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H0095.........................................................by STATE AFFAIRS
SCHOOL DISTRICT - ELECTIONS - Amends existing law to delete the requirement
that school district electors must reside in a trustee zone as a qualification
for voting for candidates in a school trustee election but, for purposes of
representation, a trustee must reside in the trustee zone from which he is
elected.
01/22 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
01/23 Rpt prt - to St Aff
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ||||
Fifty-seventh Legislature First Regular Session - 2003
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 95
BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO SCHOOL DISTRICT TRUSTEE ELECTIONS; AMENDING SECTION 33-313, IDAHO
3 CODE, TO PROVIDE THAT TRUSTEE ZONES ARE FOR THE PURPOSE OF QUALIFYING MEM-
4 BERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES BUT ARE NOT A RESTRICTION ON VOTING PRIVI-
5 LEGES WITHIN A SCHOOL DISTRICT; AMENDING SECTION 33-405, IDAHO CODE, TO
6 DELETE TRUSTEE ZONE RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT AS A QUALIFICATION OF A SCHOOL
7 ELECTOR FOR PURPOSES OF VOTING FOR CANDIDATES IN A SCHOOL TRUSTEE ELEC-
8 TION; AMENDING SECTION 33-405A, IDAHO CODE, TO DELETE TRUSTEE ZONE RESI-
9 DENCY REQUIREMENT FOR THE PURPOSE OF VOTING IN SCHOOL TRUSTEE ELECTIONS
10 AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; AMENDING SECTION 33-406, IDAHO CODE, TO
11 DELETE TRUSTEE ZONE RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT FOR THE PURPOSE OF VOTING ABSEN-
12 TEE IN SCHOOL TRUSTEE ELECTIONS AND TO MAKE A TECHNICAL CORRECTION; AMEND-
13 ING SECTION 33-412, IDAHO CODE, TO DELETE TRUSTEE ZONE RESIDENCY REQUIRE-
14 MENT FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONTESTING A SCHOOL TRUSTEE ELECTION; AMENDING
15 SECTION 33-424, IDAHO CODE, TO DELETE TRUSTEE ZONE RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT
16 FOR THE PURPOSE OF INITIATING A RECALL PROCEEDING IN A SCHOOL TRUSTEE
17 ELECTION AND TO MAKE A TECHNICAL CORRECTION; AMENDING SECTION 33-429,
18 IDAHO CODE, TO DELETE TRUSTEE ZONE RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT AS AN ELEMENT OF
19 A RECALL PETITION FOR PERSONS SIGNING THE PETITION; AMENDING SECTION
20 33-437, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR CERTIFICATION OF RESIDENCY WITHIN A
21 SCHOOL DISTRICT; AMENDING SECTION 33-501, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE TRUSTEE
22 ZONE REPRESENTATION, AND NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF TRUSTEES BY ELECTORS
23 OF THE ENTIRE SCHOOL DISTRICT; AMENDING SECTION 33-502, IDAHO CODE, TO
24 DELETE TRUSTEE ZONE RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT FOR SIGNERS OF A TRUSTEE
25 CANDIDATE'S DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY; AMENDING SECTION 33-503, IDAHO CODE,
26 TO PROVIDE FOR ELECTION OF TRUSTEES BASED ON VOTES CAST WITHIN THE DIS-
27 TRICT AND TO MAKE A TECHNICAL CORRECTION; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
28 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
29 SECTION 1. That Section 33-313, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
30 amended to read as follows:
31 33-313. TRUSTEE ZONES. Trustee zones are established to determine the
32 qualification of candidates for the board of trustees, but all qualified elec-
33 tors of the district shall be eligible to vote in any trustee election. Each
34 elementary school district shall be divided into three (3) trustee zones and
35 each other school district shall be divided into no fewer than five (5) or
36 more than nine (9) trustee zones according to the provisions of section
37 33-501, Idaho Code. Any proposal to define the boundaries of the several
38 trustee zones in each such school district shall include the determination,
39 where appropriate, of the number of trustee zones in such district, and the
40 date of expiration of the term of office for each trustee. The boundaries of
41 the several trustee zones in each such school district shall be defined and
42 drawn so that, as reasonably as may be, each such zone shall have approxi-
43 mately the same population.
