(b) Referendum. The referendum process allows the Tribal Council to refer proposed legislation to the General Council for its binding vote, and allows the General Council, on its own, to uphold or overturn legislation that has been passed by the Tribal Council. Upon the receipt and validation of a properly certified and completed petition, an election will be held on the referred measure in accordance with the procedures set forth in this chapter; provided, that such election shall be called by the Tribal Council immediately upon notice received from the Election Board that a properly certified and completed referendum petition has been received and verified; and provided further, that such referendum election shall be within 60 days after the Election Board has notified the Tribal Council in writing that a valid petition has been received.

(c) Petition Requirements. To be valid, a referendum petition must be signed by at least one-quarter of the General Council of the Samish Indian Nation.

(a) Sponsor. Each petition must have at least one sponsor with whom all correspondence and communication with the Election Board shall take place. The sponsor(s) must be a tribal member eligible to vote and his or her name must appear on each petition signature page along with mailing address and phone number.

(b) Purpose and Measure. Each petition signature page must contain the statement that “THE PURPOSE OF THIS PETITION IS TO HAVE A GENERAL COUNCIL ELECTION ON THE FOLLOWING MEASURE” followed by, in the case of a referendum, the number and date of adoption of the measure to be referred and a summary of it. In addition, each page of the petition must include a statement showing the date on which the Election Board approved the petition form. Each petition signature page must have attached to it a complete copy of the proposed measure or measures to be referred.

(c) Forms. The Election Board may issue a suggested form of petition for use by tribal members, but any petition which meets the requirements of this section shall be sufficient for filing with the Election Board.

(a) Submission of Petition. Sponsors of a petition may file completed petitions at any time within 90 days of certification. The Election Board must verify the number and genuineness of the signatures, that at least one-fourth of all eligible voters have signed and that the petition is filed within 90 days of certification. If the requirements of this chapter are met, the Election Board shall so verify, and the petition shall be validated.

(b) Signatures. The name of each signer must be printed and the signature must be in ink. The date of signing must be noted. Signers must be eligible to vote in tribal elections as set forth in STC 2.02.010(3) in order for their signature on a referendum petition to be valid.

(c) Verification. On the front of each signature page shall be a statement, signed by the person who circulated that page, stating that he or she circulated the signature page with a complete copy of the measure attached, and that the signatures on it are true and authentic to the best of his or her knowledge.

(a) Upon validation of the petition by the Election Board and receipt of notice of such validation by the Tribal Chairman, the referendum shall be set for election within 60 days; provided, that if a referendum petition is validated by the Election Board and received by the Tribal Chairman within 30 days of a scheduled General Council meeting, the election shall be scheduled for that date.

(b) The Election Board is responsible for setting the election date for a referendum election within the time frames established by the Samish Constitution and this chapter. An election under this section may be held on a specific date and time with absentee ballots allowed or it may be held entirely by absentee ballot.

(c) If a specific date is set for a physical polling location, the polls shall be open for at least four hours. Mail-in ballots are due by 5:00 p.m. on the day before the date set for the election. Challenges to rejected ballots must be made immediately following the closing of the polls on the date set for the election. The procedures set out in STC 2.02.010(5) shall be followed. Recount requests must be made according to STC 2.02.060(2) and must be made after the results of the election are certified, but before the matter in the referendum is put into effect.

(d) Voting Procedure.

(e) If the election will be held by mail-in ballot only all ballots must be received by 5:00 p.m. on the date set for the election. Challenges to rejected ballots must be made immediately following the closing of the polls on the date set for the election, which, in the case of an all mail-in ballot election, shall be at 5:00 p.m. The procedures set out in STC 2.02.010(5) shall be followed.

(f) Official ballots shall be printed on white paper with black ink in BOLD letters and use 14-point size font on the entire ballot. Ballots shall be numbered. Sample ballots may be printed on colored paper and shall be clearly labeled “sample ballot” and shall not be counted if placed in the ballot box.

(g) Returns. Immediately after the polls are closed, the Election Board shall secure the ballot box in a place where tampering cannot take place. No mailed ballots shall be counted until the official count takes place. Immediately after the polls are closed at 12:00 p.m., and after the procedures related to rejected ballots as set forth in subsection STC 2.02.010(5)(d) have been completed, the Election Board shall count the votes cast in a separate room subject to the provisions of STC 2.02.060(1). The Election Board shall review and certify the results of the election, deliver the results to the Chairman of the Tribal Council, and post the results in a public place. Recount requests must be made according to STC 2.02.060(2) and must be made after the results of the election are certified, but before the matter in the referendum is put into effect. Ballot measures shall take effect in accordance with subsection (10) of this section.