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jt 14. T o supply water under contract, agreem ent, or in other legal manner to the U nited States of A m erica, or any departm ent thereof, the State of N evada, Clark County, and any city, tow n, corporation, individual, association, or partnership situated within Clark County, Nevada, for an appropriate charge, consideration, or exchange made therefor, w hen such supply is available or can be developed as an incident of or in connection w ith the prim ary functions and operations of the district. 15. T o have the right to provide from revenues or other available funds an adequate depreciation fund for the replacem ent o f parts o f the w orks and properties of the district. (A s amended, Chap. 307, N evada Statutes, 1951.) Section 2. A proposal for the establishment o f the Las V egas valley water district m ay be instituted b y a petition signed b y at least five percent o f the ow ners of real property within the proposed district as evidenced b y the county assessor’s tax roll. T h e petition shall indicate the purposes, boundaries, divisions, and other pertinent inform ation, and pray that the district be organized under the provisions of this act. Such petition shall first be presented to the board o f cou n ty com m issioners o f Clark County, accom panied w ith a good and sufficient bond, to be approved b y the said board o f cou n ty com m issioners in double the am ount of the probable cost o f organizing such district, conditioned that the bondsm en will pay all said costs in case said organization shall not be affected. N otice of intention to present such petition shall be published for at least tw o weeks before the tim e the same is to be presented, in som e newspaper printed and published in Las V egas, Clark C ounty, Nevada. Section 3. W h en such petition is presented, and it shall appear that the notice o f the presentation o f said petition has been given and that said petition has been signed by the requisite num ber of petitioners as required b y this act, the com m issioners shall hold a hearing on said petition, and m ay adjourn such hearing from tim e to tim e not exceeding three weeks in all. In the hearing o f any such petition the board of county com m issioners shall disregard any inform alities therein, and in case it deny the same or dismiss it for any reasons on account of the provisions of this act not having been com plied with, w hich are the only reasons upon w hich it shall have the right to refuse or dismiss the same, it shall state its reasons in w riting therefor in detail, which shall be entered upon its records, and in case the reasons are not w ell founded, a w rit of mandamus shall, upon proper application therefor, issue out o f the district court of the county com pelling it to act in com pliance w ith this act, w hich w rit shall be heard within tw enty days from the date of issuance, such tim e to be excluded from the time given the county com m issioners to act upon the petition. U pon the com pletion o f the hearing the county com m issioners shall forthw ith make an order denying or granting the prayer of said petition, and if the same is granted shall, in said order, define and establish the boundaries and designate the name of such proposed district and divide the same into seven divisions, as prescribed in the petition, as nearly equal in size as may be practicable. Thereupon the said com m issioners shall by further order duly entered upon their record call an election of the qualified electors o f said proposed district to determine w hether such district shall be organized under the provisions o f this act, and by such order shall subm it the names o f one or m ore persons from each of the divisions of said district to be voted for as directors o f the district. O ne director shall be elected from each division by the qualified electors o f the w ater district and shall be a qualified elector and property ow ner o f the division from w hich he is elected. Each division shall constitute an election precinct for the purposes o f this a ct; provided, that after the organization of the district the directors m ay divide a division into tw o or m ore precincts and fix the polling places therein; and provided further, that the directors, b y affirmative vote o f all o f their num ber or o f all of their num ber save one, m ay reduce the num ber of election precincts to one or m ore within the district, establish the boundaries thereof, and fix the polling place or places therein. T h e board of county com m issioners shall give notice of such election, w hich shall be published for tw o weeks prior to such election in a newspaper within the county w here the petition is filed. Such notice shall require the electors to cast ballots w hich shall contain the w ords “ W ater D istrict— Y es,” or “ W ater D istrict— N o,” or w ords equivalent thereto, and the names of persons to be voted for as directors. F or the purpose o f this election the board shall establish a p ollin g place in each election precinct aforesaid, and shall also appoint three qualified electors to act as inspectors of election in each election precinct, and also appoint for each precinct tw o clerks o f election. T h e record of the board of county com m issioners o f the proceedings had and taken b y it under the provisions of this act shall be, in the absence o f fraud, conclusive evidence o f the matters and things therein recited. 