Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Section 2.3 of the charter of the town of Reading, which is on file in the office of the archivist of the commonwealth, as provided in section 12 of chapter 43B of the General Laws, is hereby amended by inserting after the second paragraph the following paragraph:-

In the event of a tie write-in vote for a vacant town meeting position, the position shall be filled by a vote of the remaining members of the precinct from the write-in candidates whose write-in votes were tied. The town clerk shall give notice of the tie vote to the remaining town meeting members of the precinct. The town clerk shall set a time and place for a precinct meeting for the purpose of filling the vacancy. The town clerk shall give notice of the meeting to precinct town meeting members at least 7 days in advance of the meeting, and shall also publish notice of the meeting in a newspaper of general circulation in the community. A vacant position filled in this manner shall be filled for the remainder of the term.