2
1 Whenever the area of any district has been enlarged by the annexation of
2 all or any part of another district, or by the correction of errors in the
3 legal description of school district boundaries, any such additional territory
4 shall be included in the trustee zone or zones contiguous to such additional
5 territory until such time as the trustee zones may be redefined and changed.
6 Trustee zones may be redefined and changed, but not more than once every five
7 (5) years in the manner hereinafter provided.
8 A proposal to redefine and change trustee zones of any district may be
9 initiated by its board of trustees and shall be initiated by its board of
10 trustees at the first meeting following the report of the decennial census,
11 and submitted to the state board of education, or by petition signed by not
12 less than fifty (50) school electors residing in the district, and presented
13 to the board of trustees of the district. Within one hundred twenty (120) days
14 following the decennial census or the receipt of a petition to redefine and
15 change the trustee zones of a district the board of trustees shall prepare a
16 proposal for a change which will equalize the population in each zone in the
17 district and shall submit the proposal to the state board of education. Any
18 proposal shall include a legal description of each trustee zone as the same
19 would appear as proposed, a map of the district showing how each trustee zone
20 would then appear, and the approximate population each would then have, should
21 the proposal to change any trustee zones become effective.
22 Within sixty (60) days after it has received the said proposal the state
23 board of education may approve or disapprove the proposal to redefine and
24 change trustee zones and shall give notice thereof in writing to the board of
25 trustees of the district wherein the change is proposed. Should the state
26 board of education disapprove a proposal the board of trustees shall within
27 forty-five (45) days submit a revised proposal to the state board of educa-
28 tion. Should the state board of education approve the proposal, the trustee
29 zones shall be changed in accordance with the proposal.
30 At the next regular meeting of the board of trustees following the
31 approval of the proposal the board shall appoint from its membership a trustee
32 for each new zone to serve as trustee until that incumbent trustee's three (3)
33 year term expires. If the current board membership includes two (2) incumbent
34 trustees from the same new trustee zone, the board will select the incumbent
35 trustee with the most seniority as a trustee to serve the remainder of his
36 three (3) year term. If both incumbent trustees have equal seniority, the
37 board will choose one (1) of the trustees by the drawing of lots. If there is
38 a trustee vacancy in any of the new zones, the board of trustees shall appoint
39 from the patrons resident in that new trustee zone, a person from that zone to
40 serve as trustee until the next annual meeting. At the annual election a
41 trustee shall be elected to serve during the term specified in the election
42 for the zone. The elected trustee shall assume office at the annual meeting of
43 the school district next following the election.
44 SECTION 2. That Section 33-405, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
45 amended to read as follows:
46 33-405. QUALIFICATIONS OF SCHOOL ELECTORS. Any person voting, or offering
47 to vote, in any school election must be, at the time of the election eighteen
48 (18) years of age and a United States citizen who has resided in this state
49 and in the school district at least thirty (30) days next preceding the elec-
50 tion in which the elector desires to vote. In the case of election of
51 trustees, the elector must be a resident of the same trustee zone as the can-
52 didate or candidates for school district trustees for whom the elector offers
53 to vote for at least thirty (30) days next preceding the election in which the
3
1 elector desires to vote.
2 Registration requirements set forth in chapter 4, title 34, Idaho Code,
3 shall be applicable to school elections, and in addition to the foregoing
4 qualifications, a school elector shall have executed, in writing and immedi-
5 ately before voting, a form of elector's oath attesting that he or she pos-
6 sesses the qualifications of a school elector prescribed by this section and
7 indicating the mailing address, residence address or any other necessary
8 information definitely locating the residence of the school elector. The elec-
9 tor may be required to furnish to the election official proof of residence,
10 which proof shall be established by either an Idaho motor vehicle driver's
11 license or any other document definitely establishing the elector's residence
12 within the school district. or trustee zone.
