The Mayor and members of the Town Council shall be elected for
two year terms from the second Monday in March of 2000, and shall
hold office from the first Monday in April following, except those
who were elected in March 1999, who shall continue in office until
the month of April 2001, or until their successors are elected and
qualified.
Persons who reside within the corporate boundaries of the municipal
corporation at the closing of registration next preceding any municipal
election and who are qualified to vote for members of the General
Assembly of Maryland shall have the right to vote in all municipal
elections.
The election of the Mayor and three members of the Town Council,
whose terms shall expire in the year 2000, shall be held on the second
Monday in March 2000, and those elected shall hold office for a term
of two years from the date of their election and qualification. The
election of three members of the Council whose terms shall expire
in the year 2001 shall be held the second Monday in March 2001, and
those elected shall hold office for a term of two years from the date
of their election and qualification.
[Amended 12-3-2007 by Res. No. R2007-11]
The Mayor and Town Council of Oakland, in lieu of any primary
election, shall cause to be placed on the official ballot of the Town
the name of any registered voter of said Town who fulfills the qualifications
for the office for which he or she seeks and who delivers to the Clerk
of said Town, 14 days before the regular municipal election and before
4:00 p.m. that day, a petition asking to be placed on said ballot,
setting forth his or her name, residence, a statement that he or she
is of sufficient age to seek and hold such office, whether he or she
is a citizen of the United States and a taxpayer of the corporation,
the length of time he or she has resided in said Town and the office
which he or she seeks. Such candidate shall pay a registration fee
for the particular office for which he or she files, said fee to be
set by resolution of the Mayor and Town Council of Oakland.
The Mayor and Town Council shall determine in what place and
manner elections are to be held and in what manner votes are to be
cast, and may utilize electronic or other such means for the purpose
of such elections and the casting of said votes. The ballot, whether
physical or electronic, shall contain the names of all candidates
who have properly qualified and paid the required filing fee for the
particular office for which he or she has filed, arranged alphabetically
under the proper designation of the office for which each is a candidate.
Immediately following the adoption of this Charter, but in no
event later than 90 days prior to the next municipal election, the
Mayor and Town Council shall appoint two qualified voters of the Town
of Oakland to act as election judges, who shall hold office for a
period of one year, or until their successors are appointed. In the
event of a vacancy in the office of election judge, a successor shall
be appointed by the Mayor and Town Council in the same manner as the
judge was originally appointed. The said election judges shall be
compensated as provided for by the Mayor and Town Council by its resolution.
The judges of elections, appointed in accordance with § C5-106
of this Charter, and two clerks appointed under § C5-109
of this article, and shall keep the polls open from 9.00 a.m. until
6:00 p.m. on election day, and shall conduct said elections in the
same manner in which judges of elections are now directed to conduct
elections for state and county officials, as far as may be practicable,
after making oath before some District Court Judge of Garrett County
or some other person duly authorized to administer an oath of office,
that they will conduct said elections in accordance with this article
and with applicable state law, and that they will permit only those
persons to vote who are qualified to do so under the provisions of
this article. Said judges shall make their returns of the votes cast
and persons elected at said elections under the hands and seals of
the Mayor and Town Council of Oakland and to the Clerk of the Circuit
Court for Garrett County, Maryland.
The Mayor and Town Council of Oakland shall cause to be maintained
a registration of the legal and qualified voters residing within the
corporation boundaries of the Town of Oakland; said registration shall
specify the place of residence of the voter within the Town, shall
specify whether the voter is a citizen of the United States of America
and shall contain such other information as the Mayor and Town Council
of Oakland may legally consider necessary to show his or her qualifications
to vote in Town elections. Such registration shall be essential to
the right to vote at any election held under this Charter. Persons
so qualified may register at the Town Hall, or any other place designated
by the Mayor and Town Council, during normal business hours. The Mayor,
the Town Clerk, any member of the Town Council, or their designees,
may register such voters.
Immediately following the adoption of this Charter, but in no
event later than the end of business on the first Monday thereafter,
the Mayor and Town Council shall appoint two qualified voters the
Town of Oakland to act as registration clerks for the Town. The clerks
so appointed shall sit on the last Monday in January of each year
for the purpose of reviewing voter rolls and registration of the Town
of Oakland. They shall purge from said rolls the names of all persons
known to them who are no longer qualified as voters within the Town
of Oakland by reason change of residence or the failure to vote. The
said clerks shall purge from the said rolls the names of all persons
known to them who have failed to vote in the preceding 10 municipal
elections whether or not they still reside within the boundaries of
the municipal corporation, unless cause to the contrary be shown.
A notice of this action and the reason therefor shall be sent to the
last known address of the voter. This notification shall inform the
voter of his or her right to challenge his or her removal from the
voter registration list as set forth herein. The notice shall also
state that the voter may vote in a future election only if he or she
registers again and shall set forth the procedures for registration.
The clerks shall not cancel the registration of a person within 90
days of the date of an election. Registration clerks, after having
completed their review of the registration and voter rolls of the
Town, shall present and certify the same to the Mayor and Town Council
within seven days after the last Monday in January of each year. The
Mayor and Town Council may, however, utilize the services of the Garrett
County Office of Elections, by whatever name called, to carry out
such registration duties, if such services be made available, and
may do so in accordance with any rules of universal registration as
adopted by the same, as long as such rules conform with all applicable
state laws.
