The annual election for the purpose of voting by ballot for Town officeholders and voting on any questions to be placed upon the official ballot shall be held on a date fixed by Town Bylaw.
(a)
Application – Any holder of an elective Town office may be recalled pursuant to this Section provided that the recall election occurs prior to six (6) months from the end of the officeholder’s elective term.
(b)
Recall Petition – A recall statement, containing the signatures of at least ten (10) percent of the voters of the Town may be filed with the Town Clerk; provided, however, that at least two hundred (200) such voters shall be from each of the precincts of the Town. Such statement shall contain the name of the officeholder who is sought to be recalled, a statement of the grounds for the recall and the identity of a designated representative of such voters. Once the names that appear on the recall statement are certified by the Board of Registrars of Voters, the Town Clerk shall promptly deliver to the designated representative copies of petition blanks demanding such recall. The petition blanks shall contain the following heading: Initiating a recall is a serious process and should not be undertaken lightly. The blanks shall be issued by the Town Clerk with the Town Clerk’s signature and official seal. They shall be dated, shall be addressed to the Select Board, shall contain the name of the designated representative to whom they are issued, the name of the person whose recall is sought and the grounds for recall as stated in the recall statement, and shall demand the election of a successor to said office. A copy of the recall statement shall be entered in a record book to be kept in the office of the Town Clerk. The recall petitions shall be returned and filed with the Town Clerk within forty five (45) days following the date of the filing of the recall statement and shall be signed by at least twenty (20)% of the voters of the Town as of the date such recall statement was filed with the Town Clerk.
The Town Clerk shall, within one (1) business day of receipt, submit the recall petition to the Board of Registrars of Voters in the Town, who shall, within five (5) business days, certify thereon the number of signatures that are names of registered voters of the Town.
(c)
Recall Election – If the Town Clerk determines that the certified petitions meet the requirements of Section 5-2(b) of this Charter, the Town Clerk shall provide notice, in writing, by certified mail to the officeholder whose recall is sought by sending to that officeholder a copy of the recall statement and recall petition together with notice of the number of qualified voters certified by the Board of Registrars who signed the recall petitions and the total number of qualified voters in the Town as of the most recent Town election. If said officeholder does not resign the office within five (5) days after delivery of such notice, the Town Clerk shall provide notice, in writing, to the Select Board not later than two (2) business days following the expiration of the foregoing five (5) days. The Select Board shall order an election to be held on a date fixed by them not more than ninety (90) days after the date of such notice from the Town Clerk; provided, however, that if any other town election is to occur within one hundred (100) 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. If said officeholder resigns after a recall election has been ordered, the election shall nevertheless proceed as provided in this Section.
(d)
Nomination of Candidates – An officeholder whose recall is sought may be a candidate to succeed to the office in the event the vote on the recall is in the affirmative. The nomination of other candidates, the publication of the warrant for the recall election, and conduct of the recall election shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Massachusetts General Laws relating to elections, unless otherwise provided in this Section.
(e)
Officeholder – The incumbent shall continue to perform the duties of the office during the recall procedure. If the incumbent is not removed, the incumbent shall continue in the office for the remainder of the unexpired term subject to recall as before. If recalled at the recall election, the incumbent shall be deemed removed upon the qualification of the successor, who shall hold office during the unexpired term. If the successor fails to qualify within five (5) days after receiving notification of election, the incumbent shall thereupon be deemed removed and the office vacant.
(f)
Ballot Proposition – Ballots used in a recall election shall contain the following propositions in the order indicated:
Shall the Town of Hopkinton recall (name of officeholder) | Yes | No |
Below the propositions shall appear the word “Candidates,” the directions to the voters required by M.G.L. c. 54, § 42 and, below the directions, the names of candidates nominated in accordance with the provisions of the Massachusetts General Laws relating to elections. If a majority of the votes cast on the question of recall is in the affirmative, the candidate receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected. If a majority of the votes on the recall question is in the negative, the ballots for the candidates shall not be counted.
(g)
Officeholder Recalled – No person who has been recalled from an office or who has resigned from an office while recall proceedings were pending, shall be appointed to any Town office within two (2) years after the date of such recall vote or such resignation.