It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. The town council of the town of New Shoreham is hereby authorized to provide that the school committee of the town of New Shoreham shall be chosen in non-partisan elections, at which candidate names are listed without any party or other designation, commencing with the election of the required number of members to fill vacancies on said committee caused by expired terms or otherwise, at the general election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 1996, and is further authorized to provide for an amendment to section 1001 of article X of the Home Rule Charter of the town of New Shoreham in substantially the following form:

{ADD ARTICLE X SCHOOL DEPARTMENT ADD}

1001. School committee.

There shall be a school committee of five members elected at large from the town at the general election each even numbered year, on a non-partisan ballot, said terms to be so arranged that two members of the committee shall be elected at one general election and three members at the next general election. The following provisions shall govern the election of members of the school committee.

{ADD A. Any qualified elector of the town who has resided in the town for at least thirty (30) days may become a candidate for the school committee at a general town election, if he or she files with the board of canvassers as hereinafter provided, nomination papers signed by not less than thirty-five (35) qualified electors of the town, which papers shall be signed by the candidate indicating his or her intention to become a candidate. The forms of such papers shall be prescribed by the board of canvassers and copies shall be furnished to all candidates. Such papers shall show clearly the title of the position for which the elector is a candidate, and the name and address of the elector, but no political party or other designation. The signature of each signer shall be followed by his or her address or residence. An elector may sign any number of papers for candidates for school committee nomination. The signatures to a nomination paper need not all be subscribed to a single paper, but to each separate paper there shall be attached the affidavit of the circulator thereof stating the number of signatures thereon, that he or she is a qualified elector of the town, that all the signatures on the paper were made in his or her presence, and that they are the genuine signatures of the persons whose names they purport to be.

B. Nominating papers for the school committee shall be filed with the board of canvassers on such date as the board may prescribe but no later than sixty (60) days prior to a general town election. The board shall within five (5) days check the signatures on the papers with the list of electors who will have become qualified as such on the date of the election and shall notify each candidate as to the sufficiency of his or her papers as to signatures. If further valid signatures are needed a supplementary paper containing additional signatures may be filed up to the last day for filing papers for that election.

C. If any candidate files a written objection to any signature or signatures on any nomination papers by four o'clock (4:00) p.m. of the day following the last day for filing papers with the board, the board shall make appropriate disposition of any such objections in the manner provided for such procedures in state election law. After the determination of objections, if any, the board of canvassers shall certify to the secretary of state the names and addresses of all candidates who have filed valid nomination papers by such deadline as set by the secretary of state, prior to the general election. Any candidate who has filed a valid nomination paper shall be permitted to withdraw prior to such deadline as the board shall set in consultation with the secretary of state.

D. The names of all of the candidates who filed valid nomination papers and have not withdrawn shall be placed on the general election voting machine labels or ballots, arranged in order by lot without any party or other designation, with appropriate office labels and instructions to the voters as to the number of candidates for whom they may vote. Upon tabulation of the results, the candidates receiving the highest numbers of votes up to the total number of school committee positions to be filled at that election, shall be declared to have been elected.

E. The board shall have the authority to make provision for inclusion of the names of all candidates for the school committee on absentee ballots, and to make such other rules and determinations relating to the election of school committee candidates as it may deem necessary or appropriate, not inconsistent with the provisions hereof. ADD}

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon the approval by a majority of the electors of the town of New Shoreham voting thereon as an amendment to section 1001 of article X of the Home Rule Charter of the town.