(1) Eligibility. To be eligible for election to the board, a candidate must: (a) Meet the qualifications for directors under subsection (2) of Section 6.(b) Have his or her nomination certified by the board under subsection (2) of this Section.(c) Submit to the board a statement of financial interests under subsection (3) and a statement of personal background and positions under subsection (4).(d) Make the affirmation under subsection (3) (e).(2) Nomination. A candidate for election to the board shall circulate or have a member of the corporation circulate a petition for nomination on the candidate's behalf not sooner than 120 days preceding the election and shall file the petition with the corporation not later than 60 days prior to the election. The petition for nomination shall be signed by at least 5% or 30, whichever is less, of the members residing in his or her district. The board shall verify the validity of the signatures by comparing them to the signatures on the membership applications and the current list of members maintained by the Board. Within 14 days after the petition is due, the board shall determine whether a sufficient number of signatures are valid. If the board determines a sufficient number are valid, it shall certify the nomination of the candidate.(3) Statement of financial interests. A candidate for election to the board whose nomination is certified under subsection (2) shall submit to the board, not later than 60 days prior to the election, a statement of financial interests upon a form provided by the board. The statement of financial interests shall include the following information: (a) The occupation, employer and position at place of employment of the candidate and of his or her immediate family members.(b) A list of all corporate directorships or other offices, and of all fiduciary relationships, held in the past 3 years by the candidate and by his or her immediate family members.(c) The name of any creditor to whom the candidate or a member of the candidate's immediate family owes $10,000 or more.(d) The name of any corporation in which the candidate holds a security, the current market value of which is $5,000 or more.(e) An affirmation, subject to penalty of perjury, that the information contained in the statement of financial interests is true and complete.(4) Statement of personal background and positions. A candidate for election to the board whose nomination is certified under subsection (2) shall submit to the board, not later than 60 days prior to the election, on a form to be provided by the board, a statement concerning his or her personal background and positions on issues relating to public utilities or the operations of the corporation. The statement shall contain an affirmation, subject to penalty of perjury, that the candidate meets the qualifications prescribed for directors in subsection (2) of Section 6.(5) Restrictions on a reporting of campaign contributions and expenditures. (a) No candidate may accept more than $200 in campaign contributions from any person or political committee from one year before the date of an election through the date of the election.(b) Each candidate for election to the board shall keep complete records of all contributions to his or her campaign of $25 of more from one year before the date of an election through the date of the election, and, at the board's request, shall make such records available for inspection by the board.(c) As a condition for receiving the benefits of the board's mailing under subsection (6), a candidate for election to the board shall agree in writing to incur no more than $2,500 in campaign expenditures from the time he or she commences circulation of petitions for nomination or from 4 months prior to the election, whichever is earlier, through the date of the election.(d) Each candidate for election to the board shall keep complete records of his or her campaign expenditures, and, at the board's request, shall make such records available for inspection by the board.(e) No earlier than 14 days and no later than 8 days preceding the election and no earlier than 21 days and no later than 30 days after the election, each candidate for election to the board shall submit to the board, on a form provided by the board, an accurate statement of his or her campaign contributions, swearing that he or she has fully complied with the requirements of this subsection.(f) No candidate for election to the board may use any campaign contribution for any purpose except for campaign expenditures. Any campaign contribution not expended shall be donated no later than 90 days after the election to the corporation or to any charitable organization at the option of the candidate.(6) Election procedures. (a) The board shall mail or distribute to each member's address on file with the corporation, not sooner than 30 and not later than 10 days before the date fixed for the election: (i) An official ballot listing all candidates for director from the member's district whose nominations the board has certified and who satisfy the requirements of subsection (1). The board shall include with the ballot each candidate's statement of financial interests submitted under subsection (3).(ii) The statement by each candidate for election to the board of personal background and positions as required under subsection (4), if the candidate has agreed in writing to limit his or her campaign expenditures under subsection (5) (c).(b) Each member may vote in the election by returning his or her official ballot in person or by first class mail, properly marked, to the ballot return location designated by the corporation. Ballots returned to the location designated by the corporation must be postmarked on or before the date fixed for the election or must be received at the ballot return location designated by the corporation on or before the date fixed for the election.(c) Voting shall be by secret ballot.(d) The board shall tally votes with all reasonable speed and shall inform the membership promptly of the names of the candidates elected.(e) For each district the board within 30 days of the election shall certify the candidate elected to the board if the candidate has the most votes in the district and if he or she has complied with this Section.(f) If a vacancy in nomination occurs because no candidate has filed for nomination, the board by a majority of those voting shall appoint a member of the corporation who resides in the district where the vacancy exists to be the candidate.(g) If the candidate with the most votes dies, declines or resigns from candidacy prior to being certified under paragraph (e), or for any other reason is not certified under paragraph (e), the office for which the candidate ran shall be vacant and shall be filled by the board as provided herein.(h) If a vacancy on the Board occurs, with more than 12 months remaining in the term, the Board shall set a date for a special election for the district for the purpose of electing a director to serve out the term of the vacant office and shall so notify every member in the district. The election may not be less than 2 months nor more than 4 months after such notification. An election under this Section shall be conducted in the same manner as other elections of directors are conducted. The seat shall remain vacant if there is 8 months or less remaining in the term.(7) Election rules. The board may prescribe rules for the conduct of elections and election campaigns not inconsistent with this Act.