Title 8 — TOWNSHIPS

The board of supervisors of a township may, by ordinance, require a candidate for township office to file a nominating petition pursuant to §

If the board of supervisors requires nominating petitions pursuant to § 8-3-1.1 , no candidate for elective township office may be nominated unless a nominating petition is filed with the township clerk no later than five p.m. of the day twenty - five days prior to the annual tow…

If the board of supervisors requires nominating petitions pursuant to § 8-3-1.1 , the township clerk shall publish a notice stating the offices that will be voted upon at the annual meeting. The notice shall be published in the official newspapers of the township once a week for …

No township with a population of twenty or fewer resident voters is required to publish a notice of the time and place of an annual meeting more than once in any publication. Source: SL 1992, ch 58 , § 2; SL 2002, ch 44 , § 1.

At the opening of every township meeting the moderator shall state the business to be transacted, and the order in which it shall be entertained, and no proposition to vote a tax shall be acted on out of the order of business as stated by the moderator, and no proposition to reco…

The minutes of the proceedings of every township meeting, subscribed by the clerk and judges of such meeting, shall be filed in the office of the township clerk within two days after such meeting. Source: SL 1883, ch 112 , subch 1, § 31; CL 1887, § 732; RPolC 1903, § 1024; RC 191…

There shall be elected at such annual township meeting one supervisor, who shall hold his office for the term of three years and until his successor is elected and qualified, the senior member of the board of supervisors to be chairman thereof. In any organized civil township con…

At each annual meeting, a clerk and a treasurer shall be elected, and a constable may be elected. If a constable is elected, the term of office is two years, except to fill vacancies. Source: SL 1872-3, ch 51 , §§ 12, 24; PolC 1877, ch 23, § 19; CL 1887, § 715; SL 1899, ch 84 , §…

The voters of each organized civil township with fifty or fewer resident voters may combine the offices of the clerk and treasurer during the annual meeting. If a majority of the voters vote to combine the offices, the combined office of the clerk and treasurer shall be nominated…

Before the voters proceed to elect any township officer, proclamation shall be made at the opening of the polls by the moderator, and proclamation shall in like manner be made of the adjournment, and of the opening and closing of the polls, until the election is ended. Source: SL…

The supervisors, treasurer, clerk, and constable in each township shall be elected by ballot except if there is no opposing candidate. All other officers, if not otherwise provided by law, shall be chosen either by yeas and nays or by a division, as the voters determine. Source: …

When the voters vote by ballot for township officers, a poll list shall be kept by the clerk of the meeting, on which shall be entered the name of each person whose vote is received. The ballot, which may be written or printed, or partly written and partly printed, shall include …

At the close of the election the judges shall proceed publicly to canvass the votes, which canvass, when commenced, shall continue without adjournment or interruption until the same is completed. The canvass shall be conducted by taking one ballot at a time from the ballot box an…

If nominating petitions are required pursuant to § 8-3-1.1 , then any voter qualified to vote in a township candidate election may vote by absentee ballot as prescribed in chapter 12-19 . Absentee voting shall be allowed for any township ballot question election and shall be cond…

The clerk of every township meeting, within ten days thereafter, shall transmit to each person elected to any township office, whose name is not entered on the poll list as a voter, notice of his election. Source: SL 1872-3, ch 51 , § 31; PolC 1877, ch 23, § 24; SL 1883, ch 112 ,…

If any township refuses or neglects to organize and elect officers at the time fixed by law for holding the annual meeting, twelve resident voters of the township may call a meeting for such purpose by notice published in the same manner as provided for the publication of notice …

The voters of each organized civil township have power at their annual meeting: (1) To select such township officers as are required by law to be chosen; (2) To vote to levy a tax for authorized township purposes, but the levy may not exceed the limit authorized by law. Source: S…

If no such notice is given as provided in § 8-3-19 within thirty days after the time for holding the annual meeting, the board of county commissioners shall, on the affidavit of any resident voter of the township, filed in the office of the county auditor setting forth the facts,…

The township governing body may, by ordinance or resolution, adopt the provisions of chapter 12-27 . Source: SL 1988, ch 60 , § 3; SL 2008, ch 67 , § 19.

Special meetings of the township electors may be held for the purpose of electing township officers to fill vacancies that occur, or for the purpose of transacting any lawful business if the entire board of supervisors files or if two members of the board of supervisors, together…

Every township clerk with whom such statement is filed as required in § 8-3-3 shall record the same and immediately cause notice to be published in the same manner as provided for the publication of notice of the annual township meeting. However, in a township with a population o…

The voters present at the annual or special township meeting shall be called to order by the township clerk, if there is one present, and if not the voters shall elect one of their number chairman. Such voters shall elect three of their number judges, who shall be duly sworn and …

No person may vote at any township meeting unless the person is registered to vote in the township pursuant to chapter 12-4 and resides in that township. For the purposes of this section, a person resides in the township if the person actually lives in the township for at least t…

Every person who votes at any civil township meeting, in a township in which he does not reside, or who offers to vote at any annual township meeting, after having voted at an annual township meeting held at another township within the same year, is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeano…

If any person is challenged as being unqualified when offering to vote at any township election or upon any question arising at any township meeting relating to a person's residency, the judges, or township clerk, if no judges are present, must have the person sign an affidavit a…