Every person who is a citizen of the United States, is at least 18 years of age, has resided within the corporate limits of the Town for 30 days next preceding any Town election and is registered in accordance with the provisions of this Charter shall be a qualified voter of the Town. Every qualified voter shall be entitled to vote at any or all Town elections.
There shall be a Board of Supervisors of Elections consisting of three (3) members who shall be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the majority of the Council on or before the first Monday in March in every second odd-numbered year. The terms of members of the Board of Supervisors of Elections shall begin on the first Monday in March in the year in which they are appointed and shall run for four (4) years. Members of the Board of Supervisors of Elections shall be qualified voters of the town and shall not hold or be candidates for any elective office during their term of office. The Board shall appoint one (1) of its members as Chairperson. Vacancies on the Board shall be filled by the Mayor with the approval of the majority of the Council for the remainder of the unexpired term. The compensation of the members of the Board shall be determined by the Council.
Any member of the Board of Supervisors of Elections may be removed for good cause by a majority vote of the Council. Before removal, the member of the Board of Supervisors of Elections to be removed shall be given a written copy of the charges and shall have a public hearing on them before the Council within (ten) 10 days after receiving the written copy of the charges if requested.
The Board of Supervisors of Elections shall be in charge of maintaining a list of qualified voters, nominations and shall supervise all Town elections. The Board may appoint election clerks or other employees to assist it in any of its duties.
The Board of Supervisors of Elections shall give at least two (2) weeks' notice of every election by an advertisement published in at least one (1) newspaper of general circulation in the town and by posing a notice thereof in some public place or places in the town.
[Amended 1-13-2015 by Res. No. 01-2015]
Registration by a Manchester resident with the Carroll County Board of Supervisors of Elections shall be deemed registration for Manchester Town elections, provided that the application for such registration is received by said Board no later than 4:30 P.M. on the fifth Monday prior to an election.
If any person shall feel aggrieved by the action of the Board of Supervisors of Elections in striking off the name of any person, or by any other action, such person may appeal to the Council. Any decision or action of the Council upon such appeals may be appealed to the Circuit Court for Carroll County within thirty (30) days of the decision or action of the Council.
[Amended 12-10-2002 by Res. No. 01-2002; 1-13-2015 by Res. No. 01-2015]
A. 
Declaration of Candidacy. Persons may declare their candidacy for elective office in the town by filing a certificate of nomination with said Board or its designee containing the candidate's correct legal name on or before the first Monday in April or at a municipal meeting that will be held by said Board at 7:30 P.M. on the first Monday in April preceding the Town election. No person shall file for nomination to more than one (1) elective town public office or hold more than one (1) elective town public office at any one time.
B. 
Floor and Third Party Nominations. At the meeting established in Section A hereof:
(1) 
Eligible persons may be nominated for elective office by presentation of a written letter of nomination or a verbal nomination by a third party, who must be a duly registered voter, qualified to vote in Town elections;
(2) 
Any such third party nomination must be accompanied by a Certificate of Nomination signed by the nominated candidate. No third party nomination will be received without this signed Certificate.
C. 
Within seven (7) days after the filing deadline for any election, the Board shall certify that all applicants filing a certification of nomination meet the age, residency and any other requirements of the Charter and Town Code with respect to election to Town office. In the event the Board determines an applicant does not meet the aforesaid requirements, the Board shall notify the applicant in writing that the certification of nomination has been denied. If an applicant is aggrieved by the Board's denial of a certification of nomination, the applicant may appeal the decision to the Board. Such hearing will be held within seven (7) days of the written petition to the Board.
D. 
Upon receipt of a written petition for appeal, the Board shall fix a time and date for a hearing and provide public notice. At the hearing, any party may appear and be heard in person or by agent or attorney. All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public. The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings and shall keep records of all its official actions, all of which shall be filed in Town Hall on behalf of the Board and shall be public record. Upon hearing of testimony, the Board shall render its decision in writing to the appellant. The decision of the Board may be appealed to the Circuit Court of Carroll County, however, any such appeal shall not delay any scheduled election unless injunctive relief is granted by the Court.
[Amended 12-10-2002 by Res. No. 01-2002; 1-13-2015 by Res. No. 01-2015]
It shall be the duty of the Board of Supervisors of Elections to provide for each special and general election a suitable place or places for voting and suitable ballot boxes and ballots. The Board of Supervisors of Elections, at its discretion, may provide for the use of voting machines. The ballots shall show the legal name of each candidate nominated for elective office in accordance with the provisions of this Charter, arranged in alphabetical order by office with no party designation of any kind. Each ballot shall contain a number of blank lines equal to the number of open seats to provide for write-in candidates. To be counted, a vote for a write-in candidate must be legible, contain the first and last name of the candidate and be written upon a ballot judged to be valid by the Board of Supervisors of Elections. The general election shall be held on the third Tuesday in May. The Board of Supervisors of Elections shall keep the polls open from 7:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. on election days or for longer hours if the Council requires it.
All special town elections shall be conducted by the Board of Supervisors of Elections in the same manner and with the same personnel, as far as practicable, as regular town elections.
