The regular city election shall be held on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November in each odd-numbered year.
On the sixth Tuesday preceding every regular city election there shall be a preliminary election for the purpose of nominating candidates.
All elections for city offices shall be nonpartisan and election ballots shall be printed without any party mark, emblem or other designation whatsoever.
(a) 
Signature requirements - The number of signatures of voters required to place the name of a candidate on the official ballot to be used at a preliminary election shall be as follows: for the office of mayor not less than 100 such signatures; provided, however, that not more than 25 signatures from any 1 ward shall be counted in the minimum number of required signatures; for the office of councilor-at-large not less than 100 such signatures; provided, however, that not more than 25 signatures from any 1 ward shall be counted in the minimum number of required signatures; for the office of district school committee member, not less than 75 signatures, all of which must be from the wards included in the district from which the nomination is sought, provided however, that not more than 25 signatures from any 1 ward shall be counted in the minimum number of required signatures; for the office of ward council or and ward school committee member not less than 50 such signatures, all of which shall be from the ward from which the nomination is sought.
[Amended by Ch. 48 of the Acts of 2023 (Section 13), approved 11-7-2023]
(b) 
Ballot position - The order in which names of candidates appear on the ballot for each office shall be determined by a drawing, by lot, conducted by the city clerk, which shall be open to the public.
(c) 
Determination of candidates - Not more than twice the number of candidates to be elected to the same office receiving at a preliminary election the highest number of votes for nomination for any office shall be the sole candidates for that office whose names shall be printed on the official ballots to be used at the regular city election at which such office is to be voted upon, and no acceptance of a nomination shall be necessary to its validity.
If the preliminary election results in a tie vote among candidates for nomination receiving the lowest number of votes which, but for said tie vote, would entitle a person receiving the same to have their name printed on the official ballots for the election, all candidates participating in said tie vote shall have their names printed on the official ballots, although in consequence thereof there be printed on such ballots the names of candidates exceeding twice the number to be elected.
(d) 
Condition making preliminary unnecessary - If at the expiration of time for filing statements of candidates to be voted upon at any preliminary election not more than twice as many such statements have been filed with the city clerk for an office as candidates are to be elected to such office, the candidates whose statements have been filed with the city clerk shall be deemed to have been nominated to such office, and their names shall be voted upon for such office at the succeeding general election, and the city clerk shall not print their names on the ballots to be used at said preliminary election and no other nomination to such office shall be made. If in consequence it shall appear that no names are to be printed upon the official ballots to be used at a preliminary election for any particular office or offices of the city, no preliminary election shall be held for such office or offices.
The territory of the city shall be divided into 6 wards so established as to consist of compact and contiguous territory, bounded insofar as possible by the center line of known streets or ways or by other well-defined limits. Each such ward shall be composed of voting precincts otherwise established in accordance with general laws. The city council shall from time to time, but not less than once in each 10 years, review such wards to insure their uniformity in number of inhabitants.
Except as expressly provided in this charter and authorized by law, all regular city elections shall be governed by the laws of the commonwealth relating to the right to vote, the registration of voters, the nomination of candidates, the conduct of preliminary, general and special elections, the submission of charters, charter amendments and other propositions to the voters, the counting of votes, the recounting of votes, and the determination of results.
The city council or the school committee shall hold a public hearing and act with respect to every petition that is addressed to it, which is signed by not less than 100 voters and seeks the passage of a measure. The hearing shall be held by the city council or the school committee, or, in either case, by a committee or subcommittee thereof, and the action by the city council or the school committee shall be taken not later than 90 days after the petition is filed with the clerk of the city council or the secretary of the school committee as may be appropriate. Hearings on 2 or more petitions filed under this section may be held at the same time and place. The clerk of the city council or the secretary of the school committee shall mail notice of the hearing to the 10 persons whose names appear first on the petition not less than 5 days before the hearing. Notice, by publication, of all such hearings shall be at public expense, and shall include both newspaper publication and posting on the city website.
