Town of North Andover, MA CHAPTER 8 Elections

Section 1 Town elections

8-1-1. The regular election for all Town offices shall be by official ballot held on the last Tuesday in March of each year.

[Amended by Chapter 96 of the Acts of 1997, approved 9-17-1997; Chapter 36 of the Acts of 2004, approved 3-5-2004]

8-1-2. All General Law provisions with regard to Town elections shall apply, except as may herein be provided by this Charter.

Section 2 Town elections to be nonpartisan

8-2-1. All Town elections shall be nonpartisan, and election ballots shall be printed without any party mark or designation whatsoever.

Section 3 Eligibility of Town voters

8-3-1. Any registered voter of the Town shall be eligible for election to any elective office or board of the Town; provided, however, that no person shall be a candidate for or hold, concurrently, more than one paid elective office of the Town.

Section 4 Time of taking office

8-4-1. Any person duly elected to any office or board shall take up the duties of his office immediately following certification.

Section 5 Recall of elective officers

8-5-1. Any holder of an elective office may be recalled by the voters as herein provided.

8-5-2. One percent of the registered voters of the Town 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 the voter the first named on such affidavit a sufficient number of copies of petition blanks demanding such recall, printed forms which he/she shall keep available. The blanks shall be issued by the Town Clerk with his signature and Official Seal attached thereto. They shall be dated and addressed to the Select Board, and shall contain the name of the person to whom they are issued, the number of petitions so issued, the name of the person whose recall is sought, the grounds for recall as stated in the affidavit, and shall be demand the election of a successor to such office.

[Amended by Chapter 292 of the Acts of 2020, approved 1-8-2021]

8-5-3. A copy of the petition shall be entered in the Town Meeting records. The recall petition shall bear the signatures and residential addresses of at least 25% of registered voters. The recall petition shall be returned to the Town Clerk within 20 working days after the filing of the affidavit.

8-5-4. The Town Clerk shall within 24 hours of receipt submit the petition to the Registrars of Voters in the Town, and the Registrars shall within seven working days certify thereon the number of signatures which are named of registered voters.

8-5-5. If the petition shall be found and certified by the Town Clerk to be sufficient he/she shall submit the same with his certificate to the Select Board. The Select Board shall, within three working days, give written notice by registered mail of the receipt 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 the Board at least 64 but not more than 90 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 90 days after the date of the certificate, the Select Board shall postpone the holding of the recall election to the date of such other election.

[Amended by Chapter 414 of the Acts of 2012, approved 1-4-2013; Chapter 292 of the Acts of 2020, approved 1-8-2021]

8-5-6. Any officer sought to be removed may be a candidate to succeed himself. The nominations of candidates, the publication of the warrant for the recall election, and the conduct of the same, shall all be in accordance with the provisions of General Law relating to elections, and the election to replace the officer sought to be removed shall be held on the same day as the recall election.

8-5-7. The incumbent shall continue to perform the duties of office until the recall election. If not recalled, he/she shall continue in office for the remainder of his unexpired term, but shall not again be subject to recall during his term of office. If recalled, he/she shall be deemed removed upon the qualification of his successor who shall hold office during the unexpired term. If the successor fails to qualify within five days after receiving notification of his election, the incumbent shall thereupon be deemed removed and the office vacant.

8-5-8. The form of the question to be voted upon shall be substantially as follows: "shall [here insert the name and title of the elective officer whose recall is sought] be recalled?" The action of the voters to recall shall require a majority vote, but shall not be effective unless the total of those voting for and against recall shall exceed 20% of the registered voters of the Town.

8-5-9. No person having been removed from office by recall or having resigned from office while recall proceedings were pending against him/her, shall be appointed to any Town office within two years following said removal or resignation.