[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Charlton as Art. I of the 2005 Bylaws. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Annual Election of Town officers shall be held on the first (1st) Saturday in May; polls will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The Annual Town Meeting for the transaction of other business shall be held on the third (3rd) Monday in May, commencing at 7:00 p.m. and adjournment shall be at 11:00 p.m. unless voted otherwise by the registered voters present.
Notice of Town Meetings shall be given by posting attested copies of the warrant calling the meeting at each of the Post Offices, in the Charlton Municipal Offices/George C. McKinstry Building, and in Dexter Memorial Hall in the Town, at least seven (7) days before an Annual Town Meeting and at least 14 days before a Special Town Meeting.
The Selectmen shall insert in the warrant for the Annual Meeting all subjects the insertion of which shall be requested of them in writing by ten (10) or more registered voters of the Town and in the warrant for every Special Town Meeting all subjects the insertion of which shall be requested of them in writing by one hundred (100) registered voters of the Town. The Selectmen shall call a Special Town Meeting upon request in writing, upon a form approved by the State Secretary, of two hundred (200) registered voters of the Town; such meeting to be held not later than forty-five (45) days after the receipt of such request, and shall insert in the warrant therefor all subjects the insertion of which shall be requested by said petition. No action shall be valid unless the subject matter thereof is contained in the warrant. Two (2) or more distinct Town Meetings for distinct purposes may be called by the same warrant.
In Town Meetings, all persons present shall, as far as practicable, be seated.
All motions and amendments shall be in writing when requested by the Moderator or Town Clerk.
A. 
When one is recognized by the Moderator, he/she shall rise, if able, and be given the floor to speak.
B. 
A person who is neither a registered voter of the Town, nor the Town Administrator, Town Counsel, a Town department head, or the superintendent of a regional school district of which the Town is a member, or such superintendent's designee, may not address the Town Meeting unless so authorized by majority vote of the registered voters present and voting at such meeting.
[Amended 5-17-2010 ATM by Art. 26]
The duties of the Moderator, or in his/her absence the person authorized by MGL c. 39, § 14, not specifically provided for by law, shall be determined by rules of parliamentary law contained in Town Meeting Time, A Handbook of Parliamentary Law, so far as they are adapted to Town Meeting. The Moderator shall preside and regulate the proceedings, make public declaration of all votes, and may administer in open meeting the oath of office to any Town officer chosen thereat. If a vote so declared is immediately questioned by seven (7) or more voters, he/she shall verify it by polling the voters or by dividing the meeting unless the Town has by previous order or bylaw provided another method. If a two-thirds (2/3), four-fifths (4/5) or nine-tenths (9/10) vote of a Town Meeting is required by statute, the count shall be taken, and the vote shall be recorded in the records by the Clerk; provided, however, that where a two-thirds (2/3) vote is required by statute, notwithstanding the foregoing, a counted vote need neither be taken nor recorded unless questioned in the manner specified in the immediately preceding sentence or unless the Moderator is in doubt with respect to whether a motion has passed by the required two-thirds (2/3) vote; but if any vote is unanimous, a count need not be taken, and the Clerk shall record the vote as unanimous.
Whenever the Moderator determines that voters are being excluded from the Town Meeting because there is no room for them in the places provided or that voters in attendance are being deprived of the opportunity to participate for any reason, he/she shall either, on his/her own motion, recess the meeting for any period during the day of the meeting or, after consultation with the members of the Board of Selectmen then present, adjourn the same to another date, not later than fourteen (14) days following the date of said meeting, when places and facilities sufficient to accommodate all voters attending and to enable them to participate in shall be available.