[Amended 5-13-1986, effective 6-22-1986]
[Amended 12-12-1989 by Res. No. 89-1, effective 1-31-1990; 9-8-1998 by Res. No. 1998-5, effective 10-28-1998; 8-26-2009 by Res. No. 2009-18, effective 10-6-2009]
A. 
The Town shall provide for the registration of the names of all the persons who possess the qualifications prescribed in this Article IV to be qualified voters, which registration shall be conclusive evidence to the Town Clerk of the right of every person, thus registered, to vote in any election held in the Town; but no person shall vote at any election held in the Town unless his or her name appears in the list of registered voters under the universal voter registration system for Talbot County, Maryland; the names of all persons who have the qualifications prescribed in the § C-23B of this Article IV, and who are not disqualified under this article, shall be added to the list of qualified voters. Registration shall be permanent until a registrant becomes disqualified.
B. 
The Town Clerk shall not maintain a separate registration for voters who do not wish to be registered for county, state or national elections through the universal voter registration system.
C. 
Voters shall be removed from the registry of the universal registration system provided by Talbot County, Maryland in accordance with state law. Notice of this action and the rights of persons affected by such removal shall be in accordance with state law.
D. 
A voter whose registration has been cancelled under this section shall not thereafter be eligible to vote except by registering again as provided in this article.
E. 
(Reserved)
F. 
No person shall be permitted to register to vote in a Town election during the period between the close of regular business hours on the fifth Friday preceding the date of that Town election and opening of regular business hours on the second Tuesday after the date of that Town election.
[Amended 12-12-1989 by Res. No. 89-1, effective 1-31-1990]
A. 
Qualified voters. Only persons qualified to vote in Town elections, according to the terms of Subsection B of § C-22, shall be registered as qualified voters.
B. 
Qualifications. The qualifications of voters are the following, each one of which is applicable to every voter:
(1) 
Citizen of United States;
(2) 
Age of 18 years or older on or before the day of the next Town election;
(3) 
Resident of State of Maryland on the fifth Monday preceding the next Town election;
(4) 
Resident of the Town as of the time for closing of registration, next preceding the Town election;
(5) 
Not constitutionally regulated or prohibited by Subsection C or D of this § C-23 and;
(6) 
Not convicted of buying or selling votes.
C. 
Conviction of crime. No person shall be registered as a qualified voter if he or she has been convicted of theft or other infamous crime, unless he or she has been pardoned, or, in connection with the first such conviction only, he or she has concluded any sentence imposed pursuant to that conviction, including any period of probation imposed by virtue of parole or otherwise in lieu of a sentence or part of a sentence.
D. 
Persons under guardianship. No person shall be registered as a qualified voter if he or she is under guardianship for mental disability.
E. 
Every qualified voter of the Town is entitled to vote in all Town Elections.
A. 
Any qualified voter whose physical disability confines him or her to a hospital or causes him or her to be confined to bed and permanently prevents him or her from being present to register or reregister to vote shall be allowed to register or reregister by casting his or her absentee ballot as provided by ordinance.
B. 
Any registered voter in the Town of St. Michaels may vote by absentee ballot if he or she meets the requirements and conditions of Maryland Code (1957) Article 33, Title 27 (Absentee Voting), as amended, unless otherwise provided by this Charter or ordinance of the Town.
[Amended 12-12-1989 by Res. No. 89-1, effective 1-31-1990]
The Town Clerk shall be in charge of the registration of voters, nominations, and all Town elections. The Commission may appoint election clerks or other employees to assist the Town Clerk in any way in his or her duties. In addition, registration of voters may be accomplished in accordance with and pursuant to Maryland Code (1957), Article 33, § 3-2, as amended, by, through or under the authority of the Talbot County Board of Elections. In the event that this section is not effective on or before January 1, 1990, as required by Maryland Code (1957), Article 33, § 3-2, as amended, then voters registered by the Talbot County Board of Elections pursuant to state law on or after January 1, 1990, but before this section of the St. Michaels Charter becomes effective, shall nevertheless be validly registered for Town elections. The Town Clerk may conduct universal voter registration if authorized by the Talbot County Board of Elections.
[Amended 12-12-1989 by Res. No. 89-1, effective 1-31-1990]
A. 
It shall be the duty of the Town Clerk to give public notice of the hours and places for voter registration, of any changes of such hours and places, and when supplemental registration is authorized, to give notice of the hours and places thereof.
B. 
The Town Clerk shall give public notice of every Town election by publishing at least once each week for two consecutive weeks, the first of which publication shall not be more than 21 days before the election and the last of which publications shall not be less than seven days before the election, said advertisement to be published in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the Town, and by posting a notice thereof on the bulletin board in the Town office.
If any person is aggrieved by the action of the Town Clerk in refusing to register or in striking off the name of any person or by any other action, he or she may appeal to the Commission. Any decision or action of the Commission upon such appeals may be appealed by the person so aggrieved to the Circuit Court for Talbot County in the same manner as provided for in the case of appeals regarding the election laws of the State of Maryland.
[Amended 9-8-1998 by Res. No. 1998-5, effective 10-28-1998]
A. 
Each person seeking elective office in a Town election must be a registered voter of the Town, and shall file a certificate of candidacy signed by the candidate. Such certificate shall state the following:
(1) 
The office for which the candidate is seeking election;
(2) 
The name of the candidate as he or she wishes it to appear on the ballot (to include at least one given name, the initial letter of all other given names, and the surname of the candidate, but without nicknames, titles, degrees and designations);
(3) 
The principal residential address of the candidate;
(4) 
A statement that as of the date the certificate is submitted the candidate is a registered voter of the Town and that as of the date of the election the candidate will meet all of the qualifications required by this Charter for a registered voter of the Town;
(5) 
A statement that as of the date of the election the candidate will meet all of the qualifications required by this Charter for the elective office for which he or she is a candidate; and
(6) 
Disclosure of any action involving a conflict of interest between the candidate and the Town.
