ELECTION

Annual Election Process

2025 election

Pre-election procedure
1. Statutory Authority: IC 14-33-5-5
2. Certified list of Freeholders
  1. In September of the election year, the LCD must ask the Dearborn County Auditor for a certified list of all the freeholders in both the Greendale Levee District and the Lawrenceburg Levee District, except where no election is to be ran in the specific district.
  2. The Greendale and Lawrenceburg freeholder lists must be separate and not comingled.

The freeholder lists are to include the name of the freeholder, the tax parcel numbers of the properties owned by the freeholder and a mailing address for the freeholder.

The freeholder lists received should be in electronic format.
Upon receiving the lists from the Auditor, the LCD attorney shall confirm the location, name and address of the freeholder, and the attorney will then request that the auditor sign a certification document.

Winnowing the certified Auditor freehold lists
1. A “freehold” shall be defined as a tract of land that is held by a freeholder.
2. Pursuant to IC 14-8-2-104, a “freeholder” is defined as a person who holds land:
  1. In fee
  2. For life; or
  3. For some indeterminate period of time;
  4. whether or not in joint title with at least one (1) other person.
3. Pursuant to IC 14-8-2-202(d), a “person” means an individual, a partnership, an association, a fiduciary, an executor or administrator, a limited liability company, a corporation, or a governmental entity.
4. Pursuant to IC 14-33-5-5, there shall only be one vote per freehold and the “one vote per freehold” shall be further defined as follows:
  1. Only one (1) freeholder’s signature may be counted for any one (1) freehold. If a freehold is held in joint title, only one (1) freeholder’s signature may be counted and it may be the signature of any one (1) of the freeholders owning the freehold in joint title. If a given freeholder qualifies as set forth in this section for at least two (2) freeholds, the freeholder’s signature shall be counted for each freehold.
  2. One (1) or more tracts of land owned solely by only one (1) freeholder constitute one (1) freehold.

One (1) or more tracts of land owned in joint title by at least two (2) identical freeholders constitute one (1) freehold. However, if one (1) of the freeholders owning the freehold in joint title is a different or additional person, each freehold in joint title among nonidentical persons constitutes a separate and additional freehold.

The LCD attorney shall consider the definitions contained herein and shall winnow the lists in the following manner:
1. The LCD Attorney shall take the Lawrenceburg and Greendale freeholder lists and verify that the freeholder stated on the list holds the freehold located within the specific voting district.
2. The LCD Attorney shall scrutinize the lists for freeholders who hold multiple tax parcels and derive one mailing address for the freeholder, based on the tax mailing address provided by the auditor.

A freeholder that holds a freehold in both voting districts shall be allowed to cast one ballot for each voting district.

If the LCD attorney finds, a freehold has been divided into multiple freeholds for the sole purpose of increasing the number of freeholders eligible to cast a vote in an election, then the LCD attorney may decide to exclude the added freeholders from the list of freeholders eligible to vote. Should the LCD attorney disqualify a person under this paragraph the following rules will also apply:
1. The LCD attorney will list and attest to the findings of facts, which led the LCD attorney to disqualify the otherwise qualified freeholders from voting.
2. The determination of the LCD attorney, under this subsection, may be challenged by petitioning the Dearborn County Circuit Court.

Nominations and qualifications of prospective board members
1. Board Member Qualifications
  1. Statutory Authority: IC 14-33-5-1
  2. A director must have the following qualifications:
    1. The director must be:
      1. A freeholder of the area of the district for which appointed; or
      2. An officer or a nominee of a corporate freeholder of the area of the district for which appointed.
    2. Be qualified by knowledge and experience in matters pertaining to the development of the district.
  3. Nominations
    1. Statutory Authority IC 14-33-5-3
    2. Beginning October 24 and not later than November 1, the board shall invite nominations to fill vacancies on the board at the next annual meeting by one (1) publication in a newspaper of general circulation in each county in the district. Each publication must do the following:
      1. Contain the names of the directors whose terms are expiring and the area of the district involved.
      2. Invite nominations to fill vacancies.
      3. State the qualifications for the office as prescribed by section 1 of this chapter, except for the following:

A nominee does not have to have been a petitioner for the establishment of the district.

