39.22 Township officers.

The offices of township trustee and township clerk shall be filled by appointment or election as follows:

1. By appointment.

a. The county board of supervisors may pass a resolution in favor of filling the offices of trustee and clerk within a township by appointment by the board, and may direct the county commissioner of elections to submit the question to the registered voters of the township at the next general election. In a township which does not include a city, the voters of the entire township are eligible to vote on the question. In a township which includes a city, only those voters who reside outside the corporate limits of a city are eligible to vote on the question. The resolution shall apply to all townships which have not approved a proposition to fill township offices by appointment. If the proposition to fill the township offices by appointment is approved by a majority of those voting on the question, the board shall fill the offices by appointment as the terms of office of the incumbent township officers expire.

b. The election of the trustees and clerk of a township may be restored after approval of the appointment process under this subsection by a resolution of the board of supervisors submitting the question to the registered voters who are eligible to vote for township officers of the township at the next general election. If the proposition to restore the election process is approved by a majority of those voting on the question, the election of the township officers shall commence with the next general election. A resolution submitting the question of restoring the election of township officers at the next general election shall be adopted by the board of supervisors upon receipt of a petition signed by eligible electors residing in the township equal in number to at least ten percent of the registered voters of a township. The initial terms of the trustees shall be determined by lot, one for two years, and two for four years. However, if a proposition to change the method of selecting township officers is adopted by the electorate, a resolution to change the method shall not be submitted to the electorate for four years.

2. By election. If the county board of supervisors does not have the power provided under subsection 1 to fill the offices of trustee and clerk within a township by appointment, then the offices of township trustee and township clerk shall be filled by election on a nonpartisan basis. Township trustees and the township clerk, in townships which do not include a city, shall be elected by the voters of the entire township. In townships which include a city, the officers shall be elected by the voters of the township who reside outside the corporate limits of the city, but a township officer may be a resident of the city.

a. Township officers. The election of township officers shall take place at the general election on ballots which shall not reflect a nominee’s political affiliation. A person seeking election as township officer shall file an affidavit of candidacy with the county commissioner of elections pursuant to section 45.3. A plurality is sufficient to elect the township officers.

b. Township trustees. Township trustees shall be elected biennially to succeed those whose terms of office expire on the first day of January following the election which is not a Sunday or legal holiday. The term of office of each elected township trustee is four years, except as provided in subsection 1 for initial terms following restoration of the election process.

c. Township clerk. At the general election held in the year 1990 and every four years thereafter, in each civil township one township clerk shall be elected who shall hold office for the term of four years.

[C27, 31, 35, §523-b1; C39, §523.1; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §39.22]

85 Acts, ch 30, §1; 86 Acts, ch 1117, §1; 87 Acts, ch 68, §2; 88 Acts, ch 1119, §1; 88 Acts, ch 1134, §18, 19; 95 Acts, ch 67, §53; 2001 Acts, ch 56, §3; 2005 Acts, ch 152, §2, 3; 2007 Acts, ch 25, §1; 2008 Acts, ch 1032, §201

Referred to in §39.21