Section 6.1 Vacancy

1.  When an Elected Office Becomes Vacant

   An elective county office shall become vacant upon the incumbent's death; resignation; recall; conviction of a felony, crime involving moral turpitude, unlawful destruction of public records, or other crime pertinent to the incumbent’s office; declaration of incompetency by a court of competent jurisdiction; or failure to fulfill or continue to fulfill the qualifications for office; provided, however, that an elective county office shall not become vacant as the result of a criminal conviction or declaration of incompetency until the conviction or declaration has become final and is no longer subject to appeal. 

   An Executive Elective Official shall be suspended with pay upon an information or indictment for a felony being filed against the official, such suspension continued until conviction, acquittal or dismissal of such charges, and shall be removed from office upon being convicted thereof.

2.  Designation, Appointment and Election to Fill Vacancy.
   1.  Vacancy or Suspension of an Executive Elected Office.
      1.  Immediately upon commencing their terms of office, the county assessor, auditor, clerk, prosecuting attorney, sheriff and treasurer, hereafter referred to as executive elected official, shall each designate one or more employees who serve as a chief deputy or senior manager in such office to serve as an interim official in the event of a vacancy or suspension in the elective office.
      2.  A designation of an interim official shall only be effective if the executive elected official in that officer’s elective office, complies with the following procedure: commits the designation to writing, identifies the order of precedence if more than one chief deputy or senior manager is designated, signs the written designation, has the written designation notarized, files the written designation with the county auditor.  The county assessor, auditor, clerk, prosecuting attorney, sheriff and treasurer may, at any time, amend such designation by complying with the same procedure established for making the designation.
      3.  The designated county office employee shall immediately upon the occurrence of a vacancy or suspension serve as the interim official and shall exercise all the powers and duties of the office granted by this charter and general law.
      4.  An election for a vacancy of an executive elected official shall be filled at the next general election. The term of office of a person who has been elected to fill a vacancy shall only be for the unexpired portion of the term of the official unless the election is for a new term, and shall commence as soon as the person is elected, qualified and sworn in.
   2.   Vacancy of an Elected County Council Position.
      1.  A majority of the county council shall fill a county councilor vacancy by appointment until the vacancy has been filled by election or the successor to the office has been elected and qualified according to state law. The Council shall adopt a councilor vacancy policy that describes the procedures to fill a vacant Councilor position, which shall include a public notice of the vacancy and an application process that is held open for a period of 21 calendar days or more.
      2.  An election for a vacancy in an elective county councilor shall be filled at the next general election. The term of office for a councilor who has been elected to fill a vacancy shall only be for the unexpired portion of the term of the councilor unless the election is for a new term, will be elected at the next general election.

[New, Sec. 1; Res. 2021-11, Nov. 2022]

Section 6.2 Offices designated

The offices of council member, assessor, auditor, clerk, sheriff, treasurer and prosecuting attorney shall be nonpartisan offices. Elections for the offices shall be conducted in the manner provided for partisan local elections under state law.

[Amended, Sec. 1, Res. 2021-1, Nov. 2021; Sec. 2, Res. 2021-2, Nov. 2021]

Section 6.3 Qualifications - Limitations

Each county official holding elected office shall be, at the time of filing for office, appointment or election and at all times while holding office, a citizen of United States, at least eighteen (18) years old and a resident and registered voter of Clark County. Each district county council member, throughout their term of office, shall be a resident of the district in which he or she files for the primary election.

Section 6.4 District boundaries

The boundary of each council district was established in accordance with the criteria set forth in state law. The council districts for the county are set forth in Appendix A.

[Amended, Sec. 4, Res. 2021-3, Nov. 2021; Sec. 11, Res. 2021-7, Nov. 2021]

Section 6.5 Redistricting committee

No later than September 30 of the year the decennial United States Federal Census is conducted the council shall establish a seven (7) member redistricting committee and appoint a redistricting master for that committee who is an employee in the Clark County Geographic Information Services department (or successor). The redistricting master shall be qualified by education, training, and experience to draw a redistricting plan. The council shall appoint six (6) persons to the committee. The six (6) members of the redistricting committee shall appoint a seventh member who shall be chair. If a majority of the committee members cannot agree on a committee chair within thirty (30) calendar days after the appointment of the committee members the council, no later than sixty (60) calendar days after the appointment of the committee members, shall appoint a seventh person to serve as committee chair. Members of the redistricting committee shall serve without salary but shall be compensated for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses. 

[Amended, Sec. 1, Ord. 2024-06-08, Nov. 2024]

Section 6.6 Redistricting plan

Within two (2) months after appointment, the redistricting master shall draw a redistricting plan for the county that is consistent with the following and submit the plan to the committee for adoption: 

1. Districts shall have a population as nearly equal as is practicable, excluding nonresident military personnel, based on the population reported in the federal decennial census as adjusted by RCW 44.05.140. 

2. To the extent consistent with subsection (1) of this section the plan should, insofar as practical, accomplish the following: 

   a. District lines should be drawn so as to coincide with the boundaries of local political subdivisions and areas recognized as communities of interest; 

   b. Districts should be composed of convenient, contiguous, and compact territory. Land areas may be deemed contiguous if they share a common land border or are connected by a ferry, highway, bridge, or tunnel. Areas separated by geographical boundaries or artificial barriers that prevent transportation within a district should not be deemed contiguous; 

   c. Whenever practicable, a precinct shall be wholly within a single legislative district; and 

   d. Equalizing population within districts should be done with as few changes to existing boundaries as possible. 

3. The committee shall exercise its powers to provide fair and effective representation and to encourage electoral competition. The committee’s plan shall not be drawn purposely to favor or discriminate against any political party or group. The committee shall conduct a public hearing at least one week before proposed adoption. The redistricting committee shall adopt or amend the redistricting plan within thirty (30) days of submission to the committee. The redistricting plan shall be adopted as submitted by the redistricting master or as amended by a vote of five (5) of the seven (7) members of the redistricting committee. Upon adoption, the plan shall be filed with the council by the redistricting committee. After submission of the plan, the council shall have thirty (30) calendar days to amend the committee's plan. If the council amends the committee's plan, the amendment must be approved by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of council members, and the area amended may not include more than two (2) percent of the population of any council district. No later than six (6) months after receipt of the census data, the council shall adopt by ordinance a redistricting plan that is consistent with Section 6.6 (1), (2), (3). The adopted redistricting plan for the county must follow precinct boundaries established by the council prior to that year’s candidate filing period.

[Amended, Sec. 12, Res. 2021-7, Nov. 2021, Sec. 1, Ord. 2024-06-08, Nov. 2024]