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HomeElections CodeDiv. 10Pt. 4§ 10515 Uncontested District Election Rules

§ 10515 Uncontested District Election Rules

Elections Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 10515 Uncontested District Election Rules

This law says that if nobody or only a few people run for a local office and no one asks for an election, the supervising authority can pick (appoint) someone to fill the job.

Key Takeaways

  • •If by the deadline only one or no candidates file and no petition for an election is presented, the supervising authority must appoint someone.
  • •When no one files at all, any qualified person can be appointed to serve as if elected.
  • •If the director represents a division that is mostly outside the supervising authority’s county, the county’s board of supervisors makes the appointment.

Example

In a small district, only one person files to run for a director seat and no one submits a petition to hold an election.

Because the deadline passed with only one candidate and no petition, the election officer tells the supervising authority, and the supervising authority appoints that one person to the director position, just as if they had been elected.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 10515 Uncontested District Election Rules

(a) If, by 5 p.m. on the 83rd day prior to the day fixed for the general district election: (1) only one person has filed a declaration of candidacy for any elective office to be filled at that election, (2) no one has filed a declaration of candidacy for such an office, (3) in the case of directors to be elected from the district at large, the number of persons who have filed a declaration of candidacy for director at large does not exceed the number of offices of director at large to be filled at that election, or (4) in the case of directors who must reside in a division but be elected at large, the number of candidates for director at large from a division does not exceed the number required to be elected director at large while residing in that division; and if a petition signed by 10 percent of the voters or 50 voters, whichever is the smaller number, in the district or division if elected by division, requesting that the general district election be held has not been presented to the officer conducting the election, he or she shall submit a certificate of these facts to the supervising authority and request that the supervising authority, at a regular or special meeting held prior to the Monday before the first Friday in December in which the election is held, appoint to the office or offices the person or persons, if any, who have filed declarations of candidacy. The supervising authority shall make these appointments. (b) If no person has filed a declaration of candidacy for any office, the supervising authority shall appoint any person to the office who is qualified on the date when the election would have been held. The person appointed shall qualify and take office and serve exactly as if elected at a general district election for the office. (c) Where a director must be appointed to represent a division, all or most of which is not within the county governed by the supervising authority, then the board of supervisors of the county within which all or most of that division is located shall be the body to which request for appointment is made and which shall make the appointment. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

Last verified: January 10, 2026

Key Terms

electionauthoritydeclarationdirectorpetition

Related Statutes

  • § 104 Petition Circulator Declaration Requirements
  • § 10505 District Officer Term Lengths
  • § 10603 School Board Candidate Filing
  • § 11041 Recall Petition Format Requirements
  • § 11046 Petition Circulator Declarations

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Elections Code. Section 10515.
View Official Source