§ 18-3-501 — Composition; election for increasing the number; term; quorum; election for districting; procedures

(a) Each board of county commissioners shall consist of
three (3) qualified electors who shall be elected in the
following manner: at the general election held in the year 1980
and every fourth year thereafter, there shall be elected one (1)
commissioner for a term of four (4) years and at the general
election held in the year of 1978 and every fourth year
thereafter there shall be elected two (2) commissioners for a
term of four (4) years each. Any two (2) members of the board
constitute a quorum and are competent to act. In addition to the
other residency requirements imposed by this section, each
county commissioner shall be a resident of the county in which
the county commissioner serves, beginning on the first day of
the term and through the last day of the term for which the
county commissioner serves.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, any
county may increase the membership of its board of county
commissioners from three (3) to five (5) members if a
proposition for the increase is submitted to a vote of the
qualified electors of the county and a majority of those casting
their ballots vote in favor of the increase. Additional offices
created under this subsection shall be filled at the general
election next following the election at which the increase was
approved. At that general election, not more than one (1)
commissioner shall be elected for a term of two (2) years, and
the election ballots shall so state. Each term shall otherwise
be four (4) years.
(c) The proposition to increase the membership of the
board of county commissioners shall be at the expense of the
county and be submitted to the electors of the county upon
receipt by the county clerk of a petition requesting the
election signed by at least ten percent (10%) of the qualified
electors of the county. To be counted the electors shall be
registered voters when the completed petition is submitted for
verification. The number of electors required shall be
determined by the number of votes cast at the last general
election. The election shall be at the direction and under the
supervision of the county clerk. The petition shall be in
substantially the following form:
"This petition is for the purpose of requesting an election to
increase the membership of the board of county commissioners
from three (3) to five (5) members. If a proposition for the
increase is submitted to a vote of the qualified electors of the
county and a majority of those casting their ballots vote in
favor of the increase, the additional offices created shall be
filled at the general election held in (year).
The eligible registered electors supporting the petition and
numbering not less than ten percent (10%) of the total number of
votes cast at the last general election in the county for which
this petition is filed, are as follows:
(Signature) (Printed Name) (Residence Address) (Date)
VERIFICATION OF CIRCULATORS
I, .... do hereby certify that I am a circulator of this
petition, and I solely and personally circulated this petition,
that all the signatures appearing herein were made in my
presence from (month)_(day), (year) through (month) (day),
(year), and to the best of my knowledge and belief such
signatures are those of the persons whose names they purport to
be.
(Signature)
(Residence Address)"
(d) The proposition may be submitted at any general
election. A notice of election shall be given in at least one
(1) newspaper of general circulation published in the county
wherein the election is to be held and shall specify the object
of the election. The notice shall be published at least once
each week for a thirty (30) day period preceding the election.
At the election the ballots shall contain the words "for
increasing the membership of the board of county commissioners
from three (3) to five (5) members", and "against increasing the
membership of the board of county commissioners from three (3)
to five (5) members".
(e) If a county votes to increase the membership of its
board of county commissioners under subsection (b) of this
section, three (3) members of the board constitute a quorum and
are competent to act.
(f) Any county may decrease the membership of its board of
county commissioners from five (5) to three (3) members in the
same petition and proposition process as an increase under
subsections (b) and (c) of this section. The vote to decrease
membership shall be in the general election preceding the
election of three (3) commissioners. Notice of the election
shall be given as provided in subsection (d) of this section.
(g) Any county in which the electors vote to increase the
number of county commissioners from three (3) to five (5) as
provided by this section may be divided into five (5) districts
if a proposition for districting is submitted to a vote of the
qualified electorate of the county and a majority of those
casting their ballots vote in favor of the districting. The
proposition for districting shall be submitted to a vote in the
manner provided by subsections (c) and (d) of this section. At
the election, the ballot shall contain the words "for dividing
the county into five (5) county commissioner election districts"
and "against dividing the county into five (5) county
commissioner election districts". The proposition to increase
the number of county commissioners and the proposition for
districting may appear on the ballot at the same general
election, however the ballots shall state that the proposition
for districting is contingent upon approval of the proposition
to increase the number of commissioners. The petition required
by subsection (c) of this section may contain both the
proposition to increase the number of commissioners and the
proposition for districting, or the propositions may be
circulated and submitted on separate petitions. If the
proposition for districting is not approved, the commissioners
shall represent the county on at-large basis.
(h) If the proposition for districting is approved, the
board of county commissioners shall devise a districting plan
dividing the county into districts as nearly equal in population
as practicable considering the geographic, economic and social
characteristics of the county. The districting plan shall be
made before March 1 next following the election at which the
proposition for districting is approved and shall be effective
as of March 1 the following year. The districting plan may
provide that any commissioner elected after the effective date
of the districting plan shall reside in and represent the
district from which he is elected by the electors of that
district, and, beginning January 1, 2012, that commissioners may
serve at large or that district representation may be
apportioned in any combination of single member, multi-member
and at large representation, provided that in all cases
commissioners represent a population as nearly equal as is
practicable considering the geographic, economic and social
characteristics of the county. Commissioners in office on the
effective date of the districting plan shall serve the county at
large until the regular expiration of their term. The
districting plan shall designate which districts shall elect
county commissioners in the general election next following the
effective date of the districting plan. In any county in which
the voters approved increasing the number of commissioners and
districting at the same election, the districting plan shall
also designate which district shall elect a county commissioner
at the next general election for a term of two (2) years, as
provided by subsection (b) of this section. The ballot shall
state the term in the designated district to be for two (2)
years. Thereafter, all terms shall be four (4) years.
(j) Appeals from the actions of the boards of county
commissioners shall be as provided by law.
(k) If required to do so pursuant to a final court order
or changes in population affecting the constitutionality of a
current districting plan, the board of county commissioners may
by resolution devise a districting or redistricting plan
dividing the county into any number of districts necessary to
meet the requirements of the court order or necessary to address
the population changes. A districting or redistricting plan
devised under this subsection may include single member or
multi-member districts in which the candidates must reside and
which are apportioned by population, districts in which
candidates are elected at large, or any combination of districts
in which candidates must reside and are apportioned by
population or are elected at large provided that in all cases
commissioners represent a population as nearly equal as is
practicable considering the geographic, economic and social
characteristics of the county. A districting or redistricting
plan created under this subsection shall not be subject to a
vote of the electors and shall go into effect after the next
general election and shall be subject to the following:
(i) An initial districting plan created under this
subsection shall provide for at least fifty-one percent (51%) of
the commissioners to serve an initial term of two (2) years and
the remainder to serve an initial term of four (4) years.
Thereafter, all terms shall be four (4) years. The terms of all
commissioners serving at the time of the approval of the
districting plan shall expire at the end of the current year and
all offices created under this subsection shall be filled at the
general election held on the effective date of the districting
plan;
(ii) For a redistricting plan, commissioners in
office on the effective date of the districting plan shall serve
the county at large until the regular expiration of their term,
if practical. The county commission shall determine whether
honoring the four (4) year terms is practical.