13 SECTION 3. That Section 33-405A, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
14 amended to read as follows:
15 33-405A. RESIDENCE DEFINED. a.(1) Residence, for the purpose of voting
16 in school elections, shall be the principal or primary home or place of abode
17 of a person. Principal or primary home or place of abode is that home or place
18 in which his habitation is fixed and to which a person, whenever he is absent,
19 has the present intention of returning after a departure or absence therefrom,
20 regardless of the duration of absence.
21 b.(2) In determining what is a principal or primary place of abode of a
22 person the following circumstances relating to such person may be taken into
23 account: business pursuits, employment, income sources, residence for income
24 or other tax pursuits, residence of parents, spouse, and children, if any,
25 leaseholds, situs of personal and real property, situs of residence for which
26 the exemption in section 63-602G, Idaho Code, is filed, and motor vehicle reg-
27 istration.
28 c.(3) A qualified elector who has left his home and gone into another
29 state or territory, county, school district or in the event of trustee elec-
30 tion another district trustee zone for a temporary purpose only shall not be
31 considered to have lost his residence.
32 d.(4) A qualified elector shall not be considered to have gained a resi-
33 dence in any school district or, in the event of a trustee election, any
34 trustee zone of a school district of this state into which he comes for tempo-
35 rary purposes only, without the intention of making it his home but with the
36 intention of leaving it when the elector has accomplished the purpose that
37 brought took him there.
38 e.(5) If a qualified elector moves to another school district or trustee
39 zone or to another state or any of the other territories, with the intention
40 of making it his permanent home, he shall be considered to have lost his resi-
41 dence in the school district or trustee zone in which he had previously
42 resided.
43 SECTION 4. That Section 33-406, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
44 amended to read as follows:
45 33-406. ABSENTEE VOTING. For the purposes of this section the term
46 "clerk" shall mean the clerk of the board of county commissioners whenever an
47 election involves changing the boundaries of school districts, or the creation
48 of new school districts by consolidation of districts or division of a dis-
49 trict. In all other school elections the term "clerk" shall mean the clerk of
50 the board of trustees of the school district.
51 In any school election, a qualified school elector who expects to be
4
1 absent from the district on the day of the election, or who will be unable,
2 because of physical disability or blindness, to go to the polling place, may
3 vote in such election in the manner herein provided.
4 Any such elector may make written application to the clerk for a ballot or
5 ballots of the kind or kinds to be voted on at such election, which applica-
6 tion shall contain the name of the elector, the trustee zone of the district
7 in which he resides, and his present address. The application for an absent
8 elector's ballot shall be filed with the clerk not later than 5:00 p.m. of the
9 day before the election.
10 The clerk receiving such application shall, not more than twenty-eight
11 (28) days prior to the day of the election, deliver to said applicant elector
12 personally or by mail to the mailing address given in the application, postage
13 prepaid, a ballot or ballots, one (1) of each kind thereof, to be voted on in
14 the election, and a form of oath of qualification.
15 The elector shall vote in secret and shall enclose his ballot or ballots
16 in an envelope to be supplied by the clerk and seal the same. The elector
17 shall then place the secrecy envelope in a return envelope, together with the
18 form of oath of qualification executed by him, and address and mail, or
19 deliver, the same to the clerk. The absentee ballot must be received by the
20 clerk, not later than 8:00 p.m. on the day of the election, before such ballot
21 may be counted.
22 Any elector physically unable to mark his own ballot may receive assis-
23 tance in marking his ballot from the officer delivering same or an available
24 person of his own choosing. In the event the officer is requested to render
25 assistance in marking an absent elector's ballot, the officer shall ascertain
26 the desires of the elector and shall vote the applicant's ballot accordingly.
27 No election officer or any other person assisting a disabled voter shall
28 attempt to influence the vote of such elector in any manner.
