This provision lets certain landowners in the district vote in proportion to their assessed benefits in trustee elections, and it also sets rules for absentee ballots and related paperwork.
1. When a petition asking for the right to vote in proportion to assessment of benefits at all elections for any purpose thereafter to be held within said district, signed by a majority of the landowners owning land within said district assessed for benefits, is filed with the board of trustees, then, in all elections of trustees thereafter held within said district, any person whose land is assessed for benefits without regard to age, sex, or condition shall be entitled to one vote for each ten dollars or fraction thereof of the original assessment under the current classification against the land actually owned by the person in said district at the time of the election, but in order to have such ballot counted for more than one vote the voter shall write the voter’s name upon the ballot. The vote of any landowner of the district may be cast by absent voters ballot as provided in chapter 53 except that the form of the applications for ballots, the voters’ affidavits on the envelopes, and the endorsement of the carrier envelope for preserving the ballot shall be substantially in the form provided in subsections 2, 3, and 4, below. Application blanks, envelopes, and ballots shall be provided by and submitted to the office of the county auditor in which the election is held. The cost of such blanks, envelopes, ballots, and postage shall be paid by the district. For the purpose of this subchapter all landowners of the district shall be considered qualified voters, regardless of their place of residence. 2. For the purpose of this subchapter, applications for ballots shall be made on blanks substantially in the following form: Application for ballot to be voted at the .................... (Name of District) District Election on ........................ (Date) State of ................................ ) ................................ County ) ss. I, ................................ (Applicant), do solemnly swear that I am a landowner in the ........................ (Name of District) District and that I am a duly qualified voter entitled to vote in said election, and I hereby make application for an official ballot or ballots to be voted by me at such election, and that I will return said ballot or ballots to the officer issuing same before the day of said election. Signed ................................ Date .................................... Residence (street number if any) ................ City .................... State ........................ Subscribed and sworn to before me this ............ day of ........................ (month), ............ (year) 3. For the purpose of this subchapter, the affidavit on the reverse side of the envelopes used for enclosing the marked ballots shall be substantially as follows: State of ................................ ) ................................ County ) ss. I, ................................ (Applicant), do solemnly swear that I am a landowner in the ........................ (Name of District) District and that I am a duly qualified voter to vote in the election of trustees of said district and that I have marked the enclosed ballot in secret. Signed ................................ Subscribed and sworn to before me this ............ day of ........................ (month), ............ (year), and that I hereby certify that the affiant exhibited the enclosed ballot to me unmarked; that the affiant then in my presence and in the presence of no other person and in such manner that I could not see the affiant’s vote, marked such ballot, enclosed and sealed the same in this envelope; and that the affiant was not solicited or advertised by me for or against any candidate or measure. .................................... .................................... (Official Title) 4. For the purposes of this subchapter, upon receipt of the ballot, the auditor shall at once enclose the same, unopened, together with the application made by the voter in a large carrier envelope, securely seal the same, and endorse thereon over the auditor’s official signature, the following: a. Name of the district in which the voter is a landowner. b. Date of the election for which the ballot is cast. c. Location of the polling place at which the ballot would be legally and properly cast if voted in person. d. Names of the judges of the election of that polling place, and the statement that this envelope contains an absent voters ballot and must be opened only at the polls on election day while said polls are open. [SS15, §1989-a73; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §7685; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §462.12] 89 Acts, ch 126, §2 CS89, §468.511 2000 Acts, ch 1058, §63; 2009 Acts, ch 57, §95 Referred to in §468.510, 468.512, 468.539