Recall

Technically, I'm on vacation - a stay-cation - this week. I took time off from my day job (the one that pays the mortgage) so I could get some R & R. It's harder to get time off from the night job (i.e., selectman), so that R & R has been a bit elusive. Especially with everything that has been in the papers.

I've some things that need to be posted here, and those will be forthcoming, but I did want to address a question that a few folks have asked, "How do I recall an elected official?"

So, by popular request, here is the process (from the Falmouth Town Charter) to recall locally-elected officials:


§ C6-10. Recall of elective officeholders.

A. Any elected officeholder, except Town Meeting members, may be recalled by the voters as herein provided.

B. One hundred (100) registered voters of the town may file with the Town Clerk an affidavit containing the name of the officeholder sought to be recalled and a statement of the grounds for recall; provided, however, that not more than twenty-five (25) names shall be from any one (1) precinct of the town.

C. The Town Clerk shall within one (1) working day of receipt submit the affidavit to the Registrars of Voters in the town, and the Registrars shall within fourteen (14) days certify thereon the signatures which are names of registered voters. If the affidavit shall be found and certified by the Registrars of Voters to be sufficient, the Town Clerk shall thereupon deliver to the ten (10) voters first named on such affidavit a sufficient number of copies of petition blanks demanding such recall, printed forms which shall be kept available. The blanks when issued shall be signed by the Town Clerk and shall have the Official Seal attached thereto. They shall be dated and addressed to the Board of Selectmen and shall contain the names of the ten (10) persons to whom they are issued, the number of petitions to be issued, the name of the officeholder whose recall is sought, the grounds for recall as stated in the affidavit and shall require the election of a successor to such office.

D. The recall petition shall bear the signatures and residential addresses of at least fifteen percent (15%) of the registered voters, no more than twenty-five percent (25%) of which shall be from any one (1) precinct, and shall be returned to the Town Clerk within twenty (20) working days after the filing of the affidavit. The petitions containing the signatures requesting a recall election need not all be submitted at the same time.

E. The Town Clerk shall within one (1) working day of receipt submit the petition to the Registrars of Voters in the town, and the Registrars shall within fourteen (14) working days certify thereon the number of signatures which are names of registered voters.

F. If the petition shall be found and certified by the Registrars of Voters to be sufficient, the Town Clerk shall submit the same with a certificate so stating to the Board of Selectmen. The Board of Selectmen shall, within three (3) working days, give written notice by registered mail of the receipt of the certificate to the officeholder sought to be recalled.

G. Unless the officeholder shall have resigned within five (5) days thereafter, the Board of Selectmen shall order a special election to be held on a date fixed by them, which shall be not less than sixty (60) nor more than eighty (80) days after the date of the Town Clerk’s certificate that a sufficient petition has been filed; provided, however, that if any other town election is to occur within ninety (90) days after the date of the certificate, the Board of Selectmen shall postpone the holding of the special election to the date of such other election.

H. Any officeholder sought to be removed may not be a candidate to succeed himself in the recall election. The nomination of candidates, the publication of the warrant for the recall election and the conduct of the same shall all be in accordance with the provisions of General Law relating to elections, and the election to replace the officeholder sought to be removed shall be held on the same day and on the same ballot as the recall election.

I. The incumbent shall continue to perform the duties of office until the recall election. If not recalled, the incumbent shall continue in office for the remainder of the unexpired term. An incumbent having successfully survived a recall election shall not again be subject to recall until six (6) months after such survival. If recalled, the incumbent shall be deemed removed upon the certification of the successor who shall hold office during the unexpired term. If the successor fails to qualify within five (5) days after receiving notification of election, the incumbent shall thereupon be deemed removed and the office vacant.

J. The form of the question to be voted upon shall be substantially as follows: “Shall [here insert the name and title of the elective officer whose recall is sought] be recalled?” The action of the voters to recall shall require a majority vote, but shall not be effective unless the total of those voting for and against recall shall exceed twenty percent (20%) of the registered voters of the town.

K. No person, having been removed from office by recall or having resigned from office while recall proceedings were pending against him, shall be appointed to any town office within two (2) years following said removal or resignation.


That being printed; I've a friend who lives in Bourne. He was very active in the recall effort there a few years back, and I asked him about it. In retrospect, he noted, the recall didn't have the effect the people had hoped. They wanted to open up government, but it didn't happen. Rather than recall, he recommends doing a better job of choosing one's leaders in the first place.