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Section 2.01. - Election Laws.#
The provisions of the Constitution and the general laws of the State of Rhode Island, now or hereafter in effect, pertaining to elections, special, general and primary, shall govern all town elections, so far as they may be applicable.
Section 2.02. - Qualifications of Elected Officials.#
All elected officials shall be qualified electors of the Town.
Section 2.03. - Time of General Election.#
Elected officials of the Town shall be elected at a general election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in each even-numbered year, in the manner provided by the election laws of the State of Rhode Island.
Section 2.04. - Special Elections.#
The Town Council shall provide by ordinance for the nomination and election of town officers, not otherwise provided for in this Charter or by State law, and for holding of special town elections when required, according to law.
Section 2.05. - Board of Canvassers and Registration.#
There shall be a bipartisan canvassing authority elected by the Town Council, not more than two (2) of whom shall belong to the same political party, as provided by the Constitution and laws of the State.
(Election of 11-8-2022)
Section 2.06. - Moderators and Clerks.#
At least ten (10) days prior to any election, the Board of Canvassers and Registration shall appoint for each polling place within the Town, wherein an election is to be held, a moderator and clerk, who shall not be of the same political party. The appointment shall be made from a list of not less than ten (10) qualified party voters presented to the Board by the local political Town committees.
(Election of 11-8-2022)
Sec. 2.07. - Recall.#
General Authority. The registered voters of the Town of Burrillville shall have power to remove elected members of the Town Council and School Committee from office by recall, provided that the recall shall not be initiated during the first six (6) or the last twelve (12) months of an incumbent's term.
Commencement of Proceedings; Petitioners Committee; Affidavit. Any five (5) qualified voters may commence recall proceedings by filing with the Town Clerk an affidavit stating they will constitute the petitioners' committee and be responsible for circulating the petition and filing it in proper form, stating their names and addresses and specifying the address to which all notices to the committee are to be sent and setting out in full the proposed name and office of the elected official to be recalled. Promptly after the affidavit of the petitioners' committee is filed, the clerk shall issue the appropriate blanks to the petitioners' committee.
Petitions. (a)
Number of Signatures. Recall petitions must be signed by qualified Town voters equal in number to at least fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of persons registered to vote at the last regular election.
(b)
Form and Content. All papers of a petition shall be uniform in size and style and shall be assembled as one (1) instrument for filing. Each signature shall be executed in ink or indelible pencil and shall be followed by the address of the person signing. Petitions shall contain or have attached thereto throughout their circulation the name and office of the official for whom recall is sought.
(c)
Affidavit of Circulator. Each paper of a petition shall have attached to it when filed an affidavit executed by the person circulating it stating the number of signatures thereon and affirming that he/she personally circulated the paper, that all the signatures were affixed in the presence of the circulator, and that he/she believes them to be the genuine signatures of the persons whose names they purport to be.
(d)
Time for Filing Recall Petitions. Recall petitions must be filed with the Town Clerk within 30 (thirty) days after the clerk's issuance of the blank petition.
Procedure After Filing. (a)
Certification of Petition. The Town Clerk shall forthwith refer the filed recall petition to the Board of Canvassers which shall within 10 (ten) days prepare a certificate as to its sufficiency, specifying if it is sufficient and specifying if it is insufficient, the particulars wherein it is defective. The Board of Canvassers shall promptly send a copy of the certificate to the petitioners' committee by return mail. In reviewing the petition, the Board shall accept every signature as valid if it can be reasonably identified to be the signature of the voter it purports to be; and provided, further, that variation of the voter's signature by the insertion or omission of identifying titles or by the substitution of initials for the first or middle names or both shall not in itself be grounds for invalidation of such signature. Any voter who is unable to write may sign by making his or her mark (X) on the petition in the presence of two (2) witnesses who shall subscribe their names on the paper as witnesses to the signing.
(b)
Court Review, New Petition. A determination as to the sufficiency of a petition shall be subject to court review. A final determination of insufficiency, even if sustained upon court review, shall not prejudice the filing of a new petition for the same purpose.
Submission to Voters. The vote of the Town on a recall petition shall be held not less than 60 (sixty) days and not more than 90 (ninety) days from the date that the Board of Canvassers certified the petition as sufficient.
Results of Election. If a majority of the votes cast of the question of removal is affirmative, the person whose removal is sought shall thereupon be deemed removed from office upon certification of the election results.
(Elec. of 11-2-2010, § (5.); Elec. of 11-8-2016)