ELE.2.3.030 Submission by Petition of Qualified Voters

(a) A legislative enactment or proposed enactment of the Tribal Governing Board shall be submitted to a popular referendum upon petition of at least one hundred (100) qualified voters of the Tribe presented to the Tribal Governing Board at a regular meeting of the Tribal Governing Board in accordance with this section.

(b) The petition submitted shall be in substantially the following form:

"WE, THE UNDERSIGNED QUALIFIED VOTERS OF THE TRIBE, REQUEST A

REFERENDUM ON [NAME OF LEGISLATIVE ENACTMENT AND NUMBER OF RESOLUTION ENACTING SUCH LEGISLATION, OR NAME OF PROPOSED ENACTMENT] ENACTED [OR REJECTED] BY THE TRIBAL GOVERNING BOARD ON [DATE OF ENACTMENT OR REJECTION]."

(c) The petition shall bear the signature, printed name, address, and enrollment number of each signatory in legible form. The name and address of the person(s) circulating the petition shall also be included. The person circulating the petition shall, through an affidavit, subscribe and swear before a notary of public, that each of the names on the petition were signed and the name, address and enrollment number were printed in the presence of the qualified voter and circulator, and that it is his/her belief each signer was a qualified voter of the Tribe. The absence of a printed name shall invalidate that signature. Signatures and handwriting comparisons may be made.

(d) All petitions must be received at the main administrative office of the Tribe, 13394 W Trepania Road, Hayward, WI 54843, by no later than the close of business of the next business day following the expiration of sixty (60) calendar days from the date of the legislative enactment or proposed enactment of the Tribal Governing Board which is the subject of the petition. This provision is mandatory and jurisdictional. Each petition submitted must contain the original signatures; no copies, duplications or facsimiles may be submitted.

(e) As soon as practicable after receipt of a petition, the Secretary shall consult with the Citizen Services Department whom shall review Tribal voter registration records to determine whether the petition contains the requisite number of signatures. Upon completion of the review by the Citizen Services Department, the Secretary shall report to the Tribal Governing Board on the matter at its next regular meeting or a special meeting called for that purpose. Such review must be complete within a sufficient time to allow the Tribal Governing Board to determine the validity of the petition within the sixty (60) day timeframes specified in Section ELE.2.3.030(f) below.

(f) The Tribal Governing Board shall determine whether the petition is valid no later than sixty (60) days after receipt of the petition. If the petition is determined to be valid, the Election Committee as established pursuant to Section ELE.1.3.040(c) shall hold such referendum within ninety (90) days of the regular Tribal Governing Board meeting where the petition was received. Regardless of whether the petition is valid or not, the Secretary shall keep the original petition(s) on file at least until the time for contesting the validity of the referendum has expired. The Secretary shall allow interested citizens with the opportunity to examine the original referendum.

(g) The referendum question on the ballot shall be worded substantially as follows:

"DO YOU APPROVE OR DISAPPROVED OF [NAME OF LEGISLATIVE ENACTMENT AND NUMBER OF RESOLUTION ENACTING SUCH LEGISLATION, OR NAME OF PROPOSED ENACTMENT]?

_____ APPROVE _____ DISAPPROVE"

(h) The Tribal Governing Board may, in its sole discretion, suspend the legislative enactment or proposed enactment which is the subject of the referendum petition pending the referendum election. If the Tribal Governing Board does not act affirmatively to suspend such legislative enactment, it shall continue in effect during the pendency of the referendum election.