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Key changes to procedures for the election and appointment of conservation district supervisors in Washington State, 2010
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Tom Salzer, Technical Services ManagerWashington State Conservation Commission
December 2009, Spokane, Washington
December 2009 1Washington State Conservation CommissionPO Box 47721, Olympia, WA 98504-7721
Commission must establish procedures
Possible rulemaking on this topic announced in 2007
Engagement with conservation district clients ever since
Major rewrite in 2008
Significant updates in 2009
Possible rulemaking in 2010
December 2009 2Washington State Conservation CommissionPO Box 47721, Olympia, WA 98504-7721
Clear procedures provide fair treatment and help protect all parties
Open process requires the Commission to be responsive
Defined process for making future changes
December 2009 3Washington State Conservation CommissionPO Box 47721, Olympia, WA 98504-7721
Stakeholder involvement
Experience of staff and clients
Invoke changes to fix problems and strengthen processes
WACD District Operations Committee
Election Committee provided direction
Commission adopted in special meeting on November 24
December 2009 4Washington State Conservation CommissionPO Box 47721, Olympia, WA 98504-7721
Posting and notice
Filing deadline
Form submission and originals vs. copies
Poll time and common election date
Role of Election Officer
No undeclared write-in candidates
Resignation procedures established
Structure of the Election Manual
December 2009 5Washington State Conservation CommissionPO Box 47721, Olympia, WA 98504-7721
Problem: No public notice requirement for expiring terms
Solution: Election resolution has space for expiring terms
Resolution to be publicly posted in District office
Conservation districts strongly encouraged to advertise vacancies before filing deadline as a best practice
December 2009 6Washington State Conservation CommissionPO Box 47721, Olympia, WA 98504-7721
Problem: Due notice for mid-term vacancies not consistent
Solution: Due notice not required for mid-term vacancies in elected and
appointed offices, but recommended as a best practice unless emergency prevents it
Due notice still required for full-term elected and appointed offices
December 2009 7Washington State Conservation CommissionPO Box 47721, Olympia, WA 98504-7721
Problem: Insufficient time for conservation districts to verify candidate eligibility and create ballots
Solution: Deadline for filing extended from two weeks to four weeks
before election
May be extended to more than four weeks by action of the conservation district board
December 2009 8Washington State Conservation CommissionPO Box 47721, Olympia, WA 98504-7721
Problem: Insufficient time in difficult elections for forms and documents to be submitted to the Commission
Solution: Deadline for filing required forms and documents extended
from two weeks to four weeks after the election
To reduce confusion, conservation districts must use Commission forms
December 2009 9Washington State Conservation CommissionPO Box 47721, Olympia, WA 98504-7721
Problem: Original documents lost in the mail make reconstruction of some data difficult
Solution: Conservation districts retain originals and provide copies to the
Commission
Replacement copies can be made from originals if documents are lost or damaged
December 2009 10Washington State Conservation CommissionPO Box 47721, Olympia, WA 98504-7721
Problem: Insufficient and inconvenient polling hours
Solution: Minimum time for polls to be open doubled from two hours to
four
Polls to be open at a time convenient for voters
December 2009 11Washington State Conservation CommissionPO Box 47721, Olympia, WA 98504-7721
Problem: We have no data to refute or support demands that all conservation district elections should be held on the same day
Solution: Conservation districts should hold elections on the same day.
For 2010, the Election Committee asks for conservation districts to consider holding elections on Tuesday, February 9 or Tuesday, March 2
This is not part of the 2010 Election Manual
December 2009 12Washington State Conservation CommissionPO Box 47721, Olympia, WA 98504-7721
Problem: Inefficiency caused by requiring supervisor signatures in several places
Solution: Supervisors only sign the election resolution
Resolution appoints Election Officer
Election Officer then operates under authority delegated by the conservation district board of supervisors
December 2009 13Washington State Conservation CommissionPO Box 47721, Olympia, WA 98504-7721
Problem: Unannounced candidates often create inequity in elections for other candidates and for voters
Solution: No undeclared write-in candidates may be elected in 2010
Nominated candidates will have name on ballot
Declared write-in candidates are eligible to be elected and will not have name on ballot
December 2009 14Washington State Conservation CommissionPO Box 47721, Olympia, WA 98504-7721
Problem: No procedure for withdrawing from candidacy or resigning from office
Solution: Procedure for withdrawal of candidacy established
Procedure for resigning from office established
December 2009 15Washington State Conservation CommissionPO Box 47721, Olympia, WA 98504-7721
Problem: Duties for an individual were scattered throughout the procedures
Solution: Rearrange duties by who performs the duty
Within those sections, arrange sequentially
December 2009 16Washington State Conservation CommissionPO Box 47721, Olympia, WA 98504-7721
Provided notice mechanism for expiring terms and cleaned up mid-term notice requirements
Doubled the time available for conservation districts to determine eligibility of candidates, generate ballots, and return documents to the Commission
Provided a more failsafe solution to the problem of lost documents Doubled the time polls must be open Allowed Election Officer to perform polling officer duties in an
uncontested election Eliminated the confusion and difficulty caused by undeclared write-
in candidates Established procedures for candidate withdrawal and supervisor
resignation Restructured the Election Manual to make it easier to use
December 2009 17Washington State Conservation CommissionPO Box 47721, Olympia, WA 98504-7721
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