Any holder of an elective Town office may be recalled therefrom
by the voters as herein provided.
Any 200 voters may file with the Town Clerk an affidavit containing
the name of the officer sought to be recalled and a statement of the
grounds for recall. The Town Clerk shall thereupon deliver to said
voters making the affidavit copies of the petition blanks demanding
such recall, printed forms of which he or she shall make available.
The blanks shall by issued by the Town Clerk with his or her signature
and official seal attached thereto. They shall be dated, shall be
addressed to the Selectmen and shall contain the names of all persons
to whom they are issued, the names of the person whose recall is sought,
the grounds for recall as stated in the affidavit and shall demand
the election of a successor in said office. A copy of the petition
shall be entered in a record book to be kept in the office of the
Town Clerk. The recall petition shall be returned and filed with the
Town Clerk within 30 days after the filing of the affidavit and shall
have been signed by at least 20% of the Town voters eligible to vote
in a recall election, who shall add their signatures, and the street
and number, if any, of their residences.
If the petition shall be found and certified by the Town Clerk
to be sufficient, he/she shall submit the same with his/her certificate
to the Selectmen without delay, and the Selectmen shall forthwith
give written notice of the certificate to the officer sought to be
recalled and shall, if the officer does not resign within five days
thereafter, order an election to be held on a date fixed by them not
less than 65 days nor more than 75 days after the date of the Town
Clerk's certificate that a sufficient petition has been filed; provided,
however, that if any other Town election is to occur within 60 days
after the date of the certificate, the Selectmen shall postpone the
holding of the recall election to the date of such other election.
If a vacancy occurs in said office after a recall election has been
ordered, the election shall nevertheless proceed as provided in this
article.
Any officer sought to be removed may be a candidate to succeed
himself/herself, and unless he/she requests otherwise in writing,
the Town Clerk shall place his/her name on the ballot without nomination.
The nomination of other candidates, the publication of the warrant
for the removal election, and the conduct of the same shall all be
in accordance with the provisions of law relating to elections, unless
otherwise provided in this article.
The incumbent shall continue to perform the duties of his/her
office until the recall election. If then reelected, he/she shall
continue in office for the remainder of his/her unexpired term, subject
to recall as before, except as provided in this article. If not reelected
in the recall election, he/she shall be deemed removed upon the qualification
of his/her successor, who shall hold office during the unexpired term.
If the successor fails to qualify within five days after receiving
notification of his/her election, the incumbent shall thereupon be
deemed removed and the office vacant.
A.
Ballots used in a recall election shall submit the following propositions
in the order indicated:
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For the recall of (Name of Officer)
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Against the recall of (Name of Officer)
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B.
Immediately at the right of each proposition, there shall be a square
in which the voter, by making a cross mark (X), may vote for either
of the propositions. Under the propositions shall appear the word
"Candidate," the directions to voters required by MGL c. 54, § 42,
and beneath this the names of candidates nominated as hereinbefore
provided. If a majority of the votes cast upon the question of recall
is in the affirmative, the candidate receiving the highest number
of votes shall be declared elected. If a majority of votes on the
question is in the negative, the ballots for candidates need not be
counted.
No recall petition shall be filed against an officer within
three months after he/she takes office, nor, in the case of an officer
subject to a recall election and not recalled thereby, until at least
six months after the election at which his/her recall was submitted
to the voters.
No person who has been recalled from office, or who has resigned
from office while recall proceedings were pending against him/her,
shall be appointed to any Town office within two years after such
recall or such resignation.
In action on a home rule charter on any date subsequent of the
passage of this article, the Town Meeting may:
