(a) If no candidate’s name is to appear on the ballot for a particular office to be voted on at an election in which write-in votes for the office are permitted by law, the authority responsible for having the official ballot prepared shall have the office title printed on the ballot and shall provide a space for a write-in vote as required by this code. However, in an election in which write-in votes may be counted only for names appearing on a list of write-in candidates, if no candidate’s name is to appear on the ballot or the list of write-in candidates for a particular office, the office title is not printed on the ballot.
(b) If the authority fails to have the office title printed on the ballot, a person may not be declared elected to the office because of write-in votes that are cast by writing in the office title and the person’s name unless the total number of votes cast for all write-in candidates for that office is more than 50 percent of the total number of voters participating in the election who are eligible to vote for the office.