(a) 
Commencement - Initiative procedures shall be started by the filing of a proposed initiative petition with the city clerk or the secretary of the school committee. The petition shall be addressed to the city council or to the school committee, shall contain a request for the passage of a particular measure which shall be set forth in full in the petition, and shall be signed by at least 250 voters. At least 25 signatures must be certified from each ward. The petition shall be accompanied by an affidavit signed by 10 voters and containing their residential address stating those voters will constitute the petitioners committee and be responsible for circulating the petition and filing it in proper form. Signatures to an initiative petition need not all be on 1 paper, but all such papers pertaining to any 1 measure shall be fastened together and shall be filed as a single instrument, with the endorsement thereon of the name and residence address of the person designated as filing the same. With each signature on the petition there shall also appear the street and number of the residence of each signer.
(b) 
Referral to City Solicitor - The city clerk or the secretary of the school committee shall, immediately following receipt of a proposed petition, deliver a copy of the petition to the board of registrars of voters. If the board of registrars of voters determines that a petition has been signed by not less than 250 voters, the petition shall be transmitted forthwith to the city solicitor. The city solicitor shall, not later than 30 days after receipt of a copy of the petition, in writing, advise the city council or the school committee and the city clerk whether the measure as proposed may lawfully be proposed by the initiative process and whether, in its present form, it may lawfully be adopted by the city council or the school committee. If the opinion of the city solicitor is that the measure is not in proper form, the reply shall state the reasons for this opinion, in full. A copy of the opinion of the city solicitor shall be mailed to the members of the petitioners committee.
(c) 
Submission to City Clerk - If the city solicitor determines that the petition is in a proper form, the city clerk shall provide blank forms for the use of subsequent signers and shall print at the top of each blank form a fair, concise summary of the proposed measure, as determined by the city solicitor, together with the names and addresses of the first 10 voters who signed the originating petition. The city clerk shall notify the petitioners committee that the blank forms are issued. Within 60 days following the date of the notice, the petition shall be returned and filed with the city clerk signed by at least 10 per cent of the total number of voters as of the date of the most recent regular city election. Signatures to an initiative petition need not all be on 1 paper, but all papers pertaining to any single measure shall be fastened together and shall be filed as a single instrument, with the endorsement on it of the name and address of the person designated as filing the papers. With each signature on the petition there shall also appear the street and number of the residence of each signer. Within 10 days following the filing of the petition, the registrars of voters shall ascertain the number of voters that signed the petition and the percentage that number is of the total number of voters as of the date of the most recent regular city election. The registrars of voters shall attach to the petition a certificate showing the results of its examination and shall return the petition to the city clerk or the secretary of the school committee, as appropriate. A copy of the registrars of voters' certificate shall also be mailed to the members of the petitioners committee.
(d) 
Action on Petitions - Within 30 days following the date a petition has been returned to the city clerk or the secretary of the school committee, the city council or the school committee after publication in accordance with the provisions of section 2-9(c), shall act with respect to each initiative petition by passing it without change, by passing a measure which is stated to be in lieu of the initiative measure or by rejecting it. The passage of a measure which is in lieu of an initiative measure shall be deemed to be a rejection of the initiative measure. If the city council or the school committee fails to act within 30 days following the date the measure is returned to it, the measure shall be deemed to have been rejected on the thirtieth day. If an initiative measure is rejected, the city clerk or the secretary of the school committee shall promptly give notice of that fact to the petitioners committee, by certified mail.
(e) 
Supplementary Petitions - Within 45 days following the date an initiative petition has been rejected, a supplemental initiative petition may be filed with the city clerk or the secretary of the school committee, but only by persons constituting the original petitioners committee. The supplemental initiative petition shall be signed by a number of additional voters equal to at least 5 percent of the total number of voters as of the date of the most recent regular city election and shall be examined by the board of registrars of voters who shall issue a certificate as provided in subsection (c) within 10 days of the submission of the supplemental petition. The signatures on the initial petition filed under subsection (c) and the signatures on the supplemental petition under this subsection, taken together, shall contain the signatures of at least 15 percent of the total number of voters as of the date of the most recent regular city election. If the number of signatures to this supplemental petition is found to be sufficient by the registrars of voters and a certificate issued as described above is submitted to the city clerk, the city council shall call a special election to be held on a date not less than 45 days nor more than 90 days following the date of the certificate of the board of registrars of voters that a sufficient number of voters have signed the supplemental initiative petition and shall submit the proposed measure, without alteration, to the voters for determination; provided, however, that if a regular city election is to be held within 120 days following the date of the certificate, the city council may omit calling the special election and cause the question to appear on the election ballot at the approaching regular city election for determination by the voters at that election.
