A. Examination By Clerk: All petitions with attached signature sheets shall be presented to the county clerk, and a cursory examination of the petitions shall be made by the clerk within thirty (30) days. The cursory examination shall be made to determine whether the petitions apparently contain the necessary number of signatures.
1. Insufficient Signatures: If the total number of signatures on the petitions is not sufficient to satisfy the number required by section 1-7-5 of this chapter, all petitions with attached signature sheets shall be retained by the clerk who shall notify, in writing, the persons filing the petition of the number of signatures needed, and further signatures may be gathered.
2. Rejected Signatures: If the cursory examination of the signature sheets reveals:
a. Erasures on any signature;
b. Illegible or undecipherable signatures;
c. Signatures not properly identified by all of the information required on the sheet;
d. Duplicate signatures;
e. Signatures of persons who have requested, in writing, to have their names removed from the petition;
the clerk shall summarily reject such signatures and such rejected signatures shall not be counted. Each rejected signature shall be drawn through with ink and initialed by the clerk, if the total number of signatures not rejected is not sufficient to satisfy the number required by section 1-7-5 of this chapter, all petitions with attached signature sheets shall be retained by the clerk who shall notify, in writing, the person filing the petition of the number of signatures needed, and further signatures may be gathered.
3. Defective Petition: In the event that a petition filed with a county clerk does not contain the required number of certified signatures, the county clerk shall inform the person or organization under whose authority the petition was circulated that the petition is defective for lack of certified signatures, and specify the number of addition signatures required to make the petition valid. The petition must be perfected within thirty (30) days of the date that the clerk finds the petition defective for lack of certified signatures. If the petition is not perfected within the thirty (30) day period, the clerk shall declare the petition null and void ab initio in its entirety.
B. Perfected Petition: In the event the petition is perfected, the clerk shall certify the petition and the county commissioners shall forthwith order a special election for the initiative or referendum to be held not more than ninety (90) days following the certification of the petition; provided, that in the event a general or primary election will occur within the ninety (90) days, the initiative or referendum shall be submitted at the time of the general or primary election. The election shall be conducted and the results thereof canvassed and certified in all respects as nearly as practicable in accordance with the general election laws of the state. (Ord. 81-7, 11-23-1981)