Let’s be clear. Every special district must either hold an election (May 4)  or properly cancel it (March 2 or later). Even if no one ever runs for the board and you end up re-appointing the same people over and over, you must not skip it or ignore it.

Districts which fail to hold or properly cancel an election may be administratively dissolved by the Division of Local Government (“DLG”) and will receive a notice by certified mail from the DLG regarding their statutory non-compliance.

Upcoming Deadlines
Call for Nominations (Feb. 3-18)
The Call for Nominations is the vehicle by which you “invite” eligible electors to run for the board if they are interested in serving. Between February 3-18, the Call for Nominations must be printed one time in one newspaper of general circulation in the special district. (For districts without such a newspaper, see section 32-1-103(15), C.R.S., for instructions.)

Of course, this is the legally required minimum. If your district suffers from persistent vacancies in office or could use some fresh faces and ideas around the board table, you are encouraged to go beyond the statutory minimum requirements—put the Call for Nominations on your website, post it in locations around the district, include it as a billing insert or print it in your programs guide, shout it from the rooftops.

The Call must include:

• The special district director offices to be voted on at the election;
• Where a self-nomination form may be obtained;
• The deadline for submitting the self-nomination and acceptance form to the designated election official (“DEO”); and
• Information on obtaining an absentee (now referred to as “mail-in”) ballot.

The offices to be voted on include the director seats open, and whether the seat is for a full term (2010-2014) or a partial term (2010-2012) as would occur if you have a board member who was appointed sometime during the period between May 2008 and the present to fill a vacancy, and now must run for the remaining unexpired portion of the term.

Requesting a mail-in ballot
Electors may apply for a mail-in ballot using an application form provided by the DEO or in the form of a letter, provided the letter includes the statutorily required contents. The DLG has prepared an Application for Mail-in Ballot Form (designated “Form B-2”) which DEOs may download from the Special District Elections page of the DLG’s website and provide to interested electors.

Applications for a mail-in ballot are due to the DEO by close of business on April 27, 2010 if the applicant wants the mail-in ballot mailed to him or her. If the applicant is willing to come pick-up his or her mail-in ballot, the deadline for filing the application with the DEO is the close of business on April 30, 2010.

DEOs may not give an elector a mail-in ballot without receiving a written application from that elector as described above.

Self-Nomination and Acceptance Form or Letter
Eligible electors declare their interest in running for the board and begin their candidacy for district director by filing a Self-Nomination and Acceptance in the form of a form or a letter. The Self-Nomination and Acceptance form or letter must be filed with the DEO by February 26, 2010.

Even a current board member who wants to continue for another term should file a Self-Nomination and Acceptance. Incumbents don’t just automatically show up on the ballot, even if your district has eliminated or extended term limits.

If a potential candidate misses the February 26, 2010 deadline for filing a self-nomination and acceptance, he or she may file an affidavit of intent to be a write-in candidate instead. In this case, his/her name will not be printed on the ballot, but a blank line will be printed on the ballot where electors may write in the candidate’s name and cast their vote for him or her. The deadline to turn in an affidavit of intent to be a write-in candidate is March 1, 2010.

The DLG has prepared a Self-Nomination and Acceptance Form (designated “Form B-9”) which DEOs may download from the Special District Elections page of the DLG’s website. Potential candidates may obtain this form from the district to use, or they may nominate themselves in the form of a letter, provided the letter includes the mandated contents:

1. Name of the special district;
2. Director office sought by the candidate;
3. Term of office sought if more than one length of term is to be voted on at the election;
4. Election date;
5. Full name of the candidate as it is to appear on the ballot;
6. Candidate signature, printed name, residence address (including street number and name, and city/town and county), telephone number, and date of signature;
7. Witness signature, printed name, residence address (including street number and name, and city/town and county), telephone number, and date of signature; and
8. Candidate Affidavit/Disclosure required by section 1-45-110, C.R.S.

The Candidate must be an eligible elector of the district (registered elector and at least one of: (i) district resident (of at least 30 days), (ii) district property owner, or (iii) spouse of a district property owner), and the Witness must be a registered elector who (i) resides within the district, or (ii) is eligible to vote in the special district.

Any Self-Nomination and Acceptance forms or letters that are turned in to the district must be reviewed for compliance with the statutory requirements by verifying the information against the voter registration records and the county assessor’s property owner records. DEOs may confirm out-of-county voter registration by using the Secretary of State’s online voter registration look-up. Contact the SOS-Elections Division to obtain the necessary login information. Be sure to explain you are the DEO for a special district and need access to this database only for official election purposes.

Regarding electors whose eligibility comes by virtue of property ownership, be aware that section 32-1-808, C.R.S., prohibits, except in certain specific situations, the transfer of taxable property to another for the purpose of attempting to qualify such person as an eligible elector at a district’s election. Contact the district’s attorney if you believe that any potential board candidate became a property owner under this pretext.