A nominee does not have to be a resident of the area of the district for which nominations are invited. However, a non-resident nominee, must be appointed by a corporate freeholder.

Nominations for director must:
1. Be submitted in writing to the office of the LCD or may be hand delivered to the LCD attorney in writing before December 1 following the notice of vacancies; and
2. Be signed by at least five (5) freeholders from the areas designated by the secretary’s notice.
Nomination Forms
1. The LCD shall have a nomination form available for use of any person desiring a template for nomination, which shall contain the following:
  1. A space where the Nominee can place their name.
  2. A space indicating what voting district the Nominee is desiring to run in either Lawrenceburg or Greendale.
  3. A space where the Nominee can indicate whether the Nominee is a natural-person freeholder or whether the Nominee is an appointee of a corporate freeholder.
    1. If the Nominee is an appointee of a corporate freeholder, then the officer of the corporation appointing the Nominee will state the corporation’s name, the officer’s position in the corporation and shall sign the document.
  4. Five spaces where the attesting freeholders may sign their name.
    1. All corporate freeholders attesting to the nomination must write, in the space so designated, the name of the corporation, followed by the officer’s name, followed by the officer’s title.
  5. A person need not use the LCD supplied template and may use a form consistent with statute as long, as the form used is substantially similar to the LCD template form.
2. Nominations mailed are valid if:
  1. Delivered or postmarked before December 1;
  2. The envelope has sufficient United States postage; and

The envelope is addressed to the office, located at 225 Eads Pkwy
Lawrenceburg, IN 47025.

Certification of Nomination
1. The LCD Attorney shall scrutinize every nomination presented in the following manner:
  1. Verify the Nominee by:
    1. Certifying the Nominee is a natural-person freeholder in the designated voting district, unless the Nominee is an appointee of a corporate freeholder; OR
    2. Certifying the Nominee is a corporate appointee and the corporation appointing the nominee is a corporate freeholder in the voting district; and
  2. Verify that the five attesting freeholders are freeholders in the specific voting district.
2. Beginning of the Election process
  1. The Board shall appoint an Election Secretary, hereinafter “Secretary” to serve with the LCD attorney in administering the election.
    1. The Secretary must be a person of high moral virtue and character and may be an employee of the LCD, but may not be related to a nominee in accordance with Indiana’s nepotism laws for public agencies.
    2. If the person appointed as Secretary is not a current employee of the LCD, then the Board shall order the LCD attorney to pay the appointed Secretary a wage determined by the board and shall reimburse the Attorney for the expenditure.

The following individuals may not serve as an Election Secretary:
1. All current LCD board members.
2. All persons seeking election to the LCD board.
3. A person currently serving as an elected official in another Indiana agency or municipality.
4. A convicted felon or a person who has committed a crime of moral turpitude.
5. A person under the age of 18.

