any county including any portion of such district shall, after the date of the organization of such district, allow another district to be formed including any of the lands in such district, without the consent of the board of directors thereof; and from and after the date of such filing the organization of such district shall be complete, and the officers thereof shall, upon qualifying in accordance with law, be entitled to enter upon the duties of their respective offices, and shall hold such offices, respectively, until their successors are elected and qualified.

SEC. 5. In each district organized as herein provided, an election shall be held in each second year thereafter, on the same day on which the first election in such district was held, at which a board of directors for the district, and also, when so ordered by the board of directors, assessment commissioners, as provided in section three of this act, shall be elected. The person receiving the highest number of votes for any office to be filled at such election, is elected thereto. Within ten days after receiving their respective certificates of election each of said persons shall take and subscribe the official oath, to be indorsed upon their respective certificates, which shall be filed in the office of the board of directors. Each assessment commissioner shall execute an official bond in the sum of one thousand dollars, which shall be approved by, and filed with the board of directors, and each director shall execute an official bond in the sum of five thousand dollars, which shall be approved by the judge of the superior court of the county where the organization of the district was effected, and shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder of such county, and filed with the secretary of the board of directors. All official bonds herein provided for shall be in the form prescribed by law for the official bonds of county officers.

SEC. 6. Fifteen days before any election held under this act, subsequent to the organization of any district, the secretary of the board of directors

shall cause notices to be posted in three public places in each election precinct, of the time and place of holding the election, and shall also post a general notice of the same in a conspicuous place in the office of said board, which shall be established and kept at the county seat of the county where the organization of the district effected, specifying the officers to be elected, the polling places of each precinct, and the names of the members of the boards of election, for each precinct. Prior to the time for posting such notices the board must appoint for each precinct, from the electors thereof, one inspector and two judges, who shall constitute a board of election for such precinct. If the board fail to appoint a board of election, or the members appointed do not attend at the opening of the polls on the morning of the election, the electors of the precinct present at that hour may appoint the board, or supply the place of an absent member thereof. The board of directors must, in its order appointing the board of election, designate the place within each precinct where the election must be held.

SEC. 7. The inspector is chairman of the election board, and may:

First-Administer all oaths required in the progress of an election.

Second-Appoint judges and clerks, if, during the progress of the election, any judge or clerk cease to act. Any member of the board of election, or any clerk thereof, may administer and certify oaths required to be administered during the progress of an election. The board of election for each precinct must, before opening the polls, appoint two persons to act as clerks of the election. Before opening the polls, each member of the board and each clerk must take and subscribe an oath to faithfully perform the duties imposed upon them by law. Any elector of the precinct may administer and certify such oath. The polls must be open at nine o'clock A. M., and kept open until four o'clock P. M., when the same must be closed. The

provisions of the Political Code relating to the form of ballots to be used shall not apply to elections held under this act.

SEC. 8. Voting may commence as soon as the polls are open and may be continued during all the time the polls remain open, and shall be conducted as nearly as practicable in accordance with the provisions of chapter nine of title two of part three of the Political Code of this state. As soon as the polls are closed, the judges shall open the ballotbox, and commence counting the votes; and in no case shall the ballot-box be removed from the room or place where the election is held, until all the ballots have been counted, which counting shall in all cases be public. The ballots shall be taken out one at a time by the inspector or one of the judges, who shall open the same, and read aloud the names of each person thereon, and the office for which name is voted for. Each clerk shall write down each office to be filled, and the name of each person voted for for such office, and shall keep the number of votes by tallies, as they are read aloud by the inspector or judge. The counting of votes shall be continued, without adjournment, until all have been counted.

SEC. 9. As soon as all the votes are read off and counted, a certificate shall be indorsed on each of the papers containing the poll list and tallies, or attached thereto, stating the number of votes each person voted for has received, and designating the office to fill which such person was voted for, which number shall be written in figures and words at full length. Each certificate shall be signed by the clerk, judge, and inspector. One of said certificates, with the poll list and tally paper to which it is attached, shall be retained by the inspector, and by him preserved for six months. The ballots shall be strung upon a thread by the inspector during the countig thereof, in the order in which they are entered upon the tally list by the clerks, and such ballots, together with the other of said certificates, with the poll list and tally paper to

which it is attached, shall be sealed by the inspector in the presence of the judges and clerks and indorsed "Election returns of (naming the precinct) precinct," and be directed to the secretary of the board of directors, and shall be immediately delivered by the inspector or by some other safe and responsible carrier, designated by said inspector, to said secretary, and the ballots shall be kept unopened for at least six months; and if any person be of the opinion that the vote of any precinct has not been correctly counted, he may appear on the day appointed for the board of directors to open and canvass the returns, and demand a recount of the vote of such precinct.

SEC. 10. The secretary of the board of directors must, as soon as the result is declared, enter in the records of such board a statement of such result, showing:

First-The whole number of votes cast in the district, and in each division of the district.

Second-The names of the persons voted for. Third-The office to fill which each person was voted for.

Fourth-The number of votes given in each precinct to each of such persons.

Fifth-The number of votes given in each division for the office of director and for assessment commissioner. The board of directors must declare elected the persons having the highest number of votes given for each office. The secretary must immediately make out and deliver to such person a certificate of election, signed by him, and authenticated with the seal of the board. In case of vacancy in the office of assessment commissioner, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the board of supervisors of the county where organization was effected. An officer appointed as above provided shall hold such office until the next regular election for said district and until his successor is elected and qualified.

SEC. 11.

On the first Wednesday in the month next following their election, the directors shall

meet and organize as a board, elect a president from their number, and appoint a secretary, who shall each hold office during the pleasure of the board. The board shall have the power, and it shall be their duty to manage and conduct the business and affairs of the district; make and execute all necessary contracts, employ and appoint, when necessary, engineers to survey, plan, locate, and estimate the cost of the works necessary for drainage, and the land needed for right of way, including drains, canals, sluices, water-gates, embankments, and material for construction, and to construct, maintain, and keep in repair all works necessary for the purpose of drainage, and generally to perform all such acts as shall be necessary to fully carry out the purposes of this act. The board may establish equitable by-laws, rules, and regulations necessary or proper for carrying on the business herein contemplated.

SEC. 12. The board of directors shall hold regular meetings at their office on the first Tuesday in March, June, September, and December, and such special meetings as may be required for the proper transaction of business; provided, that all special meetings must be ordered by a majority of the board by an order entered in the minutes specifying the business to be transacted. Three days' notice to any member not joining in the order must be given by the secretary, and only the business specified in the order must be transacted at such special meeting. All meetings of the board must be public, and a majority of members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. A minute of all proceedings of the board must be kept by the secretary, and all records of the board shall be open to inspection during business hours. The board and its agents and employés shall have the right to enter upon any land, to make surveys, and may locate the necessary drainage works, and the line for any canals, sluices, water-gates, and embankments, and the necessary branches for the same on any lands which may be deemed best for