Town of St. Michaels, MD Chapter 18 Elections

[HISTORY: Adopted by The Commissioners of St. Michaels 3-10-1981 by Ord. No. 126. Amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Elections — See Art. IV of Charter.

§ 18-1 Voter registration.

In addition to the times specified by Article IV, § C-28, of the Charter for registration of voters, the Town Clerk, acting as Supervisor of Elections, or any other election clerk, shall sit in the Town office, located on Talbot Street in the Town of St. Michaels, on the third Wednesday of each month, during the hours in which the Town office is regularly open for business on that day, for the purpose of registering or reregistering qualified voters; provided, however, that no such voter shall be registered or reregistered within 14 days before a regular or special election. No publication of notice, as is set forth in Article IV, § C-28, of the Charter, shall be required for the periods of registration of voters as herein set by ordinance.

§ 18-2 Poll hours.

On all regular and special election days, the Town Clerk shall keep the polls open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

§ 18-3 Poll watchers.

[Added 6-8-2022 by Ord. No. 532]

A. Authorized. Each candidate shall have the right to designate a registered Town voter as a poll watcher at each polling place. Such persons shall be assigned to a position near the Town Clerk, inside the registration or polling room, as to enable them to see each person as he or she checks in to vote.

B. Certificate as evidence of right to be present. A certificate signed by any candidate shall be sufficient evidence of the right of a person to be a poll watcher. A certificate shall be submitted to the Town Clerk at least 48 hours before the polls open on the day of an election.

C. Rights; unlawful acts.

(1) Each poll watcher shall have the right to remain in the polling place from the time the polls are opened until the returns are completed.

(2) It shall be unlawful for any poll watcher to inquire or ascertain for what candidate any voter may intend to vote or has voted, or to converse in the polling place or within 100 feet thereof with any voter or to assist a voter in the preparation of the voter's ballot or in the operation of the voting machine. Any poll watcher offering or attempting to do so shall be ejected by the Town Clerk and shall also be subject to the punishment provided in this chapter.

(3) A poll watcher may leave and re-enter during the day, except that after the polls close, a poll watcher who leaves the room will not be permitted to re-enter.

(4) Only one poll watcher per candidate may be in the polling place at once.

D. Removal. A poll watcher may be removed at any time by the same person who appointed the poll watcher.

E. Other persons allowed in polling places. No persons other than voters, the Town Clerk and any persons appointed by the Town Commissioners to assist the Town Clerk in the conduct of the election, and accredited poll watchers shall be permitted to enter the polling place. Voters shall leave the polling place promptly upon casting their ballots.

F. Form of certificate. The form for the certificate of a challenger and watcher shall be in the following form:

POLL WATCHER'S CERTIFICATE

To the Town Clerk:

This is to certify, that __________, A registered voter, has been designated by me to act as a Poll Watcher, during the Town of St. Michaels election _____ to _____ be _____ held _____ on_____, 20_____.

Respectfully submitted

Signature: __________

[Name of Candidate]

G. Procedures.

[Added 7-27-2022 Ord. No. 535]

(1) The rights and functions of a poll watcher shall be limited to challenging the identity, residence or other voter or registration qualification of a voter.

(2) When the right of any person to vote is challenged, the challenge shall be made and its validity determined before the challenged voter enters the voting booth to cast a ballot. The person challenging shall be put under oath by the Town Clerk and shall state the reason for the challenge. The challenged voter may choose to answer the challenge, in which case he or she shall also be put under oath by the Town Clerk. If the challenged voter chooses to answer the challenge, the Town Clerk shall question the voter with respect to the cause of the challenge. If the Town Clerk is of the opinion that the challenged voter is the person so properly registered and otherwise entitled to cast a ballot, the challenged voter's vote shall be received accordingly. If the Town Clerk is of the opinion that the challenged voter is not the person so registered or is not otherwise entitled to cast a ballot, the voter shall be issued a provisional ballot. All provisional ballots issued during the election shall be consecutively numbered, which number shall be provided to the challenged voter. The provision ballot shall be completed by the challenged voter and marked with a password of the voter's choice and then sealed in an envelope marked with its consecutive number. If the challenged voter appeals to the Town Commissioners under Subsection G(3) of this subsection and the decision of the Town Clerk is reversed, the provisional ballot shall be opened and counted in the presence of the challenged voter, at his or her option.

(3) The decision of the Town Clerk shall be subject to appeal by the voter to the Town Commissioners and such appeal shall submitted in writing and received by the Town Commissioners within 10 days of the date of the election. The Town Commissioners shall convene to act upon the appeal within five days of receipt of the challenge. No Commissioner who is on the ballot for the election in which the challenged vote occurred may participate in any way with respect to an appeal.

(4) The Town Commissioners entitled to participate in the appeal shall conduct a hearing at which the challenged voter shall be entitled to appear and give testimony under oath and which shall not be attended by any candidate on the ballot of the subject election. The Town Commissioners shall decide the appeal immediately after the hearing. In the event that the Commissioners are unable to come to a decision by majority vote after two attempts, the challenge shall be deemed denied and the challenged voter's vote shall be received and counted.