If the consolidation proceedings are initiated by petitions, upon the filing of such petitions with the boards of commissioners of the districts, the boards of commissioners of each district shall file such petitions with the auditor of the county in which all or the largest geographic portion of the respective districts is located, who shall within ten days examine and verify the signatures of the signers residing in the county. If the districts proposed to be consolidated include areas located in more than one county, the auditor of the county in which the largest geographic portion of the consolidating districts is located shall be the lead auditor and shall immediately transfer a copy of the petitions to the auditor of each other county in which the consolidating districts are located. Within ten days after the lead auditor received the petition, the auditors of these other counties shall certify to the lead auditor: (1) The number of voters of that county residing in each consolidating district; and (2) the number of valid signatures on the petition of voters of that county residing in each consolidating district. The lead auditor shall certify the sufficiency of the petition after receiving this information. If all of such petitions shall be found to contain a sufficient number of signatures, the county auditor shall transmit the same, together with a certificate of sufficiency attached thereto, to the board of commissioners of each of the districts proposed for consolidation.

If there are no voters residing in one or more of the districts proposed to be consolidated, such petitions may be signed by such a number of landowners as appear of record to own at least a majority of the acreage in the pertinent district, and the petitions shall disclose the total number of acres of land in that district and shall also contain the names of all record owners of land therein.

Part headings not law—Effective date—1996 c 230: See notes following RCW 57.02.001.