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Variations in irrigation district voting and election procedures

dc.contributor.authorNelson, David E., author
dc.contributor.authorU.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, publisher
dc.date.accessioned2020-04-01T12:47:42Z
dc.date.available2020-04-01T12:47:42Z
dc.date.issued2005
dc.descriptionPresented during the Third international conference on irrigation and drainage held March 30 - April 2, 2005 in San Diego, California. The theme of the conference was "Water district management and governance."
dc.description.abstractFair and clear voting and election procedures are necessary for an effective water users association, but these procedures have considerable variety. Voting may be limited to owners of irrigated land, or may also include tenants and sharecroppers. Decisions must be made on how voting privileges will be allocated for situations like multiple owners, corporations, municipalities, and lands held in trust. The weight given to each vote is another major consideration. "One person-one vote" is common. Or votes may be proportional to the amount of irrigated land owned or number of shares owned in the corporation. The "one person-one vote" method may lead to unfair domination by small landowners, which in the United States and similar countries may lead to domination by non-farmers. However, voting power in proportion to land owned or shares owned may lead to domination by a few powerful individuals. An example compromise system is irrigation district law in the State of Oregon, USA, which provides for one vote for up to 40 acres (16 hectares), two votes for 40 to 160 acres (16 to 65 hectares), and three votes for more than 160 acres (65 hectares). An example "blended" system generally uses acreage-based voting, but uses "one person-one vote" for "at-large" directors. Elections require procedures on notification, nomination of candidates, maintenance of voter registers, proxy voting, quorums, and conducting the election. Maintenance of secrecy is pretty much essential for effective elections. Where voting power varies with the amount of irrigated land owned or shares owned in the corporation, use of colored ballots representing different numbers of votes can be an effective method of maintaining secrecy.
dc.description.sponsorshipSponsored by USCID; co-sponsored by Association of California Water Agencies and International Network for Participatory Irrigation Management.
dc.format.mediumborn digital
dc.format.mediumCD-ROMs
dc.format.mediumproceedings (reports)
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10217/201713
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relation.ispartofAg Water Conservation Policy
dc.relation.ispartofWater district management and governance, March 30-April 2, 2005, San Diego, California
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.sourceContained in: Water district management and governance, San Diego, California, March 30 - April 2, 2005, http://hdl.handle.net/10217/46458
dc.titleVariations in irrigation district voting and election procedures
dc.title.alternativeDistrict voting and election procedures
dc.typeText

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