Every person who (a) is a citizen of the United States, (b)
is at least eighteen (18) years of age, (c) has resided within the
corporate limits of the Town for thirty (30) days preceding any Town
election, and (d) is registered in accordance with the provisions
of this Charter, is a qualified voter of the Town. Every qualified
voter of the Town is entitled to vote at all Town elections.
There shall be a Board of Supervisors of Elections consisting
of two (2) who shall be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of
the Town Commission on or before the first Monday in February in every
election year. The terms of members of the Board of Supervisors of
Elections begin on the first Monday in February in the year in which
they are appointed and run for two 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. Vacancies on the Board shall be filled by the Mayor
with the approval of the Town Commission for the remainder of the
unexpired term. Any compensation of Board members shall be determined
by the Town Commission.
Any member of the Board of Supervisors of Elections may be removed
for good cause by the Town Commission, if in the judgment of the Commission
the member is not properly performing or will not properly perform
the duties of the position. Before removal, the member of the Board
of Supervisors of Elections to be removed shall be given a written
copy of the charges against him and shall have a public hearing on
them before the Commission, if he so requests within ten (10) days
after receiving the written copy of the charges against him.
The Board of Supervisors shall be in charge of the registration
of voters, nominations, and all Town elections. The board may appoint
election clerks or other employees to assist it in any of its duties,
but no salary, expenses or other compensation shall be paid to such
appointees except as provided by the Town Commission.
The Board of Supervisors of Elections shall give at least two
(2) weeks' notice of every registration day and every election
by an advertisement published in at least one newspaper of general
circulation in the Town and by posting a notice thereof in some public
place or places in the Town.
The Mayor, with the approval of the Town Commission, may designate
the Town Clerk to act in lieu of an established Board of Supervisors
of Elections whenever such a situation is preferable.
a.
Citizens may register to vote in Town elections any weekday during
normal working hours between 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. in the Clerk's
office in the town municipal building.
b.
Registration shall be permanent, and no person is entitled to vote
in Town elections unless he is registered. The Board of Supervisors
of Elections shall keep the registration lists up to date by striking
from the lists persons known to have died or to have moved out of
the Town.
c.
The Commission, by ordinance, shall adopt and enforce any provisions
necessary to establish and maintain a system of permanent registration
and provide for a re-registration when necessary.
If any person is aggrieved by the action of the Board of Supervisors
of Elections in refusing to register or in striking off the name of
any person, or by any other action, he may appeal to the Town Commission.
Any decision or action of the Commission upon such appeals may, in
turn, be appealed to the District Court of Allegany County within
10 days of the decision or action of the Commission.
Persons may be nominated for elective office in the Town by
filing an application of nomination in the Clerk's office in
the town municipal building on or before the fourth Tuesday in April
next preceding the Town election. No person shall file for nomination
to more than one elective Town office or hold more than one elective
Town office at any one time. Each certificate of nomination shall
be signed by at least twenty-five (25) registered voters of the Town.
Each certificate of nomination shall also include the payment of a
nomination fee, the amount of which is set by the Town Commission
and kept on record in the municipal building.
a.
On the fourth Tuesday in May, 1982, and in every even-numbered year
thereafter, an election will be held for a Mayor and two (2) Commissioners.
The terms of office for the Mayor and two (2) Commissioners will be
two (2) years, beginning on the first Monday in June in the year of
their elections. The terms of office for the two (2) Commissioners
receiving the highest vote will be four (4) years, beginning on the
first Monday in June in the year of their elections. (Res. No. 2-9,
3-30-00)
b.
In the case of any precise tie between two candidates for office,
which would prevent one of them from holding office, a run-off election
shall be held within the next thirty (30) days.
a.
Elections shall be on a non-partisan basis. The ballots and/or voting
machines shall show the 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.
b.
The Board of Supervisors of Elections shall keep the polls open from
7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on election days, or such other hours as may
be designated by the Council.
a.
Any qualified voter registered to vote in the Town of Westernport
is entitled to vote in any municipal election by absentee ballot.
All municipal corporations shall provide the procedure to vote by
absentee ballot.
b.
The Town Clerk shall mail absentee ballots to qualified voters, at
the request of those voters, not less than fifteen (15) days prior
to the elections.
c.
The municipalities are generally authorized and empowered to do any
and all acts providing for voting by persons who are absentee voters.
They are severally authorized and empowered to use any of their facilities
to transmit and receive applications for absentee ballots, envelopes,
instructions and printed matter to enable absentee voters to vote.
(1973, Ch. 816) (Effective July 1, 1973)
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.
Immediately after the closing of the polls, the Board of Supervisors
of Elections shall determine all the votes cast, including regular
and absentee ballots, for each candidate or question and shall certify
the results of the election to the Clerk of the Town who shall record
the results in the minutes of the Town Commission.
All ballots and records used in any Town election shall be preserved
for at least six (6) months from the date of the election.
The Town Commission 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.
The Mayor, with the approval of the Town Commission, may designate
the Town Clerk to act in lieu of an established Board of Supervisors
of Elections whenever such a situation is preferable.
Any person who (a) fails to perform any duty required of him
under the provisions of this subtitle or any ordinances passed thereunder,
(b) in any manner willfully or corruptly violates any of the provisions
of this subtitle or any ordinances passed thereunder, or (c) willfully
or corruptly does anything which will, or will tend to, affect fraudulently
any registration, nomination, or election, shall be deemed guilty
of a misdemeanor. 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.
