Board Elections
BOARD ELECTIONS
The East Columbia Basin Irrigation District is governed by a five-member Board of Directors responsible for guiding District operations and policies.
The filing period for those wishing to serve opens on the first Wednesday of October and closes at 5:00PM on the first Monday in November. Election Day is the second Tuesday in December.
To serve as a Director, the individual must file a Petition of Nomination signed by at least 10 qualified voters in the Director Division he/she is filing to represent, and reside in either Grant or Adams county.
Petitions of Nomination will only be available at the District’s main office located at 55 North 8th in Othello and only after the opening of the filing period. Each Petition of nomination form supplied by the District shall include information about the qualifications for voting and serving as a Director.
Upon filing of a Petition of Nomination at the main office, the Secretary-Manager or Assistant Secretary will verify that the candidate is a qualified voter within the Director Division he or she is filing to represent and verify that the Petition includes the valid signatures of at least 10 qualified voters in that Director Division. If discrepancies or deficiencies in the Petition or in a candidate’s qualifications as a voter are noted, the Secretary-Manager or his designee in consultation with the District’s Attorney shall research the circumstances and notify the candidate. Corrections and/or additional signatures to remedy the discrepancy or deficiency may be made provided the filing period has not ended. A candidate may request a review by the Board of Directors of the Secretary-Manager’s findings in such situations at a regular, continued or special board meeting provided the filing period has not ended.
DISTRICT BOUNDARIES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
- Director Division 1: The part of the District located in Grant County north of Wheeler Road.
- Director Division 2: The Grant County portion of the District bounded on the north by Wheeler Road, on the east and south by the Grant/Adams County line, and on the west by the District.
- Director Division 3: All of the District located in Lincoln County and that part of the District located in Adams County north of Providence Road.
- Director Division 4: Totally in Adams County, bounded on the north by the Grant/Adams County line, on the south by the Franklin/Adams County line and on the west by the District boundary. The east boundary of this Director Division follows Booker Road from the Grant/Adams County line to Cunningham Road, then follows Cunningham Road to the east for three miles to the range line separating Ranges 30 and 31 East (Fox Road and its extension) which it follows to the Franklin/Adams County.
- Director Division 5: All of the District located in Franklin County and that part of the District located in Adams County, bounded on the north by the Grant/Adams County line and on the east by the District boundary. The west boundary of this Director Division follows Booker Road from the Grant/Adams County line to Cunningham Road, then follows Cunningham Road to the east for three miles to the range line separating Ranges 30 and 31 East (Fox Road and its extension) which it follows to the Franklin/Adams County line.
Filing periods, elections and terms of office for the District’s five Director Divisions shall occur and reoccur in the following sequence:
- Year 1: Divisions 1 and 3
- Year 2: Divisions 2 and 4
- Year 3: Division 5
To qualify as a voter, an individual must own land included within the District and vote in the Director Division in which he or she resides or is nearest to his or her residence. Upon request, the Secretary-Manager or his designee will provide a copy of the voter list for the Director Division to the prospective candidate.
Eligible landowners can request ballots once it is established that an election will be held. To qualify as a voter an individual must:
- Be 18 years of age or older
- Be a U.S. citizen
- Be a resident of the State of Washington
- Own land or hold evidence of title to land in the District. Ownership of land and evidence of title includes contract sellers and purchasers of land, land held as part of community property with a spouse and land held in partnership with other(s). An agent of a corporation or other legal entity owning land in the district may vote on behalf of the entity by filing with the election officers an instrument of authority. Ownership of land and evidence of title for purposes of serving as Director must be individual and does not include agents of legal entities wherein the land is owned in the name of the legal entity.
- Vote only in the Director Division in which he or she owns land or holds evidence of title to land. Persons owning land or holding evidence of title to land in more than one Director Division shall vote only in that Director Division in which he or she owns land or holds evidence of title to land that is nearest his or her residence.
