"Ballot" or "official ballot" means the final, preprinted ballot containing the name of each declared, nominated candidate found eligible, and at least one line where a voter may enter the name of a write-in candidate.
"Ballot box" means a container secured against tampering into which paper ballots are placed.
"Candidate" means a person seeking the office of elected conservation district supervisor who has provided the required candidate information to the conservation district by the filing deadline and whose eligibility to run and to serve has been verified by the conservation district.
"Candidate optional information" means information provided by the candidate about their candidacy.
"Candidate required information" means the factual information a candidate must provide on the candidate information form to be eligible for election.
"Canvass" and "canvassing" means to examine carefully or scrutinize the election returns for authenticity and proper count.
"Certify" and "certification" means the canvassing of returns and the verification of substantial compliance with these procedures by the conservation commission.
"Conservation commission" means the Washington state conservation commission governing board and all deputies and representatives authorized to act on its behalf.
"Conservation commission board" and "conservation commission governing board" means the governing board of the Washington state conservation commission.
"Conservation district" means a governmental subdivision of the state of Washington organized under the provisions of chapter
89.08 RCW Conservation districts.
"Conservation district supervisors" and "district supervisors" means the governing board of a conservation district, composed of elected and appointed supervisors.
"Declared vacant" means a declaration by the conservation commission that a conservation district supervisor position is vacant.
"Double envelope balloting" means a paper balloting system consisting of an inner and an outer envelope, where a ballot is placed in an inner envelope with no personally identifying marks on it, and then the inner envelope with ballot is placed in the outer envelope upon which the voter has provided sufficient information to allow polling officers to verify the eligibility of the voter.
"Due notice" or "notice" means a notice published at least twice, with at least six days between publications, in a publication of general circulation within the affected area. If there is no such publication, a notice may be posted at a reasonable number of public places within the area where it is customary to post notices concerning county and municipal affairs. There is no requirement for publication of a legal advertisement in a newspaper of record. However, if a legal advertisement is published, a copy of the announcement as published, showing the date of publication, is sufficient proof of publication.
"Elected supervisor" means a qualified district elector:
(a) Who received more valid votes than any other candidate; and
(b) Whose election has been certified and announced by the conservation commission.
"Election supervisor" means an individual or entity appointed by conservation district supervisors to organize, coordinate, and manage tasks related to the election of conservation district supervisors. Only the conservation district board of supervisors may set election dates and appoint the election supervisor.
"Electioneering" means the act of soliciting or advocating votes for a specific candidate, or speaking for or against a specific candidate within three hundred feet of a ballot box or voting place.
"Farm and agricultural land" is defined in RCW
89.08.020 as follows: "Farm and agricultural land" means either:
(a) Land in any contiguous ownership of twenty or more acres devoted primarily to agricultural uses;
(b) Any parcel of land five acres or more, but less than twenty acres devoted primarily to agricultural uses, which has produced a gross income from agricultural uses equivalent to one hundred dollars or more per acre per year for three of the five calendar years preceding the date of application for classification under this chapter; or
(c) Any parcel of land of less than five acres devoted primarily to agricultural uses which has produced a gross income of one thousand dollars or more per year for three of the five calendar years preceding the date of application for classification under this chapter.
(d) Agricultural lands shall also include farm woodlots of less than twenty and more than five acres and the land on which appurtenances necessary to production, preparation or sale of the agricultural products exist in conjunction with the lands producing such products.
(e) Agricultural lands shall also include any parcel of land of one to five acres, which is not contiguous, but which otherwise constitutes an integral part of farming operations being conducted on land qualifying under this section as "farm and agricultural lands."
"Farm operator" or "operator of a farm" means a person who operates farm and agricultural land.
"Filing deadline" means four weeks before election day in the current election cycle, or, if a local filing deadline that is more than four weeks before election day is adopted by formal action of the conservation district supervisors, that adopted filing deadline.
"Full term," "regular term," and "full term of office" means a three-year term of office.
"Incumbent" means the person in present possession of the office of conservation district supervisor.
"Landowner" means a person with legal title of record to real property in the conservation district at the time of filing for election or applying for appointment.
"Mail-in election" means an election in which mail-in ballots are provided before election day to qualified voters. Voters return completed ballots to a receiving location or address authorized by the conservation district board of supervisors.
"Malfeasance" means wrongful conduct that affects, interrupts, or interferes with the performance of a supervisor's official duty.
"Mid-term" and "mid-term vacancy" means a vacancy in the office of conservation district supervisor, when such vacancy occurs before the full term of office has been fulfilled.
"Municipal officer" means all elected and appointed officers of a conservation district, together with all deputies and assistants of such an officer, and all persons exercising or undertaking to exercise any of the powers or functions of a municipal officer.
"Neglect of duty" means failure by a supervisor or supervisors to perform mandatory duties. Such duties include, but are not limited to:
(a) Compliance with laws and rules imposed by local, state, and federal government entities;
(b) Attendance at a sufficient number of board meetings so as to not impede the work of the conservation district;
(c) Maintaining a full and accurate record of district business;
(d) Securing of surety bonds for board officers and employees;
(e) Carrying out an annual financial audit;
(f) Providing for keeping current a comprehensive long-range program;
(g) Providing for preparation of an annual work plan;
(h) Providing for informing the general public, agencies, and occupiers of lands within the conservation district of conservation district plans and programs;
(i) Providing for including affected community members in regard to current and proposed plans and programs; and
(j) Providing for the submission of the conservation district's proposed long-range program and annual work plan to the conservation commission.
"Poll list" or "polling list" means a list of voters who voted in an election.
"Polling officer" means a person appointed by the election supervisor to verify voter eligibility, assure compliance with this rule in and around the polling place, issue ballots, count ballots, and verify the unofficial ballot count in writing to conservation district supervisors.
"Poll site" and "polling site" means a location where votes are collected in a ballot box.
"Poll-site election" and "walk-in election" means an election in which a voter signs in on a poll list, receives a ballot from a polling officer, enters a vote for a candidate on the ballot, and places the ballot in a ballot box at a polling place supervised or monitored by polling officers.
"Provisional ballot" or "contested ballot" means a paper ballot issued to a voter whose qualifications as a qualified district elector cannot be determined at the time the paper ballot is issued. A provisional ballot consists of two envelopes and a paper ballot.
"Qualified district elector" means a registered voter in the county where the district is located and who resides within the conservation district boundary. Qualified district elector means an individual residing within the boundary of the conservation district and registered to vote in a county where the conservation district is located.
"Remote election" means an election in which ballots are returned by some means other than for a poll-site election. A mail-in election is a type of remote election.
"Short term" or "short term of office" means a term of office less than three years in duration.
"Significant noncompliance" means the failure to follow the requirements in this rule that may affect the outcome of an election or deny voters their right of privacy in voting.
"Supervisor" means an elected or appointed board member of a local conservation district governing board, in which the governing board is referred to as the board of supervisors.
"Supervisor-elect" means a supervisor who received more valid votes than any of the other candidates running for the same position in a conservation district election, but the election has not yet been certified by the conservation commission.
"Tie" or "election tie" means an election where no candidate has received a simple majority of votes cast by qualified district electors, and two or more candidates have received the same number of votes cast by qualified district electors.
"Undeclared write-in candidate" means an individual who has not submitted required candidate information to the conservation district and who has not submitted a qualified nominating petition by the filing deadline.
"Voter" means a person who submits a ballot in a conservation district election.
"Withdrawal of candidacy" and "to withdraw" means a written notice, signed and dated by the candidate, and delivered to the conservation district, stating the person's desire to be removed from consideration for the office of conservation district supervisor.