Within forty-eight (48) hours after the closing of the polls, the Board of Supervisors of Elections shall determine the vote cast for each candidate or question and shall certify the results of the election to the Director of Finance of the town, who shall record the results in the minutes of the Council. In the odd-number years when only Council members are to be elected, the three (3) candidates with the highest number of votes shall be declared elected as Council members, and in odd-number years where the Mayor and two (2) Council members shall be elected, the candidate for Mayor with the highest number of votes shall be declared elected as Mayor and the two (2) candidates for Council with the highest number of votes shall be declared elected as Council members.
All ballots used in any town election shall be preserved for at least six (6) months from the date of the election.
[Amended 2-8-2000 by Res. No. 01-2000; 1-13-2015 by Res. No. 01-2015]
In the case of a vacancy on the Council or in the office of Mayor for any reason, the Council shall elect some qualified person to fill such vacancy for the unexpired term. Any vacancies on the Council or in the office of Mayor shall be filled by the favorable votes of a majority of the members of the Council. The results of any such vote shall be recorded in the minutes of the Council.
The Council shall have the power to provide by ordinance, in every respect not covered by the provisions of this Charter, for the conduct of registration, nomination and town elections and for the prevention of fraud in connection therewith, and for a recount of ballots in case of doubt or fraud.
Any person who fails to perform any duty required under the provisions of this Article or any ordinances passed thereunder or in any manner willfully or corruptly violates any of the provisions of this Article or any ordinances passed thereunder, or willfully or corruptly does anything which will tend to affect fraudulently any registration, nomination or town election, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction be fined not more than $1,000.00. Any officer or employee of the town government who is convicted of a misdemeanor under the provisions of this section shall immediately upon conviction thereof cease to hold such office or employment.
[Amended 2-8-2000 by Res. No. 02-2000]
In the event that two or more candidates receive the same number of votes where only one can be elected, there shall be a runoff election held within two weeks of the original election. The Council may choose to hold the runoff election by mail ballot.
[Added 1-13-2015 by Res. No. 01-2015]
No person shall canvass, electioneer or post any campaign material, or other handouts of any kind, in any polling place or within a radius of one hundred (100) feet from any entrance and exit of the building where ballots are cast.
[Added 1-13-2015 by Res. No. 01-2015]
A. 
Each Candidate shall have the right to designate in writing one (1) person at a time whom is a registered voter of the Town of Manchester to serve as a poll watcher on his or her behalf.
B. 
A challenger and watcher has the right to:
(1) 
Enter the polling place one-half hour before the polls open;
(2) 
Enter or be present at the polling place at any time when the polls are open;
(3) 
Remain at the polling place until the completion of all tasks associated with the close of the polls, and the Board of Supervisors of Elections leaves the polling place;
(4) 
Maintain a list of registered voters who have voted;
(5) 
Be positioned near the Board of Supervisors of Elections so that the challenger may see and hear each voter as the voter checks in to vote.
C. 
A challenger and watcher may not attempt to:
(1) 
Ascertain how a voter votes or intends to vote;
(2) 
Converse in the polling place with any voter;
(3) 
Assist any voter in voting, or
(4) 
Physically handle an original election document.
D. 
A Board of Supervisors of Elections judge may eject a challenger or watcher who violates the prohibitions of law or an order of a member of the Board of Supervisors of Elections.
[Added 1-13-2015 by Res. No. 01-2015]
A. 
With the aid of a diagram and a voting device, the Board of Supervisors of Elections, if requested by the voter, shall instruct a voter before he/she enters the voting booth, regarding the marking of and casting of such voters ballot.
B. 
If any voter requests assistance, said voter may be assisted by a Second Party Voter Assistant of the voters choice, or two (2) members of the Board of Supervisors of Elections. Second party voter assistants must meet the guidelines set forth herein.
C. 
A voter assistance form must be completed by the Second Party Assistant prior to the voter casting their ballot.
D. 
Second Party Voter Assistants must adhere to the following criteria indicating:
(1) 
May not be the voter's employer or agent of the employer;
(2) 
May not be an officer or agent of the voter's union;
(3) 
May not be a challenger or watcher;
(4) 
Must be asked by the voter to assist in casting his or her ballot;
(5) 
Must assist the voter only by reading the ballot information to the voter and operating the voter unit or completing a ballot as directed by the voter;
(6) 
Must not attempt to influence the voter to vote for or against any candidate or questions appearing on the ballot;
(7) 
Must be eighteen (18) years or older.
[Added 1-13-2015 by Res. No. 01-2015
A. 
Town of Manchester owned property. Signs announcing candidates seeking public political office and other data pertinent thereto shall not be permitted on properties owned by the Town of Manchester.
B. 
Private property. Signs announcing candidates seeking public political office and other data pertinent thereto shall be permitted by approval of the private property owner. The signs shall not interfere with traffic visibility or encroach on any public way.
[Added 1-13-2015 by Res. No. 01-2015]
Media will be allowed in the polls for the sole purpose of discreet photographs. Interviews will not be allowed within the polls so not to disturb the voting public, interviews will be allowed outside of said polling place.