(c) "Consumer and Marketing Service" means the Consumer and Marketing Service of the Department.

(d) "Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service", also referred to as ASCS, means the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service of the Department.

(e) "Administrator" means the Administrator of the Consumer and Marketing Service, with power to redelegate, or any officer or employee of the Department to whom authority has heretofore been delegated or may hereafter be delegated to act in his stead.

(f) "Deputy Administrator" means the Deputy Administrator or the Acting Deputy Administrator, State and County Operations, Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service.

(g) "State committee” means the persons in a State designated by the Secretary as the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation State Committee.

(h) "County committee" means the persons elected within a county as the county committee, pursuant to the regulations governing the selection and functions of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation county and community committees.

(i) "County office manager" means the person employed by the county committee to execute the policies of the county committee and be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service county office, or the person acting in such capacity.

(j) "State executive director" means the person employed by the State committee to execute the policies of the State committee and to be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service State Office, or the person acting in such capacity.

(k) "Order" means the order (including an amendatory order) with respect to which the Secretary has directed that a referendum be conducted.

(1) "Representative period” means the period designated by the Secretary pursuant to section 8 of the act.

(m) "Person" means an individual, partnership, association, corporation, estate, trust, or other business enterprise, or legal entity, and wherever applicable, a State, political subdivision of a State, the Federal Government, or any agency thereof.

(n) "Upland cotton" means any cotton other than extra long staple cotton. (o) "Engaged in the production." The term "engaged in the production" shall include planting an upland cotton crop even though the crop is not harvested if such failure to harvest is not caused by the neglect of the farmer. In addition,

(1) Except for a landlord of a standing rent, cash rent, or fixed rent tenant, each person sharing in an upland cotton crop, or proceeds thereof, on a farm as an owner, cash tenant, landlord of a share tenant, share tenant or sharecropper shall be considered engaged in the production of such crop.

(2) Each person who was either the owner or operator of a farm for which an acreage allotment for a crop of upland cotton was established pursuant to the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended, but on which such crop was not produced shall be deemed to be engaged in the production of such crop in the year in which such crop, if produced, would have been harvested if any acreage of such crop was deemed devoted to the crop for history purposes under applicable provisions of such law and he would have shared in such crop if it had been produced.

(p) "Producer" means any person engaged in the production of upland cotton. § 1205.202 Agencies through which a referendum shall be conducted.

(a) Consumer and Marketing Service. The Administrator shall:

(1) Determine the referendum period. (2) Give reasonable advance notice of the referendum (1) by utilizing without advertising expense available media of public information (including, but not being limited to, press and radio facilities) serving the upland cotton producing areas, announcing the dates, places, or methods of voting, and other pertinent information, and (ii) by such other means as he may deem advisable.

(3) Provide ballots and related material to be used in the referendum to ASCS. The ballot (1) shall provide for recording essential information for ascertaining whether the person voting is an eligible voter, and (ii) may provide for recording the total amount of upland cotton produced by the producer during the representative period.

(4) Make available to producers through ASCS county committees instructions on voting, an appropriate bal

lot and, except in the case of a referendum on the termination or suspension of an order, a summary of the terms and conditions of the order. The instructions on voting shall explain the method to be used in determining the amount of upland cotton produced during the representative period and shall specify whether such amount is to be entered on the ballot by the voter, subject to the following terms and conditions:

(1) If a current production year for which harvesting has not been completed is designated as the representative period, the amount of upland cotton produced shall be determined by the office of the county committee on the basis of the acreage planted on the farm and projected lint yield per acre for the farm.

(ii) On farms in which more than one eligible voter is engaged in production, the vote cast by each voter shall represent only the amount of upland cotton that is his share of the crop, or proceeds thereof.

(iii) If an eligible voter is engaged in production of upland cotton on more than one farm he is entitled to only one vote but any vote cast by such voter shall represent the total amount of upland cotton that is his share of the crop, or proceeds thereof, on all such farms: Provided, That only farms for which records are maintained by the ASCS county office designated as the voter's polling place shall be considered unless the voter, prior to the expiration of the referendum period, establishes to the satisfaction of such county office his share of the crop, or proceeds thereof, on any additional farm or farms.

(iv) A person who is eligible to vote in the referendum and who did not have any planted acreage of upland cotton during the representative period, regardless of reason for not planting, may vote "yes" or "no" with respect to the order but such person's volume of production will be considered as zero (0).

