AN ACT ESTABLISHING RECALL ELECTIONS IN THE TOWN OF OTIS
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Any holder of elective office in the town of Otis may be recalled by the registered voters of the town as provided in this act.
SECTION 2. One hundred registered voters of the town of Otis may file an affidavit with the town clerk containing the name of the officer sought to be recalled and a statement of the grounds for the recall. After receipt of the affidavit, the town clerk shall submit the affidavit to the board of registrars of voters and the board shall certify thereon the number of signatures that are names of registered voters of the town. The town clerk shall, following certification by the registrars of voters, deliver to the voters a sufficient number of copies of petition blanks addressed to the board of selectmen demanding the recall. The petition blanks shall be issued under the signature and official seal of the town clerk. The petition blanks shall be dated and contain the names of all persons to whom they are issued, the name of the person whose recall is sought and the grounds for the recall as stated in the affidavit and shall request the election of a successor to the office. A copy of the petition shall be entered in the record book to be kept in the office of the town clerk. The recall petition shall be returned and filed with the town clerk not later than the first business day following 20 days after the filing of the affidavit. The petition, before being returned and filed with the town clerk, shall be signed by not less than 30 per cent of the registered voters of the town, who shall add to their signatures the street and number, if any, of their residences. Within 24 hours after receipt of the petition, the town clerk shall submit the petition to the board of registrars of voters, which shall, within 14 days, certify thereon the number of signatures that are names of registered voters of the town.
SECTION 3. If the petition shall be found and certified by the board of registrars of voters to be sufficient, the town clerk shall, within 7 days, submit the certified petition with the certification to the board of selectmen. Within 7 days, the board of selectmen shall give written notice to the officer sought to be recalled of the certified petition. If the officer does not resign within 7 days thereafter, the board of selectmen shall order an election to be held on a date to be fixed by the board not less than 64 days nor more than 90 days from the date the board of selectmen call for said election ; provided, however, that if any other town election is scheduled to occur not later than 100 days after the date of the certification, the board of selectmen may, in the board’s discretion, postpone the holding of the recall election to the date of such other election. If a vacancy occurs in the office after a recall election has been ordered, the elections shall nevertheless proceed as provided in this act.
SECTION 4. Any officer sought to be recalled may be a candidate to succeed themself and, unless the officer specifically requests otherwise in writing, the town clerk shall place the officer’s name on the official ballot without nomination. The nomination of other candidates, the publication of the warrant for the recall election and the conduct of same shall be in accordance with the provisions of law relating to elections unless otherwise provided in this act.
SECTION 5. The incumbent shall continue to perform the duties of the office until the recall election. If the incumbent is not recalled, the incumbent shall continue in the office for the remainder of the unexpired term, subject to recall as before, except as provided in section 7. If recalled, the incumbent shall be deemed removed from office upon the qualification of their successor, who shall hold office during the unexpired term. If the successor fails to qualify within 7 days after receiving written certified notification of their election, the incumbent shall thereupon be deemed recalled and the office vacant.
SECTION 6. Ballots used in a recall election shall contain the following propositions in the order indicated below:
For the recall of (Name of Officer)
Against the recall of (Name of Officer)
Immediately to the right of each proposition, there shall be a square in which the voter, by making a cross mark (X), may vote for either of such propositions. Following the proposition shall appear the word "candidates" with directions to voters as required by section 42 of chapter 54 of the General Laws. Beneath the word “candidates”, there shall appear the names of candidates nominated as provided in this act. If a two-thirds majority of the votes cast upon the question of recall is in the affirmative, the officer shall be recalled and the votes for the candidates shall be counted. In that instance, the candidate receiving the highest number of votes shall be deemed elected to the open office. If less than a two-thirds majority of the votes cast upon the question of recall is in the affirmative, the ballots for the candidates need not be counted.
SECTION 7. A recall petition shall not be filed against an officer of the town within 6 months after the officer takes office. In case of an officer subjected to a recall election and not recalled by that election, a subsequent recall petition shall not be filed against the officer until not later than 12 months after the date of the previous recall election.
SECTION 8. A person who has been recalled from an office or who has resigned from office while recall proceedings were pending against the person shall not be appointed to any town office within 1 year after such recall or resignation.
SECTION 9. This act shall be submitted for acceptance to the voters of the town of Otis at an annual town meeting in the form of the following question, which shall be placed on the ballot: “Shall an act passed by the general court in the year 2022, entitled ‘An Act establishing recall elections in the town of Otis' be accepted?”
Below the ballot question shall appear a fair and concise summary of the act prepared by town counsel and approved by the select board. If a majority of the votes cast in answer to the question is in the affirmative, then sections 1 to 8, inclusive, of this act shall be effective in the town of Otis, but not otherwise.
Approved, December 29, 2022.