Section 29.26.070. Election contest and appeal.

   (a) The governing body may provide by ordinance the time and procedure for the contest of an election.
   (b) Unless otherwise provided by ordinance, an election may be contested only by a voter by filing a written affidavit with the municipal clerk specifying with particularity the grounds for the contest.  An election may be contested before or during the first canvass of ballots by the governing body.
   (c) Unless otherwise provided by ordinance, the governing body shall declare the election results at the first meeting to canvass the election, record the results in the minutes of that meeting, and authorize the results to be certified.
   (d) A contestant shall pay all costs and expenses incurred in a recount of an election demanded by the contestant if the recount fails to reverse a result of the election, or the difference between the winning and losing vote on the result contested is more than two percent.
   (e) A person may not appeal or seek judicial review of an election for any cause unless the person is a voter, has exhausted all administrative remedies before the governing body, and has commenced, within 10 days after the governing body has declared the election results, an action in the superior court in the judicial district in which the municipality is located.  If court action is not commenced within the 10-day period, the election and election results are conclusive and valid.

Notes

History

(Sec. 9 ch 74 SLA 1985)