Powers, authority and duties; secretary of state, board of county commissioners, authority; ward and precinct boundaries; notices of elections; printing ballots; election contests; budget

(a) The election commissioner, in the conduct of elections, shall operate under the general supervision of the secretary of state and shall comply with the statutes, rules and regulations and standards and directives that relate to the registration of voters and the conduct of elections. The election commissioner shall: (1) Establish and fix the boundaries of wards and precincts within the county and in all cities the greater part of the population of which is located in the county. The commissioner shall accept and file nomination petitions and declarations of intention of candidates and declarations of party affiliation; (2) give notice by publication in the official county paper and on the website of the county election office of any county where the election is to be conducted. Such notice shall be published at least 15 days prior to any election, except as otherwise provided by law, and shall provide the time of the election, the officers at that time to be chosen and any other matters to be voted upon; (3) publish notice giving the proper party designation if required by law, the title of each office, the names and addresses of all persons seeking national and state offices, as certified to the county election officer by the secretary of state, and of all persons from whom nomination petitions or declarations of intention have been filed with the election officer, giving the name and address of each, the title to the office, the day of the election, the hours during which the polls will be open and the location of the voting place in each precinct or area, and mail to all persons whose nomination petitions or declarations of intention are on file with the election officer a copy of the first issue containing the publication notice; (4) have charge of the printing of the ballots for all elections to which this act applies held within the county, or held within any city, school district, township or drainage district located in the county. The commissioner shall conduct negotiations for the letting of the contract to print ballots and shall let the contract, with the approval of the board of county commissioners; and (5) be the clerk of the court for the trial of contested elections except national and state elections, and all intentions to contest any election shall be filed with the election commissioner. (b) In the administration of the office of the election commissioner, any action taken by the election commissioner shall be subject to the following provisions established by the board of county commissioners applicable to all county departments, agencies and officials: (1) Personnel policies and procedures; (2) any pay plan, compensation plan and benefits for county employees; (3) purchasing policies and procedures; (4) budgeting policies and procedures; (5) financial policies and procedures; and (6) auditing policies and procedures. (c) Each year, consistent with the county's budgeting procedures, the election commissioner shall submit to the board of county commissioners a requested budget for the office of the election commissioner showing the amount of funding deemed necessary to pay the costs for salaries of the election commissioner, any deputy or assistant election commissioners and other employees of the office, together with the projected costs and expenses of the office for the next ensuing budget year. The board of county commissioners shall consider the request in the same manner as other departments and agencies of the county and shall approve and adopt a budget for the office of election commissioner within the county budget in an amount determined by the board of county commissioners to be sufficient and adequate for the performance of the duties of the office and the conduct of elections as required by law.