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Section 2.01 - General Town Elections#
A regular election of Town officers shall be held in even-numbered years at the time provided by law for state elections.
Section 2.02 - Election Laws and Conduct of Elections#
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, and also all special acts pertaining to elections, in the Town of Warren now in effect shall govern all Town elections, special, general and primary, so far as they may be applicable, excepting those provisions which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter affecting the form of government.
Section 2.03 - Initiative and Referendum#
(a)
The electors of the Town of Warren shall have the right to petition to initiate and repeal ordinances in the following manner:
(1)
Initiative: The electors of the Town of Warren shall have the power to propose ordinances to the Town Council and, if the Town Council fails to adopt an ordinance so proposed without any change in substance, to adopt such ordinance at a special or general election; provided, however, that such power shall not extend to the Budget or Capital Program or to any ordinance relating to the appropriation of money, levy of taxes or zoning.
(2)
Referendum: The electors of the Town of Warren shall have the power to require reconsideration by the Town Council of any adopted ordinance and, if the Town Council fails to repeal an ordinance so reconsidered, to repeal such ordinance at a special election; provided, however, that such power shall not extend to the Budget or Capital Program, to any emergency ordinance or to any ordinance relating to the appropriation of money, levy of taxes or zoning.
(b)
Commencement of proceedings: Any five (5) qualified electors of the Town of Warren may commence initiative or referendum proceedings by filing with the Town Clerk an affidavit stating that they will constitute the petitioners' committee and be responsible for circulating the petition and filing it in proper form. The affidavit shall state the names and addresses of said electors, specify the address to which all notices to the committee are to be sent, and set out in full the proposed initiative ordinance or cite the ordinance sought to be reconsidered. Promptly after the affidavit of the petitioners' committee is filed, the Town Clerk shall issue the appropriate petition blanks to the petitioners' committee.
(c)
Signing and filing of petitions and Town Council action on them:
(1)
Initiative and referendum petitions to the Town Council must be signed by ten (10%) percent, but not less than five hundred (500) of the total number of electors registered at the most recent Town of Warren general election. The Board of Canvassers shall promptly determine the sufficiency of valid signatures on any such petition and shall certify such petition to the Town Clerk when such a determination has been made.
(2)
When an initiative or referendum petition has been certified as sufficient, the Town Council shall promptly consider the proposed initiative ordinance or reconsider the referred ordinance, in either case, in the same manner as provided for the adoption of an ordinance proposed by a member of the Town Council. If the Town Council fails to adopt a proposed initiative ordinance without any change in substance or fails to repeal the referred ordinance, as the case may be, within sixty (60) days after the date the petition is certified, the Town Council shall submit the proposal or referred ordinance to the voters of the Town of Warren.
(d)
Submission to voters: The vote of the Town of Warren on a proposed or referred ordinance shall be held at a regular or special election not less than sixty (60) days and not more than one hundred (100) days from the date the petition is certified by the Canvassers. The proposed or referred ordinance shall be published by the Town Clerk not less than twenty (20) days prior to the election.
(e)
Deadline for submission of petitions and withdrawal of petitions:
(1)
If an initiative or referendum petition bearing the signatures of at least ten (10%) percent, but not less than five hundred (500) of the total number of the electors has not been submitted to the Town Clerk within one hundred twenty (120) days after the issuance of the petition blanks, then the initiative or referendum petition shall be considered as withdrawn and shall have no further force or effect and all proceedings thereon shall be terminated.
(2)
An initiative or referendum petition may be withdrawn at any time prior to the fifteenth (15 th ) day preceding the day scheduled for a vote of the Town of Warren by filing with the Town Clerk a request for withdrawal signed by at least four (4) members of the petitioners' committee. Upon the filing of such request, the petition shall have no further force or effect and all proceedings thereon shall be terminated.
(f)
Results of vote on initiative or referendum questions:
(1)
Initiative: If a majority of the qualified electors voting on a proposed initiative ordinance vote in its favor, it shall be considered adopted upon certification of election results, and it shall be treated in all respects in the same manner as ordinances of the same kind adopted by the Town Council, provided, however, that any ordinance enacted pursuant to subsection (c)(2) or (f)(1) of this section may not be repealed or amended as to substance less than one (1) year following its adoption. If conflicting ordinances are approved at the same election, the one receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall prevail to the extent of such conflict.
(2)
Referendum: If a majority of the qualified electors voting on a referred ordinance vote against it, it shall be considered repealed upon certification of the election results. No referred ordinance repealed pursuant to subsection (c) (2) or (f) (2) of this section shall be reenacted by the Town Council less than one (1) year following its repeal.
Section 2.04 - Recall#
Any elected official of the Town of Warren may be recalled or removed from office by the electors of the Town. Any elector of the Town of Warren may file with the Town Clerk, a statement of intent containing the name and title of the elected official whose removal is sought. The petition shall have the signatures of at least five hundred (500) electors and the notarized signature of each collector. Within seven (7) days after receipt of the petition, the Board of Canvassers having certified the petition, the Town Clerk shall notify the official involved by certified mail. The recall vote shall be taken no earlier than thirty (30) days and no later than forty-five (45) days after certification of the petition by the Board of Canvassers, but in no case shall a recall vote be taken within the last 180 days of a term. No such vote shall be taken if the elected official shall resign from office before the taking of such vote. Said recall election shall be called and conducted in the same manner as is provided in the General Laws of the State of Rhode Island for Special Elections. The form of the question to be voted shall be substantially as follows: "Shall (here insert the name and title of the elected official whose recall is sought) be recalled?" A majority vote of the electors to recall such elected official shall not be effective unless a total of at least twenty-five (25%) percent of the number of electors who voted in the last general election shall have voted on the recall question. If approved, the recall of such an elected official shall become effective upon certification of the results of the voting thereon. If any elected official shall be recalled, the vacancy created shall be filled in the manner provided in this Charter.