18-3-524. Appointments to fill vacancies; term.

(a) Within twenty (20) days after the office of any county commissioner becomes vacant the remaining members of the board shall declare a vacancy to exist and immediately give notice of the vacancy in writing to the chairman of the county central committee of the political party which the member whose office is vacant represented at the time of his election under W.S. 22-6-120(a)(vii), or at the time of his appointment if not elected to office. The chairman of the county central committee shall within twenty (20) days after receipt of the notice call a meeting of the county central committee. At the meeting the committee shall select three (3) persons qualified to fill the vacancy and transmit the names to the board of county commissioners. The board of county commissioners shall fill the vacancy within twenty (20) days after receiving the list from the county central committee by appointing one (1) of the persons whose names are submitted by the county central committee:

(i) If the county central committee fails to select and transmit the list of three (3) names to the board of county commissioners within twenty (20) days, the board shall fill the vacancy by the appointment of any qualified person belonging to the same political party the incumbent commissioner represented at the time of his election or appointment if not elected to office;

(ii) If the incumbent commissioner did not represent any political party at the time of his election or appointment, the board of county commissioners shall publish in a newspaper of general circulation in the county notice that within twenty (20) days after publication any qualified person may make application directly to the county commissioners for appointment to fill the vacancy. Within twenty (20) days after the application deadline the county commissioners shall fill the vacancy by appointment of one (1) person qualified from those submitting applications.

(b) If the remaining members of the board of county commissioners fail to fill any vacancy in a board of county commissioners within the time specified in this section, any qualified elector of the county may file a petition with the clerk of the district court of the county in which the vacancy occurred requesting the judge of the district court to fill the vacancy:

(i) Within twenty (20) days after the petition is filed the judge shall fill the vacancy by appointing a qualified elector of the county belonging to the same political party the incumbent commissioner represented at the time of his election or appointment. If the incumbent commissioner did not represent any political party at the time of his election or appointment the judge may appoint any qualified person to fill the vacancy.

(c) Every person appointed county commissioner shall serve until a successor is elected at the next general election and takes office on the first Monday of the following January.

(d) For purposes of this section a person shall be considered to "represent" a political party if he was a nominee of that political party when elected to office or when appointed to fill a vacancy in office.