603-045-0030 Election (1) If the petition meets the statutory requirements, the Department will provide notice of the date of the election in a newspaper circulated in the production area. The notice will appear at least 14 days before the first day of the election. The notice will include the following: (a) The beginning date and the end date of the election period; (b) A statement explaining how the grower list was established; and (c) Information on how a grower may obtain a ballot. (2)(a) During the period established for the election, all affected growers are entitled to vote. Any grower may present evidence in support of a claim to be an eligible elector, however their vote will not count unless the Supervisor of Elections determines that they qualify to be an eligible elector; (b) A partnership has only one vote, which may be cast either by one of the partners or by the partners jointly; (c) The vote of a corporation, association, joint stock company, or other firm or business entity, may be cast by any properly authorized officer. (3) The Supervisor of Elections shall: (a) Conduct the election by giving an opportunity to affected electors to cast their ballots; (b) Determine the beginning and end of the election period and the deadline for casting ballots. Electors must be allowed at least ten days to vote in the election; (c) Determine whether ballots may be cast by mail or at polling places. If the Supervisor of Elections determines that ballots may be cast by mail, it will cause all material specified in subsection (3)(d) of this rule to be mailed to each elector at the last known address on file with the Department. If the Supervisor of Elections determines that ballots may be cast at polling places, it may determine, subject to provisions of ORS Chapter 576, the necessary polling places and the hours during which each polling place will be open; provided that all polling places remain open at least four consecutive hours during each day announced. The Supervisor of Elections will also allow electors to vote by absentee ballot; (d) Make available to affected electors the following: (A) A statement of the proposal on the ballot form; (B) A form certifying the following information: (i) That the elector has the authority to vote for business entity; (ii) The elector’s production in the last preceding crop season or year of the affected commodity; and (iii) That the elector is a current grower of the affected commodity. (4)(a) The Supervisor of Elections and its appointees during an election will check that each postmark is within the election period, maintain a daily record of each elector’s name and business entity located on the outside of the return envelope, and place return envelopes in a locked ballot box. The daily record is available to the public for inspection. Any registered grower may challenge the qualifications and eligibility of an elector to vote. The person challenging the ballot must submit, under oath or affirmation before a public notary, a written statement of challenge. The statement must contain the challenger’s name and residential address and mailing address, if different; the name of the person challenged; and a statement of the facts upon which the challenge is based. All challenges must be received by the Supervisor of Elections by 5:00 p.m. on the second business day following the close of the election. (b) The Supervisor of Elections will examine any challenge to determine if the challenger is registered to vote. If the challenge meets the requirements contained in this rule, the Supervisor of Elections will examine the challenge and determine if the person is qualified and if the vote was properly cast. If the challenge does not comply with the requirements of this rule, it will be dismissed. (5) After all challenges have been decided, the Supervisor of Elections will appoint two persons to open the locked ballot box and remain present while the ballot box is open. They must immediately reconcile the number of ballots against the daily record of electors. (a) One person must open the return envelope and determine if the certification complies with the requirements of this rule. If so, the ballot envelope must be handed to the second person for tally. The first person shall read the certified production total to the second person to be recorded on the ballot. If the certification does not comply with the requirements of this rule, it must be submitted to the Supervisor of Election with the sealed ballot for review. The Department may obtain missing information from all electors whose certifications are incomplete. One the certification is complete the ballots may be tallied. (b) The certification and ballots will remain in separate files to protect the elector’s confidentiality. (6) Within ten days of the conclusion of the election, the Supervisor of Elections will prepare the Certification and Declaration and submit it to the Director for filing with the Secretary of State. The Certification and Declaration must include the following: (a) A statement to the effect that the ballots submitted are all of the ballots cast and received by such persons during the election period; (b) A list of all challenged ballots; (c) A detailed statement explaining the method used in publicizing the election and how the election was conducted; and (d) The total numbers of affirmative and negative votes cast; (e) The percentage of total electors that those voting represent; and (f) The percentage of total production that the affirmative and negative votes represent. (7) After filing the Certification and Declaration with the Secretary of the State, the Department will announce the results of the election. (8) The Supervisor of Elections may prescribe additional instructions consistent with the provisions of this rule. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 632 Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 632 History: DOA 1-2002, f. & cert. ef. 1-15-02