1.  The county clerk of the county in which a conservation district is situated, or the county clerk’s designee, shall conduct a biennial nonpartisan election for the replacement of any supervisors whose terms are about to expire and shall pay all costs of that election from county funds.

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2.  The election must be held either at a mass meeting of electors, held in a centrally located public meeting place within the district, or as part of the general election.

3.  If a mass meeting is held for the election, it must be held on one of the first 10 days of November in each even-numbered year.

4.  If the election is held at a mass meeting:

(a) The chair of the district supervisors shall preside at this meeting and the secretary of the district shall keep a record of transactions at the meeting.

(b) Nominations of candidates must be made verbally from the floor.

(c) Voting must be by secret ballot. The chair of the district supervisors shall appoint three electors present to act, without pay, as judges and tellers to count the votes at the conclusion of voting.

5.  If the election is held as part of the general election:

(a) Candidates are bound by the election laws governing county elections.

(b) Ballots must be provided bearing the names of candidates in alphabetical order by surnames with a square before each name and a direction to insert an X mark in the square before the name or names of the voter’s choice.

(c) At the close of polling, the sealed ballot boxes must be delivered unopened to the county clerk or the county clerk’s designee, who shall appoint three electors to act, without pay, as judges and tellers to open the boxes and count the votes.

6.  The result of the election must be certified to the Commission and to the Program by the county clerk or the county clerk’s designee, within 1 week following the date of election.

7.  If a conservation district embodies land lying in more than one county, the county clerks of the respective counties shall confer and delegate to the clerk of the county having the greatest number of qualified electors of the conservation district the duty of carrying out the provisions of this section and shall reimburse that county on a pro rata basis for their respective counties’ shares of the expenses of conducting the election.