29 The written applications shall be kept by the clerk as a part of the
30 records of the election and he shall, on the day of the election and before
31 the polling places are closed, deliver to the proper board of election all
32 such envelopes together with a list, compiled and signed by him, of the elec-
33 tors making application to vote in absentia.
34 The board of election shall verify all return envelopes delivered to it by
35 the clerk against the names appearing on the said list, open the return enve-
36 lopes and examine the elector's oath. If these are found to be in order, the
37 ballots shall remain in the secrecy envelopes and be placed in the ballot box
38 in the same manner as though the elector were personally present and voting;
39 and the voter's name shall thereupon be subscribed in any polling book or
40 other record kept at such election.
41 SECTION 5. That Section 33-412, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
42 amended to read as follows:
43 33-412. WHO MAY CONTEST AN ELECTION. Any school district election may be
44 contested upon any of the grounds enumerated in section 33-408, Idaho Code, by
45 any qualified elector of the school district, school district trustee zone, or
46 territory in and for which the election was held.
47 SECTION 6. That Section 33-424, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
48 amended to read as follows:
49 33-424. INITIATING RECALL PROCEEDINGS. Whenever any legal voter of the
50 same school district in the same trustee zone as the school trustee for whom
51 the recall is being submitted, either individually or on behalf of an organi-
5
1 zation, desires to demand the recall and discharge of the school trustee,
2 under the provisions of section 6, article VI, section 6, of the constitution
3 of the state of Idaho, he shall send or deliver to the clerk of the board a
4 copy of a petition of recall duly signed by at least twenty (20) electors
5 eligible to sign such petition. The receiving officer shall immediately exam-
6 ine the petition. The clerk of the board shall indicate in writing on the
7 recall petition that he has approved it as to form and the date of such
8 approval. Upon approval as to form, the clerk of the board shall immediately
9 inform the person or persons, organization or organizations under whose
10 authority the recall petition is to be circulated, in writing, that the peti-
11 tion must be perfected with the required number of certified signatures within
12 sixty (60) days following the date of approval as to form. Any petition that
13 has not been perfected with the required number of certified signatures within
14 the sixty (60) days allowed shall be declared void in its entirety.
15 SECTION 7. That Section 33-429, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
16 amended to read as follows:
17 33-429. PETITION -- FORM. Recall petitions shall be printed on single
18 sheets of paper of good writing quality including, but not limited to,
19 newsprint not less than eight and one-half (8 1/2) inches in width and not
20 less than fourteen (14) inches in length. Such petitions shall be substan-
21 tially in the following form:
22 WARNING
23 Every person who signs this petition with any other than his true name, or
24 who knowingly (1) signs more than one (1) of these petitions, (2) signs this
25 petition when he is not a legal voter, or (3) makes herein any false state-
26 ment, may be fined, or imprisoned, or both.
27 Petition for the recall of (here insert the name of the person whose
28 recall is petitioned for) to the (here insert the name and title of the clerk
29 of the school board with whom the charge is filed).
30 We, the undersigned citizens and legal voters of (the school district's
31 official name), and school trustee zone number), respectfully direct that a
32 special election be called for the following reasons: (setting out the reasons
33 in a recall statement of not more than two hundred (200) words); each of us
34 for himself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a legal voter
35 of the state of Idaho in (the school district's official name) and school
36 trustee zone number) and county written after my name, and my residence
37 address is correctly stated, and to my knowledge, have signed this petition
38 only once.
39 Each and every signature sheet of each petition containing signatures
40 shall be verified on the face thereof in substantially the following form by
41 the person who circulated said sheet of the petition, by his or her affidavit
42 thereon, as a part thereof:
43 State of Idaho )
44 ) ss.
45 County of )
46 I, ...................., swear, under penalty of perjury, that every per-
47 son who signed this sheet of the foregoing petition signed his or her name
48 thereto in my presence. I believe that each has stated his or her name and the
49 accompanying required information on the signature sheet correctly, and that
50 the person was eligible to sign this petition.
51 (Signature) .................
52 Post Office address .........
53 .............................
6
1 Subscribed and sworn to before me this .... day of ...., .....
2 (Notary Seal) .......................