The Secretary and the Attorney shall compile the certified lists for each voting district, after the list has been winnowed to exclude duplicate entries and to ensure there is only one vote per freehold per voting district.
The Board of Directors shall determine the date of the annual meeting.
Once the Board of Directors declares the date of the annual meeting, notice of the annual meeting shall be published after December 1 (pursuant to Ind. Code 14-33-5-4(a) and paragraph 4 of the Dearborn County Circuit Court Order Establishing the Lawrenceburg Conservancy District) in the following manner:
1. Notice of the annual meeting of the district must be given by one (1) publication in a newspaper of general circulation in each county in the district at least fourteen (14) and not more than thirty-one (31) days before the annual meeting. The notice must contain the following:
  1. The names of the nominees in alphabetical order
  2. The place where the election will be held
  3. The time of the election
  4. The fact that this is the annual meeting of the district
  5. The purposes of the meeting
  6. Time during which ballots may be cast
  7. The address where ballots are to be returned.
2. Ballots; Certification
  1. Statutory Authority: IC 14-33-5-5
  2. Before the annual meeting, the board shall prepare the ballots and a list of the freeholders of the district, which must be certified by the county auditor and placed in the district’s files. A deficiency in this process or an omission of the names of any freeholders does not void action taken at an annual meeting.
  3. Only one (1) vote may be cast per freehold.
  4. The Secretary and Attorney shall send a mail-in ballot to every qualified freeholder or group of freeholders in the specific voting district as shown on the winnowed-auditor-certified list, prior to December 31^st .
  5. The LCD shall maintain two mailboxes equipped with locks on the outside of the building. The first mailbox shall be for normal mail and shall be referred to as the “mailbox” and the second mailbox shall be for hand delivered ballots and shall be referred to as the “drop-box.”
  6. Once the ballots are mailed to the freeholders, then both the mailbox and the drop-box shall be locked and only the Secretary and the Attorney may access the mailbox and the drop-box, until the election is completed.
  7. The LCD shall instruct the freeholders to mail completed ballots to 225 Eads Pkwy, Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 or to hand deliver the completed ballots to the LCD building and to place ballots in the designated drop-box.
  8. No director, agent, or employee of the LCD, other than the LCD secretary and LCD attorney, may deliver or touch a completed ballot, on behalf of a freeholder. If an LCD director, agent, or employee delivers or touches a completed ballot on behalf of a freeholder, then the completed ballot will not be counted.
  9. If a person discovers that an LCD director, agent, or employee handled a completed ballot in an effort to frustrate the election prior to the counting of the ballots, then the Secretary and Attorney will attest to the issue and ask the Chairman to call a special meeting of the board of directors to decide whether, the ballot should be counted at the annual meeting. If a person discovers that an LCD director, agent, or employee handled a completed ballot, but the fact was not discovered until after the election and the uncounted ballot would have impacted the election, then the Attorney shall immediately file for a declaratory judgment with the Dearborn County Circuit Court.
  10. The Lawrenceburg Ballots shall be placed in a Lawrenceburg specified-dual-key-lock box, which shall not be opened until the annual meeting and the Greendale Ballots shall be treated in the same manner.
  11. The Attorney shall retain one key for each lock box and the Secretary shall also retain one key for each lock box.
  12. Ballots returned to sender will be attested to by the Secretary and Attorney and if the person does not appear on Election Day, then no vote shall be counted.
  13. Should a freeholder claim that a mail-in ballot was not delivered to them, then the Secretary and Attorney shall attest that the freeholder did not receive the mail-in ballot and that a new ballot was provided. In providing the additional ballot to the freeholder, the Secretary and Attorney shall assign a new number to the freeholder ballot and the Attorney shall instruct the clerks at the annual meeting to be watchful for those ballots reported lost. Should a clerk discover a mail-in ballot reported lost, but present during the vote tabulation, then the vote shall not be counted.
3. Annual Meeting
  1. Statutory Authority: IC 14-33-5-2—Election to fill vacancies; number of votes to elect
    1. At each annual meeting of the district which shall be held on the second Monday of January, directors shall be elected to fill vacancies on the board due to expiration of terms, resignation, or otherwise.
    2. The election shall be conducted by written signed ballots.

To be elected, a Nominee must receive a plurality of the votes (more votes than the other Nominees) of the freeholders of the district who are:
1. Present and voting in person; or
2. Absent but have mailed or delivered a completed ballot.

Should there be more than one vacancy in a given district, the nominees with the most votes shall be elected to fill the vacancies.

