[Amended 8-9-2004 by Res. No. 2004-4]
Voter qualifications shall be as set forth in
§ 3-102 of the Election Law Article of the Annotated Code. In
addition, a voter qualified to vote in a Town election shall be a
person who has a domicile in the Town and has resided within the Town
limits not less than 30 days preceding the next Town election.
There shall be three election judges appointed
by the Mayor with the approval of the Council on or before the first
Monday in March of every odd-numbered year (herein referred to as
the "Board" or the "Board of Election Supervisors"). The terms of
the election judges shall begin the first Monday in March and shall
run for two years. The election judges shall be registered voters
of the Town and shall not hold or be candidates for any elective office
during their term of office. Any compensation of the election judges
shall be determined by the Council. Vacancies shall be filled by the
Mayor with the approval of the Council for the remainder of the unexpired
term.
Any member of the Board of Election Supervisors
may be removed for good cause by the Council. Before removal, the
election judge to be removed shall be given a written copy of the
charges against him and shall have a public hearing on them before
the Council if he so requests within 10 days after receiving the written
copy of the charges against him.
[Amended 6-11-2007 by Res. No. 2007-01]
The Board of Election Supervisors shall be in
charge of the registration of voters, nominations, and all Town elections.
The Town Manager (or any assistant election secretaries as may be
appointed by the Mayor and the Council) shall serve as secretary to
the Board. The Mayor, with the approval of the Council, may appoint
additional clerks to assist the Board in the performance of its duties.
The Board of Election Supervisors shall give
at least 15 days' notice of every registration day and every election
by an advertisement published in at least one newspaper of general
circulation in the Town and by posting a notice thereof in some public
place or places in the Town. Such notice shall contain a summary for
any questions that are on referendum.
Registration with the Carroll County Board of
Elections by a qualified voter who has a domicile within the Town
limits shall be deemed registration for Town elections. Any qualified
voter who is not registered to vote in Carroll County may request
to be registered as a voter in person or by written application mailed
to the Town Hall. In accordance with the laws of the State of Maryland,
the Town Board of Election Supervisors shall keep the registration
lists up to date by striking from the lists persons known to have
died or to have moved out of the Town. Unless stricken pursuant hereto,
registration shall be permanent. The Council may adopt any ordinances
necessary to establish and maintain a system of permanent registration
and of re-registration.
If any person shall feel aggrieved by the action
of the Board of Election Supervisors in refusing to register or in
striking off the name of any person, or by any other action, such
person may appeal to the Council. Any decision of the Council upon
such appeal may be appealed to the Circuit Court for Carroll County
within 30 days of the decision of the Council.
A.
Public Town meeting; date. Persons shall be nominated
for elective office at a public Town meeting held on the fourth Monday
in March of every odd-numbered year.
B.
Chair of public Town meeting. The Mayor shall serve
as chair of the public Town meeting pursuant to this section.
C.
Participants in meeting. Only registered voters shall
have the right to participate in the nomination process at the public
Town meeting.
D.
Nominees. Only those persons who meet the qualifications,
contained in §§ C-4 and C-16, shall be nominated for
Council member or Mayor.
E.
Procedure. Nominations shall be received for the office
of Mayor first and then for the office of Council member. If there
is to be an election to fill the remainder of an unexpired term for
Council member by a vacancy, nominations for this position shall be
considered separately from the nominations for full term Council positions.
F.
Motions. A person shall be considered nominated for
elective office by a motion from the floor that is properly seconded
and accepted by the person nominated.
G.
Acceptance. A person who was nominated for elected
office may accept such nomination by:
(1)
Appearing in front of the Town Manager (or any assistant
secretary as may be appointed by the Mayor and the Council) to be
sworn in and signing a certification of acceptance before the close
of the first regular public Town meeting in April.
[Amended 6-11-2007 by Res. No. 2007-01]
(2)
Appearing and accepting in person at either the public
Town meeting where the nomination was made or the first regular public
Town meeting in April.
H.
Candidate's revocation of acceptance. Any candidate
may revoke his/her acceptance of nomination by (1) appearing in front
of the Town Manager (or any assistant secretary appointed by the Mayor
and the Council) and submitting a written revocation of his/her acceptance
of nomination before the close of the first regular public Town meeting
in April or (2) appearing at the first regular public Town meeting
in April and revoking his/her acceptance of nomination. Upon such
revocation of acceptance of nomination, the name of such candidate
shall be withdrawn from the ballot.
[Amended 6-11-2007 by Res. No. 2007-01]
I.
Prohibition against dual offices. No person shall
file for or accept a nomination to more than one elected Town office
or hold more than one elected Town office at any one time.
On the first Tuesday of May 1993 and every four
years thereafter, the registered voters of the Town shall elect one
person as Mayor to serve for a term of four years.
A.
First group. On the first Tuesday of May 1993, and
every four years thereafter, the registered voters of the Town shall
elect three persons as Council members to serve for terms of four
years.
B.
Second group. On the first Tuesday of May 1995, and
every four years thereafter, the registered voters of the Town shall
elect three persons as Council members to serve for terms of four
years.
A.
Nonpartisan. All elections shall be on a nonpartisan
basis.
B.
Ballots. The ballots and/or voting machines shall
show the name of each candidate nominated for elective office arranged
in alphabetical order by office with no party designation of any kind.