(b) Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service. Except for the functions specified in paragraph (a) of this section, the Deputy Administrator shall be in charge of and responsible for conducting each referendum. Each State committee shall be in charge of and responsible for conducting such referendum in its State. Each county committee shall be responsible for the proper holding of such referendum in its county. It shall be the duty of each committee to conduct each referendum

in a fair, unbiased and impartial manner in accordance with the regulations in this subpart.

[31 F.R. 14438, Oct. 9, 1966, as amended at 31 F.R. 14771, Nov. 22, 1966]

§ 1205.203 Voting eligibility.

(a) Special eligibility requirements. Each person who was engaged in the production of upland cotton during the representative period shall be eligible to vote in a referendum.

(b) General eligibility requirements. (1) A person may qualify as an eligible voter by meeting the eligibility requirements, but no such person shall be entitled to more than one vote regardless of the number of upland cotton farms in which the person is interested or the number of communities, counties, or States in which are located farms in which such person is interested: Provided, however, That the individual members of a qualified partnership shall each have one vote, but the partnership as such shall not have a vote and an individual who qualifies as an eligible voter by reason of his separate farming operations will be entitled to one vote even though he is interested in an organization such as (but not limited to) a corporation which is also eligible as a voter and entitled to one vote. A person who, as a guardian, administrator, executor, or trustee engages in the production of upland cotton will be eligible to vote in such fiduciary capacity if, in such capacity, he qualifies as an eligible voter. In such cases the person for whom he is acting in a fiduciary capacity will not be eligible to vote. An individual may, if otherwise eligible, cast a ballot in his individual capacity although he may also cast a ballot as a guardian, administrator, executor, or trustee. An individual who holds more than one fiduciary position may vote as a fiduciary in each case in which he is otherwise eligible, as for example, if John Doe is administrator of estate X, he may cast a ballot as administrator of estate X, and if he is also administrator of estate Y, he may cast another ballot as administrator of estate Y.

(2) Where a group of several persons, such as husband, wife, and children, are engaged in the production of upland cotton under the same lease or cropping agreement only the person or persons who signed or entered into the lease or cropping agreement shall be eligible to

vote. In the event two or more persons are engaged in the production of upland cotton as joint tenants, tenants in common, or owners of community property, each such person shall be entitled to one vote if otherwise qualified. Whether a husband or wife is entitled to vote does not depend upon whether the other spouse is eligible to vote. Eligibility to vote applies to each one individually. A wife is eligible to vote if she shares in the proceeds of the required crop as an owner, cash tenant, landlord of a share tenant, share tenant, or sharecropper. If a husband and wife are tenants or sharecroppers on a farm, jointly responsible under the rental or sharecropping agreement, both are eligible to vote. This is true whether the rental or sharecropping agreement is written, signed by both parties, or oral, provided both husband and wife made the oral agreement. A minor is not disqualified from voting solely because of his minority if otherwise eligible and he is not less than 18 years of age.

(c) Voting by proxy prohibited. There shall be no voting by proxy or agent but a duly authorized officer of a corporation, association, or other legal entity, may cast its vote.

§ 1205.204 Voting.

(a) Place of voting. The ASCS county office serving the county in which the producer's farm is located shall be his polling place.

(b) Register of eligible voters. The county committee shall establish a register of known eligible voters prior to the referendum.

(c) Mailing of ballot to eligible voters. The county committee shall furnish each eligible voter a ballot suitable for mailing back to the office of the county committee. If an eligible voter does not receive a ballot, he may obtain one during the referendum period from the office of the county committee for the county in which he is eligible to vote.

(d) Returning ballot to office of the county committee. Each person to whom a ballot is issued by mail or in person may vote in the referendum by completing and signing his ballot, placing it in an envelope, and delivering or mailing it to the office of the county committee for the county in which he is eligible to vote. In order to be eligible for tabulation by the county committee, voted ballots must be received by the county committee of the county in which the

voter is eligible to vote during the period established for holding the referendum. A ballot shall be considered to have been received during the referendum period if (1) in the case of a ballot delivered to the county committee, it was received in the office prior to the close of the work day on the final day of the referendum period, or (2) in the case of a mailed ballot, it was postmarked not later than midnight of the final day of the referendum period and was received in the county office prior to the start of canvassing the ballots.

(e) Placing of ballots in ballot box. Notwithstanding the fact that a ballot(s) may be later challenged by the county committee, envelopes containing ballots received at the ASCS county office during the referendum period shall remain unopened and shall be placed immediately in a ballot box provided by the county office manager. Such ballot box shall be arranged so that ballots cannot be read or moved without breaking the seal on the container.

