(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of this section, in each metropolitan utilities district service area, two of the members of the board of directors shall be chosen at large by the registered voters within the district at the time of the statewide primary and statewide general elections held in the even-numbered years, except that at the primary and general elections held in 1978 and every six years thereafter, three members, one of whom shall be known as the outside member, shall be elected at large by the registered voters within the district.

(2)(a) The board of directors of a metropolitan utilities district may by resolution provide for the division of the territory of the district into seven election subdivisions composed of substantially equal population and compact and contiguous territory and number the subdivisions consecutively. One member of the board of directors shall be elected from each subdivision.

(b) If the board of directors provides for seven election subdivisions prior to February 1, 2016, the board of directors shall assign each position on the board of directors to represent a numbered election subdivision for the remainder of the term of office for which the member is elected, regardless of whether the member resides in the subdivision, and shall make such assignments so that members representing election subdivisions numbered one and two hold office until the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January 2019 or until their successors are elected and qualified, members representing election subdivisions numbered three, four, and five hold office until the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January 2021 or until their successors are elected and qualified, and members representing election subdivisions six and seven hold office until the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January 2023 or until their successors are elected and qualified.

(c) A successor who resides in the numbered election subdivision shall be nominated and elected at the statewide primary and general elections held in the calendar year prior to the expiration of the term of the member who represents such numbered election subdivision.

(d) After each federal decennial census, the board of directors shall create new boundaries for the election subdivisions. In establishing the boundaries of the election subdivisions, the board of directors shall follow county lines wherever practicable, shall provide for the subdivisions to be composed of substantially equal population and compact and contiguous territory, and shall, as nearly as possible, follow the precinct lines created by the election commissioner or county clerk after each federal decennial census.

(3) Nomination and election of all directors shall be by nonpartisan ballot. Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, members of the board shall hold office for a period of six years from the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January following their election or until their successors are elected and qualified. The directors shall meet the qualifications found in sections 14-2102 and 14-2103.