SECTION 1. Chapter 503 of the acts of 1952 is hereby amended by inserting after section 8, as most recently amended by section 1 of chapter 94 of the acts of 2019, the following section:-

Section 8A. Election of Town Meeting

The election of the members of town meeting shall continue as presently provided subject to the following exception:

In the event of a vacancy or vacancies in the office of town meeting member, the town clerk shall determine the number of full terms and the number of unexpired terms to be filled at the annual election. The ballot shall indicate the total number of town meeting members to be elected, and the candidates shall be listed together on the ballot. The candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected to the 3-year terms to be filled at the election; the candidates receiving the next highest number of votes shall be elected to the 2-year terms to be filled at the election; and the candidates receiving the next highest number of votes shall be elected to the 1-year terms to be filled at the election. In case of a tie vote affecting the division of terms, the members elected from the precinct, including those receiving the same number of votes to gain election, shall determine said division of terms by majority vote of elected town meeting members of the precinct to be administered by the town clerk.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage