Chapter 171

2004 -- S 2971

Enacted 06/26/04

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A N A C T

RELATING TO THE ELIMINATION OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE PRIMARY ELECTIONS

IN THE TOWN OF GLOCESTER, RHODE ISLAND

Introduced By: Senators P Fogarty, Tassoni, Gallo, McCaffrey, and Blais

Date Introduced: March 17, 2004

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 3 of Chapter 101 of the 1976 Public Laws entitled “An Act

Providing for Election of a Non-Partisan School Committee in the town of Glocester, Rhode

Island” is hereby amended to read as follows:

     Sec. 3. ELECTIVE OFFICERS – SCHOOL COMMITTEE. – At the general election to

be held in November, 1978, and every two years thereafter, there shall be elected for terms of six

years one member of the school committee of three members, each of whom shall be elected from

the town at large. One member will be elected at each such election, so that the terms of the three

committee members will be staggered. The following provisions shall govern the election of

members of the school committee:

     (a) Any qualified elector of the town who has resided in the town for at least six months

may become a candidate for the school committee at a general town election or a special election

to fill a vacancy, if there is filed with the board of canvassers as hereinafter provided a

nominating petition signed by not less than thirty-five qualified electors of the town which

petition will be signed by the candidate indicating his intention to become a candidate. The forms

of such petitions shall be prescribed by the board of canvassers and copies shall be furnished to

all candidates. Such petitions shall show clearly the title of the position for which the candidate is

nominated, the term for which he is a candidate, and the name and the place of actual residence

of the candidate. The signature of each signer shall be followed by his place of residence, by

street and number where possible. No elector shall be entitled to sign more than one nominating

petition for each member of the school committee to be elected at the next election; and if the

name of an elector appears on more than one petition, or on more petitions than the number of

school committee members to be elected at the next election, if there are more than one, it shall

be counted only on the one, or such number first filed with the board of canvassers. The

signatures to a nominating petition need not all be subscribed to a single paper, but to each

separate petition paper there shall be attached the affidavit of the circulator thereof stating the

number of signatures thereon, that he is a qualified elector of the town, that all the signatures on

the paper were made in his presence, and that they are the genuine signature of the persons whose

names they purport to be.

     (b) Nominating petitions for the school committee shall be filed with the board of

canvassers not earlier than ninety or later than sixty days prior to a general town election and not

earlier than thirty not later than twenty days prior to a special election to fill a vacancy. The board

of canvassers shall within five days check the signatures on the petition with the list of electors

who will have become qualified as such on the date of the election as last canvassed or published

according to law and shall notify each candidate as to the sufficiency of his petition. If the

petition is valid except that it contains less than the required number of valid signatures a

supplementary petition containing additional signatures may be filed up to the last day for filing

petitions for that election.

     Each potential candidate shall have access to the board of canvassers’ list of registered

voters. If any candidate questions the validity or authenticity of any signature on any such

nominating petition the board of canvassers shall forthwith and summarily decide the question

and for that purpose shall have the same powers as are conferred by the general laws of the state

with respect to other nominating petitions. When nominating petitions have been duly filed and

are in apparent conformity with the above provisions they shall be conclusively presumed to be

valid unless written objections thereto are made as to the eligibility of the candidate or the

sufficiency of the nominating petitions or the signatures thereon. All such objections shall be filed

with the board of canvassers by five o’clock in the afternoon of the next business day after the

last day fixed for filing nominating petitions as hereinbefore provided. All objections to

nominating petitions shall be considered by the board of canvassers. The board may at the hearing

on such objections summon witnesses, administer oaths and require the production of books and

papers. Such witnesses shall be summoned in the same manner, be paid the same fees and subject

to the same penalties for default as witnesses before the superior court. When such objections

have been filed notice thereof shall be given forthwith by registered mail or by personal service to

the candidate at his place of residence as given in the nominating petition to which objection is

made. The decision of the board shall be rendered within five days after the filing of objections.

After the determination of objections, if any, the board of canvassers shall certify forthwith to the

secretary of state the names and addresses of all candidates who have filed valid nominating

petitions. All certified lists of candidates shall be filed by the board of canvassers with the

secretary of state not later than twenty days before a general town election or primary preceding

the same and not later than twelve days before a special election or a primary preceding the same

and in no case later than five o’clock in the afternoon of the last day fixed for such filing.

     (c) No candidate may receive financial backing from a political party.

(d) If the board of canvassers determines that more than two valid nominating petitions

have been filed for each position to be filled at an ensuing general town election or a special

election to fill a vacancy, as the case may be, a non-partisan primary shall be held for the purpose

of reducing the number of candidates to two for each vacancy to be filled. Such primary shall be

held at a time to be fixed by the board of canvassers, not more than thirty-five nor less than

twenty-one days preceding a general town election or, in the case of a special election to fill a

vacancy at a time to be fixed by the board of canvassers, not more than fifteen nor less than ten

days before the date set for such special election. All qualified electors of the town irrespective of

party affiliation shall have the right to vote in such non-partisan primary for one candidate. This

right to vote in such non-partisan primary or to sign the nominating petitions of such candidates

for the school committee shall not be affected by signing nominating petitions for party

candidates for other offices or by participation in party primaries.

