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139 <br />24 <br />II. Veto (Denial) Petition <br />The act institutes a veto petition process by which the owners of 60 percent of the <br />parcels in the annexation area can terminate the annexation. <br />Procedure. Within five days following the adoption of the annexation ordinance, the <br />municipality sends the county tax assessor a list of owners of real property within the <br />annexation area. The assessor in turn forwards a list of parcels to the county board of <br />elections, and the board of elections prepares petition forms for each of the properties <br />with each owner listed individually, a signature line for each owner, and a statement <br />that the person signing is petitioning to deny the annexation. The board of elections <br />then mails a petition to the address of record for those property owners within five <br />business days of receipt from the assessor. <br />Who signs. If there is a change in ownership of real property after the date of the <br />resolution of consideration until 30 days after the date of the adoption of the annexation <br />ordinance, the new owner of the real property is to be considered the eligible owner of <br />the property. A majority of the property owners of a single parcel of real property must <br />sign the petition before the board of elections may count that parcel as having <br />submitted a petition to deny annexation. <br />Submitting Petitions. The signed petition may be submitted to the board of elections <br />in person or by mail. If the signature on the petition form is not the same as the <br />preprinted name on the form, then the signed petition must be notarized and <br />accompanied by a copy of the legal authority for the signature of the person signing a <br />petition. The board of elections also must accept signatures signed on a petition form <br />prepared by the board of elections, but collected by another person. The act does not <br />specify whether this form can include the signatures of the owners of more than one <br />property, but it does require the petition form to be returned to the board of elections in <br />a sealed container. <br />Results. The denial petition signature process closes 130 days after the adoption of the <br />annexation ordinance and the board of elections must certify the results within 10 <br />business days. The determination of the results must be observed by three property <br />owners from the area proposed for annexation, chosen by lot by the board of elections <br />from among those who request to serve in this role, and three persons designated by the <br />municipality. The act does not specify the criteria that should be used to determine if a <br />petition is valid. The municipality is required to reimburse the board of elections for its <br />costs related to the denial petition process. <br />Effect of successful petition. If the property owners of at least 60 percent of the parcels <br />submit denial petitions, then the annexation terminates and the municipality may not <br />