§ 1205.205 Canvass of ballots.

(a) Canvassing procedure. Canvassing of returned ballots shall take place as soon as possible after the opening of the county office on the fifth day following the close of the referendum period. Such canvassing shall be in the presence of at least two members of the county committee and shall be open to the public. The canvassing and ballots shall be handled in such a manner that no member of the public may see how any person voted in the referendum. The county committee shall supervise the opening of the sealed ballot box, the opening of the envelopes containing the ballots and a determination as to (1) the number of eligible voters favoring the order and, where necessary, the amount of upland cotton represented by them, (2) the number of eligible voters disapproving the order and, where necessary, the amount of upland cotton represented by them, (3) the number of ballots cast by voters found to be ineligible to vote in the referendum, and (4) number of spoiled ballots. The ballots determined to be spoiled or cast by ineligible voters shall not be considered as approving or disapproving the order, and the persons who cast such ballots shall not be regarded as participating in the referendum.

(b) Spoiled ballots. A ballot shall be considered as a spoiled ballot if (1) it is mutilated or marked in such a way that

it is not possible to determine with certainty how the ballot was intended to be counted, or (2) it does not contain the signature of the voter, or his properly witnessed mark.

A ballot

(c) Challenge of ballots. may be challenged by any member of the county committee. Before a challenged ballot is either counted or declared invalid, a determination shall be made by the county committee as to the eligibility of the voter to vote in the referendum.

§ 1205.206 Reporting results of referendum.

(a) Each county committee shall transmit a written county summary of ballots showing the results of the referendum in its county to its State committee.

(b) Each State committee shall transmit a written summary of the referendum results from the county committees within its State to the Director, Cotton Division, Consumer and Marketing Service, Washington, D.C. 20250, and maintain one copy of the summary in the office of the State committee where it will be available for public inspection for a period of 5 years following the end of the referendum period.

(c) The Director of the Cotton Division shall prepare and submit to the Secretary a report as to the results of the referendum. The Secretary shall then publicly proclaim the results of the referendum.

place them under lock and key in a safe place under the custody of the county office manager for a period of 45 calendar days after the referendum period. If no notice to the contrary is received by the end of such time, and after the ballots and other records have been examined by a representative of the State committee, the voted ballots and challenged ballots shall be destroyed, but the registers and county summary sheets shall be filed for a period of 5 years in the office of the county committee.

§ 1205.209 Confidential information.

All ballots cast and the contents thereof shall be treated as confidential. § 1205.210 Additional instructions and forms.

The Deputy Administrator is hereby authorized to prescribe additional instructions and forms not inconsistent with the provisions of this subpart for the use of State and county committees in conducting a referendum. Such additional instructions may include procedures for county and State committees to report and announce the results of the preliminary count of the votes in the county and the State.

Subpart-Cotton Research and
Promotion Order

SOURCE: The provisions of this subpart appear at 31 F.R. 16758, Dec. 31, 1966, unless otherwise noted.

§ 1205.314 .Contracting organization or association,

"Contracting organization or association" means the organization or association with which the Cotton Board has entered into a contract or agreement pursuant to § 1205.328(c).·

§ 1205.315 Cotton-producing region.

"Cotton-producing region" means each of the following groups of cotton-producing States:

(a) Southeast Region: Alabama-Florida, Georgia, North Carolina-Virginia, and South Carolina;

(b) Midsouth Region: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri-Illinois, and Tennessee-Kentucky;

(c) Southwest Region: Oklahoma and Texas;

(d) Western Region: Arizona, California-Nevada, and New Mexico. § 1205.316 Marketing year.

"Marketing year" means a consecutive 12-month period ending on July 31. § 1205.317 Part and subpart.

"Part" means the cotton research and promotion order and all rules, regulations and supplemental orders issued pursuant to the act and the order, and the aforesaid order shall be a "subpart” of such part.

There is hereby established a Cotton Board composed of representatives of cotton producers, each of whom shall have an alternate, selected by the Secretary from nominations submitted by eligible producer organizations within a cotton-producing State, as certified pursuant to § 1205.337, or, if the Secretary determines that a substantial number of producers are not members of or their interests are not represented by any such eligible producer organizations, from nominations made by producers in the manner authorized by the Secretary. Each cotton-producing State shall be represented by at least one member and by an additional member for each 1 million bales or major fraction (more than one-half) thereof of cotton produced in the State and marketed above 1 million bales during the period specified in the regulations for determining Board membership.