(f) 
Publication - The full text of an initiative measure which is submitted to the voters shall be published in at least 1 local newspaper not less than 7 days nor more than 14 days preceding the date of the election at which such question is to be voted upon. Additional copies of the full text shall be available for distribution to the public in the office of the city clerk and shall be posted on the city website.
(g) 
Form of Question - The ballots used when voting on a measure proposed by the voters under this section shall contain a question in substantially the following form:
Shall the following measure which was proposed by an initiative petition take effect? (Here insert the fair, concise summary of the proposed measure as determined by the city solicitor as referenced in subsection (c)).
[ ] YES
[ ] NO
(h) 
Time of taking effect - Subject to the requirements of section 7-13, if a majority of the votes cast on the question is in the affirmative, the measure shall be deemed to be effective immediately, unless a later date is specified in the measure.
(a) 
Petition, effect on final vote - If, within 21 days following the date on which the city council or the school committee has voted finally to approve any measure, a petition signed by a number of voters equal to at least 15 per cent of the total number of voters as of the date of the most recent regular city election and addressed to the city council or the school committee, protesting against the measure or any part thereof is filed with the secretary of the school committee or city clerk, the effective date of that measure shall be temporarily suspended. The school committee or the city council shall immediately reconsider its vote on the measure or part thereof and if the measure is not rescinded, the city council shall provide for the submission of the question for a determination by the voters either at a special election, which it may call at its convenience, within such time as may be requested by the school committee, or at the next regular city election; provided, however, that pending this submission and determination, the effect of the measure shall continue to be suspended.
(b) 
Certain initiative provisions to apply - The petition described in this section shall be termed a referendum petition and, as applicable, subsections (a), (b), (c), (f) and (g) of section 7-8 insofar as those subsections relate to the filing and certification of signatures and the ballot question shall apply to such referendum petitions; provided, however, that, the words "measure or part of it protested against" shall replace the word "measure" in said subsections, each time it appears and the word "referendum" shall replace the word "initiative", each time it appears in said subsections. Subject to the requirements of section 7-13, the measure or part thereof protested against shall be null and void unless a majority of those voting on the question shall vote in favor of the measure or part thereof protested against at the election.
None of the following shall be subject to the initiative or the referendum procedures:
(1) 
Proceedings relating to the internal organization or operation of the city council or of the school committee;
(2) 
An emergency measure adopted in conformity with this charter;
(3) 
The city budget or the school committee budget as a whole;
(4) 
Revenue loan orders;
(5) 
Any appropriation for the payment of the city's debt or debt service;
(6) 
An appropriation of funds to implement a collective bargaining agreement;
(7) 
Proceedings relating to the election, appointment, removal, discharge, employment, promotion, transfer, demotion, or other personnel action;
(8) 
Any proceedings repealing or rescinding a measure or part thereof which is protested by referendum procedures; and
(9) 
Any proceedings providing for the submission or referral to the voters at an election.
The city council may of its own motion, and shall at the request of the school committee if a measure originates with the school committee and pertains to affairs under its jurisdiction, submit to the voters at any regular municipal election for adoption or rejection any measure in the same manner and with the same force and effect as are hereby provided for submission by petitions of voters.
If 2 or more measures passed at the same election contain conflicting provisions, only the 1 receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall take effect.
For any measure to be effective under the initiative procedure or for any measure to be declared null and void under the referendum procedure, not less than 20 per cent of the voters as of the most recent regular city election shall vote at the election that includes on the ballot submission to the voters of the initiative or referendum questions.
(a) 
Application - Any person holding an elected city office may be recalled from such office by the voters in accordance with the procedures made available in this section.
<[Amended by Sections 2 and 14 of Ch. 48 of the Acts of 2023, as approved by the voters on 11-7-2023; but note district members will not be elected until 11-4-2025.]>
(b) 
Recall petition.
