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.