AN ACT PROVIDING FOR RECALL ELECTIONS IN THE TOWN OF BERLIN
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 an elected office in the town of Berlin may be recalled and removed from that office by the qualified voters of the town as provided in this act.
SECTION 2. Any 50 registered voters may initiate a recall petition by filing with the town clerk of the town of Berlin an affidavit containing the name of the officer sought to be recalled and a statement of the grounds for recall.
After the town clerk has certified the affidavit, the town clerk shall within 4 business days deliver to the voter first named on the affidavit a sufficient number of copies of petition blanks demanding the recall. Such blanks shall be issued by the town clerk with the town clerk's signature and official seal attached to them. The petition blanks shall: (i) be dated and addressed to the select board of the town; (ii) contain the name of the person to whom issued, the name of the person sought to be recalled, the office from which recall is sought and the grounds of recall stated in the affidavit; and (iii) 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 completed recall petition shall be returned and filed with the town clerk on or before 5:00 p.m. of the thirtieth day after the issuance of the petition to the filers. If the thirtieth day is a Friday, Saturday, Sunday or a holiday, the petition may be filed on the next business day.
The petition shall be signed by not less than 10 per cent of the registered voters or 75 per cent of the average number of voters in the town elections for the previous 3 years, whichever is the lesser amount, and every signature shall also include the place of residence, with street and number, of the signer.
The town clerk shall, within 1 business day after the date of its filing with the town clerk, submit the recall petition to the board of registrars of voters of the town of Berlin, which shall, within 5 business days, certify in writing the number of town voter signatures. Upon completion of its certification the board of registrars shall return the petition to the town clerk.
SECTION 3. If the petition has a sufficient number of valid signatures and is so certified by the town clerk and board of registrars, the town clerk shall submit it to the select board within 1 business day.
The select board shall, within 3 business days, give written notice to the officer subject to the recall that they have received the certification, and if the officer does not resign within 5 business days after receipt of the notice, order a special election to be held not less than 60 nor more than 75 days after the date of the town clerk's certification that a sufficient petition has been filed; provided, however, that if any other town election is to occur within 90 days after the date of the certificate, the select board may, at their discretion, postpone the holding of the removal election to the date of that other election.
If a vacancy occurs in the office subject to recall after the election has been ordered, the election shall nevertheless proceed as provided in this section.
SECTION 4. Any officer sought to be recalled may be a candidate to succeed to the office, and unless the officer requests otherwise in writing, the town clerk shall place that 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 the election shall all be in accordance with the 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 recall fails, or if the incumbent is re-elected, 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 not re-elected in the recall election, the incumbent shall be considered removed upon certification of the election by the town clerk.
If the successor fails to qualify within 5 working days after receiving notification of their election, the office shall thereupon be deemed vacant
SECTION 6. Ballots used in a recall election shall submit the following proposition in the order indicated:
For the removal/recall of (name of Officer).
Against the removal/recall of (name of Officer).
Under the propositions shall appear the word "Candidates" and the direction "Vote for One" and beneath this the names of the candidates nominated as herein before provided.
If the majority of the votes cast on the recall question is in the affirmative, then the candidate who received the highest number of votes in the special election to fill the vacancy shall be elected. If the majority of the votes cast on the recall question is in the negative, the ballots for candidates to fill the potential vacancy shall not need to be counted.
SECTION 7. No recall petition shall be filed against an officer within 6 months after taking office, nor in the case of an officer subjected to a recall election and not removed thereby, until at least 6 months after that election.
SECTION 8. No person who has been recalled from an office or who has resigned from office while recall proceedings were pending against them shall be appointed to the office from which the person has been removed within 1 year after such removal by recall or resignation.
Approved, October 14, 2026.