A county legislative authority may call a special county election by presenting a resolution to the county auditor prior to the proposed election date. The special election is then held on one of the following dates, determined by the governing body:

• 2nd Tuesday in February;
• 4th Tuesday in April;
• The day of the primary as specified by RCW 29A.04.311; or
• 1st Tuesday after the 1st Monday in November.

See also RCW 29A.04.321; RCW 29A.04.330

Every city, town, and district is liable for its proportionate share of the costs when such elections are held in conjunction with other elections held under RCW 29A.04.321 and RCW 29A.04.330.

Whenever any city, town, or district holds any primary or election, general or special, on an isolated date, all costs of such elections must be borne by the city, town, or district concerned. See also RCW 29A.04.410

The expense of all such elections shall be paid for out of the funds of such district. See also RCW 57.24.050

There do not appear to be any specifics regarding what should be included in a petition. It is best to contact your County Elections Department and the County Prosecuting Attorney to determine the exact format they will accept.

A word to the wise: Be sure to confer with your County Prosecuting Attorney before printing any petitions!

Contact information for County Elections Departments in Washington State is available on the Secretary of State's Elections & Voting web page.
Contact information for County Prosecuting Attorneys is available at the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.

When petitions must be submitted will depend upon the process at the county:

• For a spring election, the County Commissioners must submit a resolution to the County Auditor at least 46 days before the election. The County Commissioners' office needs to be informed as to the requirements and to determine how much lead time is needed;
• The time needed for checking the signatures will have to come from the Elections Division of the County Auditor's Office. The Elections Division should be able to determine how much time they will need to check the signatures once the petition is submitted. Some factors that could lengthen the signature check process would include:
• Redistricting of legislative and congressional boundaries;
• Holding of a statewide special election (e.g., statewide tax increase proposition).
• The County Commissioner's time frame plus the County Auditor's time frame will determine the amount of time before the deadline when petitions must be submitted.

For filing and election dates, see the Washington Secretary of State's Elections Calendar.

Only those voters in the area to be annexed would vote on the proposal.
RCW 57.24.040

AGO 1956 No. 295 states that "… where a city and a county rural library district have joined together to establish and maintain a regional library pursuant to RCW 27.12.080, the city may condemn land for a situs for the library building within the city limits."

AGO 1954 No. 233 states that, according to the powers granted to library boards by RCW 27.12.210, although the library board has the power to purchase or lease property, it is not given any power to sell property.

AGO 1954 No. 233 states, "Since the board is given no statutory power to transfer title from itself to another, it cannot be done. Where such a power has not been granted by statute, the only way that power can be obtained is by amendment to said statutes."

Note: Opinion modified by AGO Opinion AGLO 1974 No. 101.

AGO Opinion AGLO 1974 No. 101 states that although a library district does not have the general power to sell its property, that "… does not mean, however, that when property is no longer needed for public use by such a district, it cannot be disposed of in some appropriate manner. … Indeed it would appear to be quite 'necessary for the orderly and efficient management and control of the library' for its board of trustees to have some mechanism for disposing of property it no longer needs. The intergovernmental disposition of property act, chapter RCW 39.33 provides one such mechanism, but it is entirely possible for the trustees to devise other mechanisms which would comply with the law regarding disposition of surplus property. It is our opinion, therefore, that a library district does have the power to sell its surplus property…. To this extent, AGO 1954 No. 233 should be deemed modified."