Voting Procedures; IC 14-33-5-6
1. Appointment of Clerks
  1. At each annual meeting and before the election of directors, the chairman shall appoint three (3) freeholders for the Greendale district and three (3) freeholders for the Lawrenceburg district who are present at the annual meeting to act as clerks and conduct the election in the following manner:.
    1. A Clerk must be a natural person living in the district.
    2. The appointed three clerks may cast their votes in person or may indicate that they mailed in their ballot.
  2. Should a clerk disclose that they mailed their ballot to the LCD and if the clerk’s mailed-in ballot is not discovered, then the Secretary and the LCD Attorney shall attest to the discrepancy and shall allow the clerk to cast their vote in person.
2. Voting in Person
  1. Before the casting of a vote, each freeholder must sign the list of freeholders opposite the freeholder’s name in the presence of the Secretary, Attorney, or Clerk.
  2. If a clerk finds that a freeholder’s name is erroneously omitted from the list, the clerk shall place the name on the list and the Secretary and Attorney shall attest to the added name, after verifying the person’s status as a freeholder.

The clerk shall note the fact of receipt of a valid written ballot vote opposite the freeholder’s name who cast that vote. At this time, the written ballot vote is considered cast and shall be deposited into the ballot box.

In person voting shall be from 6:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. EST on the date of the annual meeting.

Tabulating the Vote
1. At the close of the election poll, The Attorney and the Secretary along with the appointed clerks, shall sequester themselves for the purpose of counting and tabulating both the ballots cast by hand and the ballots returned by mail or hand delivered in the drop-box.
2. The clerks shall count the properly cast ballots, whether they be cast by hand, returned by mail, or hand delivered in the following manner and make a report of the results:
  1. The Greendale clerks shall count the Greendale Levee ballots and the Lawrenceburg clerks shall count the Lawrenceburg ballots.
  2. The clerks shall empty the envelopes and ballots from the two ballot boxes and place the unopened envelopes on the table in two distinct piles one for Lawrenceburg and one for Greendale.
  3. The clerks will check if the number on the envelope corresponds to each freeholder on the freeholder list.
  4. The Attorney and the Secretary shall confirm that the number found on the envelope corresponds to a freeholder.
  5. When checking the envelope, the clerks, the Attorney, and the Secretary shall check to make sure the ballot envelope is signed.
  6. The clerks will then open the sealed envelopes which will contain a secondary sealed envelope within, hereinafter “ballot envelope.”
  7. The ballot envelope will be opened, and the ballots will be placed in separate voting district pile face down and shuffled.
  8. A properly delivered ballot shall be defined as a ballot from a freeholder, which is found in the sealed envelopes provided by the LCD.
  9. The votes will then be tabulated per voting district.
    1. The number of votes cast by each freeholder may not exceed the number of open board positions.
    2. Any ballot marked with more votes than the number of open board positions will be stricken from the tabulation.
    3. Any ballot containing a write in nominee will be stricken from the tabulation.
    4. The Attorney and the Secretary will attest to any ballot stricken from tabulation and state the reason why the ballot was stricken.
      1. The attestation may be a general statement as to a group of ballots.

The secretary of the LCD shall record the results of the election in the records of the district and shall present the record to the chairman.

Announcing the Victors
1. Upon receiving the tabulated votes, the chairman shall declare the successful nominees elected, and the elected directors are entitled to and shall assume all the duties of the office for which elected.
2. The counted ballots shall be returned to the lockboxes and stored by the LCD for three months following the election.

The Attorney and the Secretary shall record vital statistics of the election, including but not limited to the following:
1. Number of ballots returned to sender;
2. Number of completed mail-in ballots, which arrived after the election deadline;
3. The number of ballots rejected for errors committed in the completion; And
4. Any other statistic the board may ask for, as long as the statistic does not infringe upon the secrecy of the casted vote.

After the three-month period has expired the ballots will be destroyed, unless special circumstances require the retention of the ballots.

Oath of Director IC 14-33-5-7
1. Promptly after appointment or election a director shall take the following oath:
  1. “I solemnly swear that I shall, to the best of my ability, strive to accomplish the purposes for which the district is established and properly to operate and maintain its works of improvement.”

END OF RULES.

ELECTION

Annual Election Process

2025 election

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