B. 
A certificate of candidacy shall be received by the Town Clerk before 4:30 p.m. on the fifth Friday preceding the date of the Town election to which the certificate applies. No person shall file for candidacy to more than one elective Town public office or hold more than one elective Town public office at any one time.
[Amended 9-12-1995, effective 10-23-1995; 8-23-2006 by Res. No. 2006-20, effective 10-12-2006; 4-1-2020 by Res. No. 2020-01, effective 4-1-2020]
A. 
All regular elections of the Town shall be held on the first Monday in May in even-numbered years. Beginning with the election to be held in May 1996, and every four years thereafter, three Commissioners shall be elected for terms of four years each. Beginning with the election in May 1998, and every four years thereafter, two Commissioners shall be elected for terms of four years each. In the case of some vacancies, Commissioners may be elected for terms of two years as provided in § C-35 of this Charter.
B. 
When a state of emergency has been declared by the Governor of Maryland, Talbot County, Maryland, and/or the Commissioners pursuant to Title 14 of the Public Safety Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, the Commissioners may, by resolution, postpone any regular or special election if the Commissioners find that such postponement is necessary to protect the public health, safety, or welfare and to conduct the election in a safe, orderly, and efficient manner. Any election postponed hereunder shall be postponed until such time as the emergency conditions giving rise to the state of emergency have abated or such election can be conducted in a safe, orderly, and efficient manner and will not endanger the public health, safety, or welfare. The Town Clerk shall give public notice of a resolution postponing any regular or special election by publishing once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town, with the first publication occurring as soon as practicable following the Commissioners' adoption of the resolution.
It is the duty of the Town Clerk 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 ballots and/or voting machines shall show the name of each candidate nominated for elective office in accordance with the provisions of this Charter, arranged in alphabetical order by office with no party designation of any kind. The Town Clerk shall keep the polls open from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on election days or for such longer hours as the Commissioners may require by ordinance.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 18, Ethics.
Immediately after the closing of the polls, the Town Clerk shall determine the number of votes cast for each candidate or question and shall certify the results of the election to the Commissioners of the Town, who shall record the results in the minutes of the Commission. Those candidates for Commissioners with the highest number of votes in the general election shall be declared elected as Commissioners; three Commissioners to be elected in 1988 and every four years thereafter; two Commissioners to be elected in 1986 and every four years thereafter.
[Amended 8-23-2006 by Res. No. 2006-20, effective 10-12-2006; 8-26-2009 by Res. No. 2009-18, effective 10-6-2009; 4-1-2020 by Res. No. 2020-01, effective 4-1-2020]
A. 
In case of a vacancy that occurs more than 90 days before the next regular election of Commissioners:
(1) 
The Commissioners shall appoint some qualified person to fill the vacancy, who shall enjoy and exercise the same voting rights and privileges as those enjoyed and exercised by Commissioners elected to office.
(a) 
Appointments shall be made upon a favorable vote by a majority of the remaining Commission members. The result of the vote shall be recorded in the minutes of the Commission.
(b) 
The term of a Commissioner so appointed shall expire on the second Wednesday in the month of June following the next regular election of Commissioners, except as set forth in §§ C-5 and C-31B of this Charter.
(c) 
If the original term of the vacancy filled by appointment does not expire following the next regular election, the remaining two years of the term shall be placed on the ballot and shall be filled by the winning candidate with the least number of votes.
(2) 
If the Commission fails to make an appointment within 30 days following the occurrence of the vacancy, the Town Clerk shall call a special election to fill the vacancy, to be held not sooner than 90 days and not later than 120 days following the occurrence. The special election shall be governed by the provisions of this Charter.
(a) 
If a regular election will occur during the period from 90 days to 120 days following the occurrence, the special election shall be held with the regular election.
(b) 
If a vacancy is filled by special election, the newly elected Commissioner shall serve for the remainder of the vacant term, even in the event that the term may extend beyond the next regular election of Commissioners.
B. 
In the case of a vacancy that occurs 90 days or less before the next regular election of Commissioners, the vacancy shall remain unfilled until the election. If the vacancy was for a term not expiring immediately following the election, the winning candidate with the least number of votes shall fill the remaining term of two years.
Any Commissioner of the Town who, during his or her term of office, is convicted of or enters a plea of nolo contendere to any crime which is a felony, or which is a misdemeanor related to his or her public duties and responsibilities and involves moral turpitude for which the penalty may be incarceration in any penal institution, shall be suspended by operation of law without pay or benefits from his or her office as Commissioner of the Town. During and for the period of suspension from said elected office, such suspension shall be considered a vacancy in the elective office which shall be temporarily filled in accordance with the provisions of the Charter. If the conviction or plea of nolo contendere becomes final, after judicial review or otherwise, such Commissioner shall be removed from office by operation of law, and the office shall be deemed vacant and shall be filled in accordance with the terms of this Charter. If the conviction of the Commissioner is reversed or overturned, the Commissioner shall be reinstated by operation of law to his or her elective office for the remainder, if any, of the elective term of office during which he or she was suspended or removed, and all pay and benefits shall be restored.
The Commission has 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 officer or employee of the Town who 1) fails to perform any duty required of him or her under the provisions of this article of the Charter or any ordinances passed thereunder; 2) in any manner willfully or corruptly violates any of the provisions of this article or any ordinances passed thereunder; or (3) willfully or corruptly does anything which will or will tend to affect fraudulently any registration, nomination or Town election is 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.