(1) TIME OF ELECTION. (a) Not more than 60 days after the membership of the corporation reaches 1,000 persons with at least 50 members in each district and the corporation has received $10,000, the interim directors appointed under s. 199.11 shall set a date for the first election of directors and shall so notify every member. The notice shall include the length of term of each director position as designated by the interim directors under s. 199.11 (2) (g). The date set shall be not less than 4 months and not more than 6 months after such notification. (b) The 2nd election of directors shall be held not less than 6 months nor more than 12 months after the election held under par. (a) and every election of directors thereafter shall be held annually within the same month as the 2nd election except as provided under s. 199.06 (6). The board shall notify every member of an election at least 4 months prior to the election. (2) ELIGIBILITY. To be eligible for election to the board, a candidate must: (a) Meet the qualifications for directors under s. 199.06 (2). (b) Have his or her nomination certified by the board under sub. (3). (c) Submit to the board a statement of financial interests under sub. (4) and a statement of personal background and positions under sub. (5). (d) Make the affirmation under sub. (6) (e). (3) NOMINATION. A candidate for election to the board shall circulate a petition for nomination not sooner than 120 days preceding the election and shall file the petition with the corporation not later than 60 days prior to the election. The petition for nomination shall be signed by at least 5 percent or 30, whichever is less, of the members residing in his or her district. The board shall verify the validity of the signatures. Within 14 days after the petition is due, the board shall determine whether a sufficient number of signatures are valid. If the board determines a sufficient number are valid, it shall certify the nomination of the candidate. (4) STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL INTERESTS. A candidate for election to the board whose nomination is certified under sub. (3) shall submit to the board, not later than 60 days prior to the election, a statement of financial interests upon a form provided by the board. The statement of financial interests shall include the following information: (a) The occupation, employer and position at place of employment of the candidate and of his or her immediate family members. (b) A list of all corporate and organizational directorships or other offices, and of all fiduciary relationships, held in the past 3 years by the candidate and by his or her immediate family members. (c) The name of any creditor to whom the candidate or a member of the candidate’s immediate family owes $3,000 or more, and the amount owed. (d) The name of any corporation in which the candidate holds a security, the current market value of which is $3,000 or more and the dollar value of such security. In this paragraph, “security” includes any share of stock, bond, debenture, note or other security issued by a corporation which is registered as to ownership on the books of the corporation. (e) An affirmation, subject to penalty of false swearing under s. 946.32, that the information contained in the statement of financial interests is true and complete. (5) STATEMENT OF PERSONAL BACKGROUND AND POSITIONS. A candidate for election to the board whose nomination is certified under sub. (3) shall submit to the board, not later than 60 days prior to the election, on a form to be provided by the board, a statement concerning his or her personal background and positions on issues relating to public utilities or the operations of the corporation. The statement shall contain an affirmation, subject to penalty of false swearing under s. 946.32, that the candidate meets the qualifications prescribed for directors in s. 199.06 (2). (6) RESTRICTIONS ON AND REPORTING OF CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES. (a) No candidate may accept more than $50 in campaign contributions from any person or political committee from one year before the date of an election through the date of the election. (b) Each candidate for election to the board shall keep complete records of all contributions to his or her campaign of $15 or more made from one year before the date of an election through the date of the election, and, at the board’s request, shall make such records available for inspection by the board. (c) As a condition for receiving the benefits of the board’s mailing under sub. (7) (a) 2., a candidate for election to the board shall agree in writing to incur no more than $500 in campaign expenditures from the time he or she commences circulation of petitions for nomination or from 4 months prior to the election, whichever is earlier, through the date of the election. (d) Each candidate for election to the board shall keep complete records of his or her campaign expenditures, and, at the board’s request, shall make such records available for inspection by the board. (e) No earlier than 14 days and no later than 8 days preceding the election and no earlier than 21 days and no later than 30 days after the election, each candidate for election to the board shall submit to the board, on a form provided by the board, an accurate statement of his or her campaign contributions accepted and campaign expenditures incurred, and shall affirm to the board, subject to penalty of false swearing under s. 946.32, that he or she has fully complied with the requirements of this subsection. (f) No candidate for election to the board may use any campaign contribution for any purpose except for campaign expenditures. Any campaign contribution not expended shall be donated no later than 90 days after the election to the corporation or to any charitable organization at the option of the candidate. (7) ELECTION PROCEDURES. (a) The board shall mail or distribute to each member’s address on file with the corporation, not sooner than 21 and not later than 14 days before the date fixed for the election: 1. An official ballot listing all candidates for director from the member’s district whose nominations the board has certified and who satisfy the requirements of sub. (2). The board shall include with the ballot each candidate’s statement of financial interests submitted under sub. (4). 2. The statement by each candidate for election to the board of personal background and positions as required under sub. (5), if the candidate has agreed in writing to limit his or her campaign expenditures under sub. (6) (c). (b) Each member may vote in the election by returning his or her official ballot in person or by 1st class mail, properly marked, to the head office of the corporation. The ballot must be received by the corporation by 8 p.m. of the date fixed for the election. (c) Voting shall be by secret ballot. (d) The board shall tally votes with all reasonable speed and shall inform the membership promptly of the names of the candidates elected. (e) For each district the board within 30 days of the election shall certify a candidate elected to the board if the candidate has the most votes in the district and if the candidate has complied with this section. (f) In the first election of directors the board within 30 days of the election shall certify as elected the 2 candidates with the most votes in each district who have complied with this section. The candidate with the most votes in each district shall have the longer term as designated by the interim board of directors under s. 199.11 (2) (g). (g) If the candidate with the most votes dies, declines or re- signs from candidacy prior to being certified under par. (e), the office for which the candidate ran shall be vacant and shall be filled by the board under s. 199.06 (6) (b). (8) ELECTION RULES. The board may prescribe rules for the conduct of elections and election campaigns not inconsistent with this chapter.
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