HB0037

Establishes nonpartisan nomination and election procedures for specified county elected offices, modifies vacancy-filling procedures, and reorganizes ballot ordering requirements.

• Designates the positions of clerk of the district court, coroner, district attorney, county clerk, county treasurer, county assessor, sheriff, and county/prosecuting attorney as nonpartisan offices. (W.S. 5-3-201, W.S. 7-4-101, W.S. 9-1-801, W.S. 18-3-101(a))
• Requires nonpartisan candidates for specified county offices to be nominated only through nonpartisan primary elections. (W.S. 22-5-203(c))
• Specifies that for nonpartisan offices, the top two times the number of positions to be filled advance from the primary to the general election ballot, with write-in candidates requiring at least 25 primary votes to advance. (W.S. 22-5-215(b))
• Establishes the order of offices on nonpartisan ballots, placing nonpartisan county offices (clerk, treasurer, assessor, coroner, sheriff, county/prosecuting attorney, district attorney, and district court clerk) at the top, followed by municipal, college, school, and special district offices, then ballot propositions. (W.S. 22-6-125(a))
• Specifies the official format and content requirements for nonpartisan general election ballots, including header, county/date information, candidate groupings, write-in candidate lines, voting squares, and retention questions for judges. (W.S. 22-6-126(c))
• Modifies vacancy-filling procedures for nonpartisan county offices by requiring county commissioners to publish notice allowing qualified persons to apply directly for appointment when the incumbent did not represent a political party at election or appointment. (W.S. 22-18-111(a)(ii), W.S. 22-18-111(a)(vi))
• Updates ballot ordering in partisan elections to reflect that coroner, district attorney, and other specified offices are now handled through nonpartisan procedures. (W.S. 22-6-117(a)(ix))
• Renumbers subsequent nonpartisan ballot categories to account for the addition of nonpartisan county offices as the first category on the ballot. (W.S. 22-6-125(a), Sec. 1)