3 Section 4. E xcept as in this act otherw ise provided, all such elections shall be conducted as near as m ay be practicable in accordance with the general election laws of this state, including the right to vote b y absent voter’s ballot. T h e board o f county com m issioners shall meet on the second M onday succeeding such election and proceed to canvass the votes cast thereat, and if upon such canvass it appears that a m ajority o f the electors voted “ W ater DistrictjbrYes” the board, by an order entered upon its minutes, shall declare such territory duly organized as a water district under the name and style theretofore designated, and shall declare the persons receiving, respectively, the highest num ber o f votes for directors to be duly elected, and shall cause a copy o f such order and a plat o f said district, each duly certified by the clerk o f the board of county com ­missioners, to be im m ediately filed for record in the office of the county recorder of Clark County, and certified copies thereof shall also be filed w ith the county clerk of Clark County, and thereafter the organization o f the district shall be com plete. Section 5. T he regular elections of such water district shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first M onday in A pril of the second calendar year after the com pletion of the organization thereof, and on the same day biennially thereafter, biennially after the first regular election therein. T h e directors elected at the organization election shall be selected by lot so that three directors shall hold office until their successors are elected at the next regular election and qualify, and four directors shall hold office until their successors are elected at the second regular election after organization and qualify, and at the regular election biennially thereafter directors shall be elected, to replace the directors w hose terms empire, for terms of four years, or until their successors are elected and qualify. D irectors so elected shall have th'e qualifications prescribed in this act for directors elected at the time o f organization. N om inations for the office o f directors shall be made by filing a declaration with the secretary within fifty days before the date o f election and not later than tw enty days before such election. Candidates shall pay tw enty-five dollars filing fee with such declaration. In the event there shall be no contests for office, and no matters or propositions to be voted upon at any such election, then such election shall not be held, and the duly qualified candidates shall be deemed elected as of the date said election w ould otherw ise have been held, and the board o f directors must declare on its records said candidates to have been elected. Section 6. N ot less than fifteen nor m ore than tw enty days before any election held under this act subsequent to the organization o f the district, the secretary shall cause notice specifying the polling places and tim e o f holding the election to be posted in three public places in each election precinct and in the office o f the board of directors. Prior to the tim e for posting the notice the board o f directors shall appoint three qualified electors to act as inspectors of election in each election precinct, and shall also appoint tw o clerks o f election for each precinct. If the board of directors fail to appoint a board o f election or the members appointed do not attend the opening of the polls on the m orning of election, the electors o f the precinct present at that hour may appoint the board or supply the place o f absent m em bers thereof. T h e board o f directors shall, in its order appointing the board o f election, designate the hour and the place in each precinct w here the election shall be held. T h e secretary shall be ex officio district registrar o f the district, and may, at least four weeks before any election, appoint a deputy registrar in each election precinct, w hose duty it shall be to register all electors within his precinct applying for registration, and for this purpose he or she shall have authority to demand of the elector all inform ation, and to administer all oaths required b y this act. Such registrar and deputy registrar shall be governed in the perform ance o f their duties b y the general election laws o f this state as far as they are applicable, and shall be at their places o f registration to receive applications for registration from 9 o ’clock a. m. until 9 o ’clock p. m. on each o f three W ednesdays next preceding the date o f election. T h e registrars shall require registrants to take the follow in g oath in substance: “ I am, or have declared m y intention to becom e, a citizen o f the U nited States, am over the age o f tw enty-one years, and am, or properly represent, under the law in pursuance o f which this election is to be held, the bona fide holder o f title or evidence o f title o f real property within the boundaries o f the Las V egas valley water district, and such holding is for all purposes and not sim ply for this election or matters connected therew ith.” N o election for any purpose except for organization shall be held in such water district w ithout such registration, and only electors duly registered shall be entitled to vote thereat; provided, however, that if an elector has voted at the last preceding district election, whether special or general, and is still eligible, he shall not be required to reregister in order to vote at the next succeeding election, but before he shall be perm itted to vote at such election, if he shall not have reregistered therefor, he shall be required to take and subscribe the registration oath before the board o f election, on a form provided b y the district as evidence o f'h is continued eligibility. .............. .. .... r ‘ J 4