Registration shall be essential to the right to vote at any
election held under the provisions of this Article or under the provisions
of any act of the General Assembly of the State submitting any proposition
or question to the decision of the voters of the town. Provisions
for registration shall be made by ordinance by the Burgess and Commissioners
and may be made in a manner different from that provided by this Charter.
There shall be a Board of Supervisors of Elections consisting
of five (5) members, who shall be appointed by the Burgess, with the
approval of the Commissioners, on or before the first Tuesday of the
month of June in each election year. The terms of the members of the
Board of Supervisors of Elections begin on the first Tuesday in June
in the year in which they are appointed and run for three (3) years
or until their successors take office. 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 terms of office.
The Board shall appoint one (1) of its members as Chairman. Vacancies
on the Board shall be filled by the Burgess, with the approval of
the Commissioners, for the remainder of the unexpired term. The compensation
of the members of the Board, if any, shall be determined by the Commissioners.
The Board of Supervisors of Elections 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 in
any of its duties.
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 (1) newspaper of general
circulation in the town and by posting a notice thereof in some public
place or places in the town.
In every election year, on the last Tuesday of the month of
June, the Board of Supervisors of Elections appointed by the Burgess
shall sit as officer or officers of registration for the purpose of
revising the registration. Such revision shall be made in conformity
with the provisions of the law of the state in force from time to
time relating to the registration of voters. The officers of registration
shall transfer voters' names from one address to another in case such
voters have changed their residence, shall add the names of voters
qualified to register at that time and shall strike from the registration
lists the names of those persons who have died or become disqualified.
When the registration books in use shall become worn out, dilapidated
or unfit for further use, the Burgess and Commissioners shall provide
similar books to replace the used ones, and the names of the voters
shall be transcribed therein or new lists made or an entire new registration
had, as determined by ordinance. If necessary for the performance
of registration or the convenience of the citizens of the town, the
Burgess may designate additional days as registration days. Registration
shall be permanent. The Commissioners, by ordinance, shall adopt and
enforce any provisions necessary to establish and maintain a system
of permanent registration.
Every such officer of registration shall cause a copy of the
lists of persons disqualified to be published by handbills posted
in such public places about the town as he/she may select within five
(5) days after the close of such registration. Any person considering
himself aggrieved by the action of the officer of registration in
striking his/her name from the list of qualified voters may appeal
to the Burgess who is hereby authorized to hear such appeal and to
make such correction in the registration list, by the hand of the
Town Clerk, as just and right, in the judgment of the Burgess. During
the appointed time of their respective sittings, the officers of registration
shall have, in addition to the duties and authority given them herein,
such other powers and authority as is conferred on officers of registration
by the Annotated Code of Maryland, as amended from time to time.
[Amended 5-14-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-03]
Any citizen of the state and a citizen of the United States
who is a resident of the Town of Walkersville and who, at the date
of any town election therein, is respectively eighteen (18) years
of age, is qualified and entitled to vote under the Constitution and
laws of the state at any state election held in the state, has been
a bona fide resident of the town for thirty (30) days next preceding
the election and is registered as required by this Article shall be
entitled to vote at all town elections.
[Amended 12-10-2003 by Res. No. 2003-05]
All nominations for Burgess and Commissioners shall be made pursuant to nomination forms, rules, and times as provided in Chapter
22 of the Town Code.
[Amended 5-9-2018 by Res.
No. 2018-01; 2-24-2021 by Res. No. 2021-01; 1-11-2023 by Res. No. 2022-03; 8-10-2023 by Res. No. 2023-06; 2-28-2024 by Res. No. 2024-01; 2-28-2024 by Res. No. 2024-02]
For the 2024 Election cycle, the elected Burgess will hold a
term of four (4) total years, with tern ending in election year 2028.
The two (2) Commissioners with the highest number of votes will hold
a term of four (4) total years, similar to the Burgess, with their
term ending in 2028. The three (3) Commissioners with the lowest number
of votes will hold a term of two (2) total years, with election to
be held in 2026, at which point, these positions will be eligible
for a term of four (4) years. Further, this provision shall sunset
or cease to be in effect as of December 31, 2024.
Any person who bribes, coerces or intimidates any voter, or
attempts to bribe, coerce or intimidate any voter, at any election
held under the direction of the Burgess and Commissioners shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction thereof before any appropriate
court of the County of Frederick or the State of Maryland, shall be
fined for each and every offense or confined in the county jail, or
both confined and imprisoned, at the discretion of the court having
jurisdiction and hearing the case. The Burgess and Commissioners shall
establish by ordinance from time to time the maximum fine or jail
term for such cases.
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 certify the results of the election
to the Town Clerk, who shall record the results in the minutes of
the Commissioners. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes
for the office of Burgess shall be declared as elected. The candidates
receiving the highest number of votes for the offices of Commissioner
being elected in that year shall be declared as elected. If the Board
of Supervisors of Elections is unable to determine who is to be declared
elected due to an equal number of votes being cast for two (2) or
more candidates, the Board of Supervisors of Elections shall determine
the candidate elected by a method to be determined by the incumbent
Burgess and Commissioners.
All ballots used in any town election shall be preserved for
at least six (6) months from the date of the election.
The Commissioners 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. They shall also provide by ordinance for
voting in any town election by absentee ballot.