(1) To form a cemetery district, a petition designating the boundaries of the proposed district by metes and bounds or describing the lands to be included in the proposed district by government townships, ranges, and legal subdivisions, setting forth the object of the formation of the proposed district, and stating that the formation of the proposed district will be conducive to the public welfare and convenience, must be filed with the county auditor of the county in which the proposed district is located, accompanied by an obligation signed by two or more petitioners agreeing to pay the cost of publishing the notice specified in RCW 68.52.120.

(2) The petition must be signed by at least ten percent of the registered voters in the proposed district. However, in counties with only one municipality the petition must be signed by at least ten percent of the registered voters in the proposed district, based on the total vote cast in the most recent county general election.

(3) The county auditor must, within thirty days from the date of filing of the petition, examine the signatures and certify the sufficiency or insufficiency of the petition.

(4) Notwithstanding subsection (3) of this section, in counties with only one municipality the county auditor must examine the signatures and certify the sufficiency or insufficiency of the petition within fifteen days from the date of filing of the petition. If the county auditor certifies that the petition is insufficient, the county auditor must afford the person who filed the petition ten days from that certification to add additional signatures to the petition. The petition must be refiled by the end of that period. Within fifteen days from the date of refiling, the county auditor must examine the signatures and certify the sufficiency or insufficiency of the petition.

(5) The name of any person who signed a petition may not be withdrawn from the petition after it has been filed with the county auditor.

(6) If the petition is found to contain a sufficient number of valid signatures, the county auditor must transmit it, with a certificate of sufficiency attached, to the county legislative authority, which must thereupon, by resolution entered upon its minutes, receive the petition and fix a day and hour when it will publicly hear the petition.

(7) For the purposes of this section, "municipality" means a city or town.