Following review, you must notify the potential candidate whether his Self-Nomination and Acceptance is deemed sufficient. If it is found to be insufficient, you must explain the reason, and the potential candidate then has one opportunity to file an amended form by 3:00 p.m. on February 26, 2010.

Provide all Self-Nomination and Acceptance forms or letters and all affidavits of intent to be a write-in candidate to the Secretary of State’s Office by March 5, 2010. (Previously, these forms/letters were filed with the county clerk; however, the rule (SOS CPF Rule 8.1) has been changed since SDA prepared the 2010 Calendar of Statutory Deadlines which appeared in the December 2009 SDA Newsletter. Please file with the SOS.)

Mail Ballot Elections and Mail Ballot Plans
One of the decisions the board must make is whether to hold the election with polling places or by mail ballot. In most cases, a polling place election is less costly and easier to administer, but there are reasons that a mail ballot election may be desirable, more practical, or even legally required.

For example, if you are including a “ballot issue” (e.g., a tax increase, debt, or other TABOR-related question) on your ballot, then you will need to conduct a mail ballot election. (Unless the county clerk is willing and available to conduct a coordinated election and act as coordinated election official for the district, or unless the ballot issue is part of an organizational election.) 

In addition, if you are a metropolitan district which is required to mail ballots out to every eligible elector of the district who is on the county’s list of persons with permanent mail-in voter status (“PMIVs”) and if that list comprises a large enough percentage of the district’s total eligible electors, it may be more practical to hold a mail ballot election, rather than sending mail-in ballots to a large number of PMIVs and also setting up polling places for the remainder of the electors.

If the district board determines that the district’s May 4, 2010 election shall be by mail ballot, the DEO must submit a proposed mail ballot plan to the SOS by no later than February 26, 2010.

The SOS has adopted a standard mail ballot plan which is available on their website in a fillable form which may be saved to your computer and then transmitted to the SOS by e-mail, regular mail, or fax. To access this online form go to http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/main.htm and look under the “Election Officials” heading.

No need to re-invent the wheel, staying close to the pre-approved plan will increase the likelihood and promptness of the approval of your plan.

Possible Election Cancellation
A district’s election may be cancelled if at the close of business on March 2, 2010 there are not more candidates than board seats to be filled, and you don’t have any other ballot issues or ballot questions on the ballot. In this event, the DEO shall, if instructed to do so by board resolution, cancel the election and declare the candidates elected by acclamation.
Because the deadline to file a mail ballot plan precedes the date for canceling an election if the circumstances so warrant, the SOS has provided for a seven-day plan filing extension (until March 5) for elections that may be cancelled. Therefore, if you were planning to hold a mail ballot election, but it looks like you may not get enough candidates to warrant holding the election, then you should contact the Secretary of State’s Office by February 24 and ask for a mail ballot plan extension. That will spare you the need of filing a mail ballot plan if in fact, you do cancel the election.

Elections Training Opportunities
Both the SDA and the DLG are offering trainings in preparation for the May 2010 elections.

DEO Training
The SDA recorded a DEO training session presented by Micki Wadhams of Collins, Cockrel & Cole, P.C. (“CCC”). That presentation will be made available to districts on a DVD and/or in a format available for download from the SDA website.

The DLG has two options for DEO training: one for more experienced DEOs, and one for first-time or new DEOs who want to take it at a slower, more-detailed pace.

The regular DEO training consists of a webinar presentation given by Casey Laycock (DLG), Micki Wadhams (CCC) and Mary Zuchegno (SDA). It is available for viewing from the Special District Elections page of the DLG website (http://www.dola.state.co.us/dlg/ta/special_districts/elections/index.htm...). The full training lasts a couple of hours, and it is divided into “chapters” for shorter viewing times.

The DLG training for new DEOs will be a teleconference course consisting of six sessions, approximately one hour each, spread out over the weeks leading up to the May 4, 2010 election and following the dates and deadlines of the elections calendar. At the time of this printing, limited spaces were still available for the Tuesday and Thursday courses. You are invited to call 303-866-2156 for information or to register for this “Elections 101” course.

Election Judge Training
The law requires that election judges are also trained on their election responsibilities. This training cannot be held earlier than March 20, 2010.

SDA will offer election judge training in a webinar or recorded format that you can present to your election judges at times convenient to them. We do not anticipate holding on-site, live workshops for election judge training.

Caveat
This article and the other elections-related articles which will follow in upcoming issues of the SDA Newsletter do not, and cannot, cover every statutory and rule-based detail. Conducting an election is a highly technical, highly detailed and often expensive undertaking. Please seek out training, as needed and consult with the special district’s attorney to ensure legal compliance and avoid an election contest.