(1) 
Office elected by voters at large - Four hundred or more voters may file with the board of registrars of voters an affidavit containing the name of the officer sought to be recalled and a statement of the grounds for recall. The signatures on such affidavit shall contain the names of not less than 60 voters in each of the wards into which the city is divided for the purpose of elections.
(2) 
Office elected by voters by ward - One hundred or more voters may file with the board of registrars of voters an affidavit containing the name of the officer sought to be recalled and a statement of the grounds for recall. The signatures on such affidavit shall contain the names only of voters in the ward from which the officer was elected.
(3) 
Office elected by district - 200 or more voters may file with the board of registrars of voters an affidavit containing the name of the officer sought to be recalled and a statement of the grounds for the recall. The signatures on such affidavit shall contain the names only of voters in the district from which the officer was elected.
(4) 
At large, or by ward or district - If the affidavit is found to be valid, the city clerk shall thereupon deliver to the first 10 persons named on said affidavit, petition blanks demanding said recall, printed forms of which shall be kept available. The blanks may be completed by printing or by typewriting; they shall be addressed to the city council; they shall contain the names and residence addresses of the 10 persons to whom they are issued and they shall contain the grounds for recall as stated in the affidavit; they shall demand the election of a successor to the office; and they shall be dated and signed by the city clerk.
The recall petitions shall be returned to the office of the board of registrars of voters within 28 days following the date they are issued, signed by not less than 20 per cent of the total number of voters of the ward or district or of the city, as is appropriate, as of the date of the most recent regular municipal election.
The sheets constituting a petition need not all be filed at the same time. For the purposes of this section, such a petition shall be deemed filed whenever the persons responsible for its filing notify the board of registrars of voters, in writing, that the filing is complete. Before receiving such notice, the board of registrars of voters may, but shall not be required to, certify signatures on the sheets already filed.
The board of registrars of voters shall, within 10 days following the date the petition forms are filed, certify the number of signatures thereon which are the names of voters and the percentage that number represents of the total number of voters as of the date of the most recent regular municipal election.
(c) 
Recall election - If the petitions are certified by the board of registrars of voters to contain a sufficient number of signatures, they shall forthwith submit the same, with their certificate, to the city council. Upon receipt of the certified petition forms, the city council shall forthwith give written notice to the officer whose recall is sought of the validity of such petitions. If the officer whose recall is sought does not resign the office within 5 days following delivery of the notice, or by leaving at the last known place of residence, the city council shall order a special election to be held on a date fixed by it not less than 65 days nor more than 90 days after the date of its notice to the officer whose recall is sought.
(d) 
Ballot question - Ballots used at the recall election shall state the proposition in substantially the following form: "Shall (insert name of officer) be recalled from the office of (insert name of office held)?"
[       ] YES
[       ] NO
(e) 
Officeholder - The person whose recall is sought shall continue to hold the office and to perform the duties until the recall election. If a majority of the votes cast on the question as stated above is in the affirmative, the officer shall be deemed to be recalled and the office shall be deemed to be vacant upon the certification of the election results. If a majority of the votes cast on the said question is in the negative, the person whose recall was sought shall continue in the office until the expiration of the term for which elected, but subject to recall as provided in section 7-14(f).
(f) 
Restriction on recall petition - No recall petition shall be filed against any officer until at least 6 months following the commencement of a term of office, nor, in the case of an officer subjected to a recall election and not recalled thereby, during the remainder of the current term of office. A recall election shall not be held if less than 9 months of the term of office of the person whose recall is sought remain at the time of the certification of the petition forms.
(g) 
Filling of vacancy - If the office of mayor is declared vacant as the result of a recall election, the city council shall forthwith call a special election to be held on a date fixed by it not less than 65 days nor more than 90 days following the date of the recall election. The person elected at such special election shall serve for the balance of the unexpired term remaining at the time of election.
Vacancies in any other office shall be filled in accordance with the procedures for filling the same as provided in section 2-11 and section 4-1(f)
No person recalled from an office under the terms of this section shall be eligible to be a candidate to fill any vacancy created by such recall.