provided in chapter 115, RSMo.
6. The results of the election shall be entered upon the records ofthe circuit court of the county in which the petition was filed. Also, acertified copy thereof shall be filed with the county clerk of each countyin which a portion of the proposed district lies, who shall cause the sameto be spread upon the records of the county commission.
(L. 1997 S.B. 303, A.L. 2001 H.B. 202, A.L. 2005 S.B. 420 & 344, A.L. 2006 S.B. 931)