For the purposes of elections, an election to fill the remainder of
an unexpired term of a Council member shall be considered as a separate
office and shall be so indicated on the ballots and/or voting machines.
C.
Procedure. It shall be the duty of the Board of Election
Supervisors to provide for each special and general election, a suitable
place or places for voting and suitable ballot boxes and ballots and/or
voting machines. The Board shall keep the polls open from 8:00 a.m.
to 8:00 p.m. on election days or for longer hours if the Council requires
it.
D.
Voting by absentee ballot. Any qualified voter registered
to vote in the Town may vote in any Town election by absentee ballot.
The Board of Election Supervisors shall provide the procedure to vote
by absentee ballot, which shall include provisions for the transmittal
and receipt of applications for absentee ballots, envelopes, instructions,
and printed matter to enable absentee voters to vote.
All special Town elections shall be conducted
by the Board of Election Supervisors in the same manner, as far as
practicable, as regular Town elections.
A.
Promptly after the closing of the polls, the Board
of Election Supervisors shall determine the vote cast for each candidate
or question and shall certify the results of the election to the Town
Manager, who shall record the result in the minutes of the Council.
The candidate for Mayor with the highest number of votes in the general
election shall be declared elected as Mayor. The three candidates
for full terms as Council members with the highest number of votes
in the general elections shall be declared elected as Council members.
The candidate to fill the remainder of an unexpired term of a Council
member with the highest number of votes in the election shall be declared
elected as Council member for the remainder of the unexpired term.
[Amended 6-11-2007 by Res. No. 2007-01]
B.
In the event election results in a tie vote between
two or more candidates for the same office, the following procedures
shall govern:
(1)
If the tie is among two or more candidates who received
the most votes cast in an election for one office, a runoff election
between those two or more candidates will be held.
(2)
If the tie is among two candidates who received the
most votes cast in an election for two offices, the tied candidates
will be certified elected.
(3)
If the tie is among three or more candidates who received
the most votes cast in an election for two offices, a runoff election
between those three or more candidates will be held.
(4)
If the tie is for the second place in an election
for two offices, a run-off election between those two or more tied
candidates will be held.
(5)
If the tie is among two candidates for the second
and third places in an election for three offices, those two candidates
will be certified as elected.
(6)
if the tie is for the third place in an election for
three offices, a runoff election between those two or more tied candidates
will be held.
C.
A runoff election shall be held as a special election
under Charter C-34 two weeks after the date of the election resulting
in the tie vote.
All ballots and records used in any Town election
shall be preserved for at least six months from the date of the election.
The Council shall 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.
Any person who (1) fails to perform any duty
required of him under the provisions of this article or any ordinances
passed thereunder, (2) in any manner wilfully or corruptly violates
any of the provisions of this article or any ordinances passed thereunder,
or (3) wilfully or corruptly does anything which will or will tend
to affect fraudulently any registration, nomination, or Town election,
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. Any officer or employee of
the Town government who is convicted of a misdemeanor under the provisions
of this section shall immediately upon conviction thereof cease to
hold such office or employment.
A.
Application. The holder of any elective office of
the Town shall be subject to recall by a majority of the registered
voters of the Town.
B.
Petition. If a petition signed by not less than 25%
of the registered voters of the Town shall be presented to the Town
Manager, requesting an election to vote upon the recall of the officeholder,
the Town Manager (or any assistant secretary appointed by the Mayor
and the Council) shall verify that the petition has been signed by
the required number of registered voters of the Town. Each person
signing the petition shall indicate thereon both his name and residence
address. The Council shall consider the petition as of no effect if
it is signed by less than 25% of the persons who are registered to
vote in municipal elections. A minor variation in the signature of
a petitioner between his signature on a petition and that on the Town
voter registration records shall not invalidate the signature. The
invalidation of one signature on a petition shall not serve to invalidate
any others. If the petition fails to contain the required number of
valid signatures, as determined by the Town Manager (or any assistant
secretary appointed by the Mayor and the Council), the petitioners
may submit as an amendment to their original petition the additional
number of valid signatures to meet the requirements of this section.
[Amended 6-11-2007 by Res. No. 2007-01]
C.
Effect of petition. If the Town Manager (or any assistant
secretary appointed by the Mayor and the Council) shall determine
that the petition meets all the requirements of this section, the
Council shall, by resolution, specify the day and the hours for a
special election to be held, not more than 45 calendar days from the
date said resolution is adopted. The resolution shall specify the
exact wording of the question which is to appear on the ballot. The
ballot question shall include the name of the officeholder in question,
the office which he holds, and shall request a "yes" or a "no" vote
as to his removal from that office. The ballot question shall not
specify, or in any way refer to or imply, the reasons for which removal
is being sought.
[Amended 6-11-2007 by Res. No. 2007-01]
D.
Results of election. If a majority of the registered
voters in the special election voting in an election vote in favor
of recalling the officeholder in question, upon certification of the
results of the election by the Town Manager (or any assistant secretary
appointed by the Mayor and the Council) to the Council, said office
shall thereupon be declared vacant by the Council, and shall be filled
by the Council in the manner prescribed by this Charter; provided,
however, that if the total number of votes cast in the special election
does not equal at least 25% of the total number of votes cast in the
last municipal general election, then the recall shall fail.
[Amended 6-11-2007 by Res. No. 2007-01]
