A. The qualified electors shall in all cases be the landowners.

B. The City Clerk shall in all cases be the election official.

C. The landowner-voters shall be those meeting the definition of landowner as defined in CVMC 3.61.030 as of the close of the public hearing on the establishment of the district unless the City Clerk is informed, by reliable evidence, of a change in ownership after that time and at least 24 hours before the deadline to submit ballots. In that event, at the request of the new landowner, the City Clerk shall prepare a new ballot and deliver it to the new landowner. The City Clerk shall also, in that event, accept and include in the canvass of the election any ballot submitted by the new landowner and exclude any ballot submitted by the former landowner.

D. Since landowner-voters are entitled to a secret ballot, and since ballots are required to contain the names of each landowner and the number of votes each is entitled to cast, the City Clerk shall protect the confidentiality of the ballots. No person, other than those among the staff and consultants of the City who require access for the purposes of counting and canvassing the ballots, may have access to the ballots at any time, unless by order of a court of competent jurisdiction. The legislative body may authorize disclosure of ballots to ensure transparency of the election but only if ballots are redacted to conceal the identity of the landowner-voters who cast such ballots. (Ord. 3458 § 2, 2019).