Non-partisan primaries shall, except as herein otherwise specifically provided, be

conducted by the board of canvassers in accordance with the general laws of the state relating to

townwide partisan primaries. The board of canvassers shall arrange the names of candidates by

lot, without party designations, on the voting machines, and if the use of voting machines is

impracticable for any reason, shall prepare paper ballots to be used at the primary on which the

names of candidates shall likewise appear in alphabetical order and without party designations. At

least fifteen (15) days before any such non-partisan primary preceding a general town election

and at least five (5) days before any such primary preceding a special election to fill a vacancy the

board of canvassers shall appoint for each polling place a warden, a clerk and at least six (6)

supervisors, from lists of qualified persons presented to the board by the candidates in such

primary. The board of canvassers shall designate the number of names, not exceeding two (2) for

each election official to be appointed, to be contained in such lists. All election officials shall be

qualified electors of the district in which they are to serve; provided, that if any candidate shall

certify that he has been unable to obtain a sufficient number of election officials for any voting

district, who are qualified electors of the district he may include in his list qualified electors of the

town who are not qualified electors of the voting district and such persons shall be eligible to

serve in such district. Wardens, clerks, and supervisors of the various polling places shall be

designated by the board of canvassers so that there shall be as nearly as possible equal

representation for all candidates; provided, that no candidate shall be represented by both a

warden and a clerk in the same polling place. The election officials so appointed shall be sworn

and shall have all the powers, duties and obligations conferred or imposed on election officials by

the general laws of the state.

     (e) Whenever the number of valid nominating petitions for school committee, filed with

the board of canvassers, shall not exceed two, for each vacancy to be filled, no school committee

primary shall be held, and the The list of candidates’ names in such valid petitions shall be

certified at once to the secretary of state and their names shall be placed on the voting machines

or paper ballots used at the ensuing general election or special election to fill a vacancy, as the

case may be, as candidates for the school committee. Whenever a non-partisan primary has been

held as above provided, the two candidates in such primary, or two times the number of vacancies

to be filled if more than one, individually receiving the largest number of votes, shall be certified

at once to the secretary of state and their names shall be placed on the voting machines or paper

ballots used at the ensuing general election or special election to fill a vacancy, as the case may

be, as candidates for the school committee. The names of both such candidates for the school

committee at a general town election shall appear on the voting machine or paper ballots used,

without party designations of any kind. Otherwise, the voting machines or paper ballots shall be

arranged and the general election shall be conducted, including the appointment of election

officials, as provided in the general laws of the state relating to general town elections. The names

of candidates for school committee at a special election to fill a vacancy shall be arranged on the

voting machines or paper ballots used in such election alphabetically without party designations.

Election officials shall be appointed as provided in subsection (d) hereof, in the case of a non-

partisan primary.

The board of canvassers shall appoint for each polling place a warden, a clerk and at least

six supervisors, from lists of qualified persons presented to the board by the candidates in a

special or general election. The board of canvassers shall designate the number of names, not

exceeding two for each election official to be appointed, to be contained in such lists. All election

officials shall be qualified electors of the district in which they are to serve; provided, that if any

candidate shall certify that he has been unable to obtain a sufficient number of election officials

for any voting district, who are qualified electors of the district he may include in his list qualified

electors of the town who are not qualified electors of the voting district and such persons shall be

eligible to serve in such district. Wardens, clerks, and supervisors of the various polling places

shall be designated by the board of canvassers so that there shall be as nearly as possible equal

representation for all candidates; provided, that no candidate shall be represented by both a

warden and a clerk in the same polling place. The election officials so appointed shall be sworn

and shall have all the powers, duties and obligations conferred or imposed on election officials by

the general laws of the state.

     Otherwise, such special election shall be conducted as provided in the general laws of the

state for the calling and conduct of special elections to fill a vacancy.

     (f) Any candidate for the school committee for whom a valid nominating petition has

been filed shall be permitted to withdraw as a candidate, provided, such withdrawal shall be in

writing and delivered to the board of canvassers not later than ten (10) days before the date set for

the primary preceding a general town election or not later than five (5) days before the date set for

a primary preceding a special election to fill a vacancy.

     (g) All forms used in connection with the nomination of candidates for the school

committee, as provided in subsection (a) to (f) above, including nominating petitions and paper

ballots when used, shall be prescribed in conformity with such provisions and furnished by the

board of canvassers at the expense of the town.

     SECTION 2. The question of the acceptance or rejection of this act shall be submitted to

the qualified electors of the town of Glocester at the next general election to be held in November

of 2004. The question shall be submitted in substantially the following form: “Shall an act passed

at the 2004 session of the general assembly entitled ‘An Act Relating to the Elimination of School

Committee Primary Elections in the town of Glocester, Rhode Island’, be approved?” and the

warning for the election shall contain the question to be submitted. From the time the election is

warned and until it is held, it shall be the duty of the town clerk to keep a copy of the act available

at his office for public inspection, but any failure of the clerk to perform this duty shall not affect

the validity of the election.

     SECTION 3. This section and section 2 of this act shall take effect upon passage and the

remainder of this act shall take effect upon the approval of this act by a majority of those voting

on the question at the election prescribed by section 2 hereof.

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LC02922

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