Effective 28 Aug 1998

67.1551. Election for real estate tax, procedure, results, reimbursement of costs. — 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 115, an election for real estate tax pursuant to sections 67.1401 to 67.1571 shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of this section.

2. After the board has passed a resolution for the levy of real property tax and a vote of the qualified voters is required, the board shall provide written notice of such resolution to the election authority. The board shall be entitled to rescind such resolution provided that written notice of such rescission is delivered to the election authority prior to the time the election authority mails the ballots to the qualified voters.

3. Upon receipt of written notice of a district's resolution for the levy of a real property tax the election authority shall:

(1) Specify a date upon which the election shall occur which date shall be a Tuesday, and shall be not earlier than the tenth Tuesday, and not later than the fifteenth Tuesday, after the date of the board's passage of the resolution and shall not be on the same day as an election conducted pursuant to the provisions of chapter 115;

(2) Publish notice of the election in a newspaper of general circulation within the municipality two times. The first publication date shall be more than sixty days prior to the date of the election and the second publication date shall be not more than thirty days and not less than ten days prior to the date of the election. The published notice shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:

(a) The name and general boundaries of the district;

(b) The type of tax proposed, its rate, purpose and duration;

(c) The date the ballots for the election shall be mailed to qualified voters;

(d) The date of the election;

(e) Qualified voters will consist of:

a. Such persons who reside within the district and who are registered voters pursuant to the records of the election authority as of the thirtieth day prior to the date of the election; or

b. If no such registered voters reside in the district, the owners of real property located within the district pursuant to the tax records of the county clerk, or the collector of revenue if the district is located in a city not within a county, for real property as of the thirtieth day prior to the date of the election;

(f) A statement that persons residing in the district shall register to vote with the election authority on or before the thirtieth day prior to the date of the election in order to be a qualified voter for purposes of the election;

(g) A statement that the ballot must be returned to the election authority's office in person, or by depositing the ballot in the United States mail addressed to the election authority's office and postmarked, not later than the date of the election; and

(h) A statement that any qualified voter that did not receive a ballot in the mail or lost the ballot received in the mail may pick up a mail-in ballot at the election authority's office, specifying the dates and time such ballot will be available and the location of the election authority's office;

(3) The election authority shall mail to each qualified voter not more than fifteen days and not less than ten days prior to the date of the election together with a notice containing substantially the same information as the published notice and a return addressed envelope directed to the election authority's office with a sworn affidavit on the reverse side of such envelope for the qualified voter's signature. For purposes of mailing ballots to real property owners only one ballot shall be mailed per capita at the address shown on the records of the county clerk, or the collector of revenue if the district is located in a city not within a county. Such affidavit shall be in substantially the following form:

­­All persons or entities having a fee ownership in the property shall sign the ballot. Additional signature pages may be affixed to this ballot to accommodate all required signatures.

4. Each qualified voter shall have one vote. Each voted ballot shall be signed with the authorized signature.

5. Mail-in ballots shall be returned to the election authority's office in person, or by depositing the ballot in the United States mail addressed to the election authority's office and postmarked, no later than the date of the election. The election authority shall transmit all voted ballots to a team of judges of not less than four, with an equal number from each of the two major political parties. The judges shall be selected by the municipal clerk from lists compiled by the election authority. Upon receipt of the voted ballots, the judges shall verify the authenticity of the ballots, canvass the votes, and certify the results. Certification by the election judges shall be final and shall be immediately transmitted to the election authority. Any qualified voter who voted in such election may contest the result in the same manner as provided in chapter 115.

6. The results of the election shall be entered upon the records of the election authority and a certified copy of the election results shall be filed with the municipal clerk, who shall cause the same to be entered upon the records of the municipal clerk.

7. The district shall reimburse the election authority for the costs it incurs to conduct an election under this section.

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(L. 1998 H.B. 1636 § 16)