Any registered voter residing within the boundaries of the road and bridge service district may file a referendum petition to call an election to retain any or all commissioners. Any referendum petition to call such election shall be filed with the county auditor no later than one year before the end of a commissioner's term. Within ten days of the filing of a petition, the county auditor shall confer with the petitioner concerning form and style of the petition, issue an identification number for the petition, and write a ballot title for the measure. The ballot title shall be posed as a question: "Shall (name of commissioner) be retained as a road and bridge service district commissioner?" and the question shall be posed separately for each commissioner. The petitioner shall be notified of the identification number and ballot title within this ten-day period.

     After this notification, the petitioner shall have thirty days in which to secure on petition forms the signatures of not less than twenty-five percent of the registered voters residing within the boundaries of the service district and file the signed petitions with the county auditor. Each petition form shall contain the ballot title. The county auditor shall verify the sufficiency of the signatures on the petitions. If sufficient valid signatures are properly submitted, the county auditor shall submit the referendum measure to the registered voters residing in the service district in a special election no later than one hundred twenty days after the signed petition has been filed with the county auditor. The special election may be conducted by mail ballot as provided for in *chapter 29.36 RCW.

     The office of any commissioner for whom there is not a majority vote to retain shall be declared vacant.

[1996 c 292 § 4.]

NOTES:

     *Reviser's note: Chapter 29.36 RCW was recodified as chapter 29A.40 RCW pursuant to 2003 c 111 § 2401, effective July 1, 2004.