3 Notary Public
4 Residing at ..........
5 SECTION 8. That Section 33-437, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
6 amended to read as follows:
7 33-437. INVALID NAMES -- RECORD OF. The clerk of the school board shall
8 keep a record of all names appearing thereon which are not certified to be
9 legal residents of the trustee zone school district, and of all names appear-
10 ing more than once thereon, and he may report the same to the prosecuting
11 attorneys of the respective counties where such names appear to have been
12 signed, to the end that prosecutions may be had for such violation of the pro-
13 visions of this chapter.
14 SECTION 9. That Section 33-501, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
15 amended to read as follows:
16 33-501. BOARD OF TRUSTEES. Each school district shall be governed by a
17 board of trustees. The board of trustees of each elementary school district
18 shall consist of three (3) members, and the board of trustees of each other
19 school district shall consist of five (5) members. Provided, however, that the
20 board of trustees of any district which has had a change in its district
21 boundaries subsequent to June 30, 1973, may consist of no fewer than five (5)
22 or more than nine (9) members if such provisions are included as part of an
23 approved proposal to redefine and change trustee zones as provided in section
24 33-313, Idaho Code. Except as otherwise provided by law, a school district
25 trustee shall be elected for a term of three (3) years or until the annual
26 meeting of his district held during the year in which his term expires.
27 Each trustee shall at the time of his nomination and election, or appoint-
28 ment, be a school district elector of his district and a resident of the
29 trustee zone from which nominated and elected, or appointed. Provided however,
30 that a trustee, while a resident elector of the trustee zone which he repre-
31 sents, shall be nominated and elected by qualified electors of the entire
32 school district.
33 Each trustee shall qualify for and assume office at the annual meeting of
34 his school district next following his election, or, if appointed, at the reg-
35 ular meeting of the board of trustees next following such appointment. An oath
36 of office shall be administered to each trustee, whether elected, re-elected
37 or appointed. Said oath may be administered by the clerk, or by a trustee, of
38 the district, and the records of the district shall show such oath of office
39 to have been taken, and by whom administered and shall be filed with the offi-
40 cial records of the district.
41 SECTION 10. That Section 33-502, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
42 amended to read as follows:
43 33-502. DECLARATIONS OF CANDIDACY FOR TRUSTEES. Any person legally quali-
44 fied to hold the office of school trustee, may file a declaration of candidacy
45 for the office, each of which shall bear the name of the candidate, state the
46 term for which declaration of candidacy is made, and bear the signature of
47 not less than five (5) school district electors resident of the trustee zone
48 school district of which the candidate is resident. The declaration shall be
49 filed with the clerk of the board of trustees of the school district not later
7
1 than 5:00 p.m. on the fifth Friday preceding the day of election of trustees.
2 SECTION 11. That Section 33-503, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
3 amended to read as follows:
4 33-503. ELECTION OF TRUSTEES -- UNIFORM DATE. The election of school dis-
5 trict trustees including those in charter districts shall be on the third
6 Tuesday in May. Notice and conduct of the election, and the canvassing of the
7 returns shall be as provided in sections 33-401-- through 33-406, Idaho Code.
8 In each trustee zone, the person receiving the greatest number of votes cast
9 within his zone the school district shall be declared by the board of trustees
10 as the trustee elected from that zone.
11 If any two (2) or more persons have an equal number of votes in any
12 trustee zone and a greater number than any other nominee in that zone, the
13 board of trustees shall determine the winner by a toss of a coin.
14 SECTION 12. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby
15 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its
16 passage and approval.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 12595
This proposal recognizes that school district trustee zones are
established to determine the qualification of candidates for the
board of trustees, but establishes that all qualified electors of
the district shall be eligible to vote in any trustee election,
in the same manner in which county commissioner elections are
conducted.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
Contact
Name: Rep. Shirley McKague
Rep. Fred Tilman
Rep. Eulalie Langford
Rep. Bill Sali
Phone: 208/332-1000
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 95