A. The board of trustees may, by ordinance, provide for the nomination and election at large of the trustees of a statutory town board of trustees form of government; provided, however, that such ordinance shall not become effective until sixty (60) days following the date of its publication. After the ordinance becomes effective, the requirement that trustees of a town be residents of and nominated from wards shall not apply.

B. Within such sixty-day period, the registered voters of such town may petition for an election on the question of nominating and electing the trustees at large. The petition shall be signed by a number of such registered voters that is not less than twenty percent (20%) of the votes cast at the most recent election for the town office receiving the greatest number of votes. The petition shall be filed with the town clerk. The ordinance providing for the nomination and election of trustees at large shall be suspended pending the determination of the sufficiency of the number of signatures on the petition or the determination of the results of the election.

C. Each petition filed with the town clerk shall be on a separate sheet and shall be authenticated by the affidavit of at least one credible witness that the signatures are genuine and that the signers of the petition are registered voters of the town. The clerk shall make a physical count of the number of signatures appearing on the petitions and shall verify with the county election board the number of votes cast at the most recent town election for the office receiving the greatest number of votes. The clerk shall then publish a notice of the filing and the apparent sufficiency or insufficiency of the petition. The notice shall also state that any qualified elector of the town may file a protest to the petition or an objection to the count made by the clerk. A protest to the petition or the count of signatures shall be filed in the district court in the county in which the situs of the town is located within ten (10) days after the publication. Written notice of the protest shall be served upon the clerk and the parties who filed the petition. In the case of the filing of an objection to the count, notice shall also be served upon any party filing a protest. The district court shall fix a day, not less than ten (10) days after the filing of a protest, to hear testimony and arguments for and against the sufficiency of the petition. A protest filed by anyone, if abandoned by the party filing it, may be revived within five (5) days by any other qualified elector. After the hearing, the district court shall decide whether such petition is in form required by law. If the number of signatures on the petition is insufficient, the ordinance shall become effective.

D. If the number of signatures of the registered voters on the petition is sufficient, an election on the question shall be conducted as provided in the applicable sections of Article 16 of this title. The question on the ballot shall read substantially as follows:

For the nomination and election of

trustees at large ( )

Against the nomination and election

of trustees at large ( )

E. If a majority of the votes cast on the question favor the nomination and election of trustees at large, the ordinance shall become effective. If a majority of the votes cast on the question are against the nomination and election of the trustees at large, the ordinance shall not become effective.

Laws 1981, c. 14, § 3.