AN ACT RELATIVE TO RECALL ELECTIONS IN THE TOWN OF HOLBROOK.
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. A person who holds an elected office in the town of Holbrook, with more than 6 months remaining in the term of that office on the date of the filing of a recall affidavit under section 2, may be recalled from office by the registered voters of the town of Holbrook in the manner provided in this act.
SECTION 2. Four hundred or more registered voters of the town 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 recall. The town clerk shall provide to the voters printed form petition blanks addressed to the board of selectmen demanding the recall. The blanks shall be issued under the signature and official seal of the town clerk. They shall be dated and shall contain the names of all persons to whom they are issued, the name of the person whose recall is sought and the grounds of recall as stated in the affidavit. In addition, the petition shall demand the election of a successor to the office. A copy of the petition shall be entered in a record book to be kept in the office of the town clerk.
The recall petition shall be returned and filed in the office of the clerk within 18 days after the date upon which the clerk issued the petition and shall contain the signature of at least 20 per cent of the total number of voters duly recorded on the registration list of the clerk as of the most-recent preceding town election.
The clerk shall, within 72 hours after the filing, submit the petition to the registrars of voters who shall, within 5 days, certify on it the number of signatures which are names of voters of the town.
SECTION 3. If a recall petition shall be certified by the registrar of voters to contain the sufficient number of voters’ signatures, the clerk of the town shall immediately submit the petition to the board of selectmen. Upon its receipt of a certified petition, the board of selectmen shall, within 72 hours, give notice of the recall petition and their certification to the officer whose recall is being sought.
If the officer sought to be recalled does not resign his or her office within 5 days after the delivery of the notice, the board of selectmen shall order an election to be held not less than 64 nor more than 90 days after the date of certification of the sufficiency of the petition by the registrar of voters. If another town election is to occur within 100 days after the date of the certification, the board of selectmen may, at their discretion, postpone holding the recall election until the date of that other town election.
If a vacancy occurs in the office after a recall election has been ordered, the election shall nevertheless proceed as provided in this section, but only the ballots for the new candidates shall be counted.
SECTION 4. An officer whose recall is being sought shall not be a candidate to succeed himself or herself at the recall election. The nomination of candidates, the publication of the warrant for the recall election and the conduct of the election shall be in accordance with the law relative 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 is held. If not recalled in the election, the incumbent shall continue in office for the remainder of the unexpired term, subject to recall as before, except as otherwise provided in this act.
If the incumbent officer is recalled, the officer shall be considered removed upon the qualification of a successor, who shall hold office for the remainder of the unexpired term. If the successor fails to qualify within 5 days after receiving notification of election, the incumbent shall be removed and the office shall remain vacant for the remainder of the unexpired term, or until the next election, whichever shall come first.
SECTION 6. Ballots used at a recall election shall contain the following propositions in the order indicated:
| FOR THE RECALL OF | (NAME OF OFFICER) ( ) |
| AGAINST THE RECALL OF | (NAME OF OFFICER) ( ) |
Adjacent to each proposition, there shall be a place to mark a vote.
After the propositions shall appear the word “CANDIDATES” followed by the names of all candidates, arranged alphabetically by surname. Adjacent to the name of each candidate shall be a place to mark a vote.
If a majority of the votes cast upon the question of recall is in the negative, the ballots for the candidates need not be counted unless the incumbent officer has previously resigned from office under section 3.
SECTION 7. A recall petition shall not be filed against an officer within 6 months after that officer assumes office. In the case of an officer who has been subjected to a recall election and was not recalled by that election, a subsequent recall petition shall not be filed against the officer until at least 6 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 an office while recall proceedings were pending shall not be appointed to any town office within 12 months after the recall or resignation.
SECTION 9. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved October 25, 2007.