27 May, 2011
At the May 16, 2011, Annual Town Election, voters were asked to fill all five seats on the new Board of Library Trustees. In order to stagger the terms of board members, candidates were to be elected to varying terms of office, with the top two candidates receiving three-year seats, the next two candidates receiving two-year seats, and the fifth candidate receiving a one-year seat.
The results of the election were as follows:
Marie Eldridge 1108
Leda Arakelian 1013
June Harris 1013
Michael J. McNamara 937
John Belger 136
Stanley Pulnik 25
The tie vote between two of the candidates created uncertainty as to how the staggered terms were to be distributed. The Town Clerk sought the advice of Town Counsel, who consulted with the Elections Division of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, the agency charged with administering state election laws. The relevant statute, Chapter 50, Section 2, of the Massachusetts General Laws, states:
In elections, the person receiving the highest number of votes for an office shall be deemed and declared to be elected to such office; and if two or more are to be elected to the same office, the several persons, to the number to be chosen to such office, receiving the highest number of votes, shall be deemed and declared to be elected; but persons receiving the same number of votes shall not be deemed to be elected if thereby a greater number would be elected than are to be chosen. Except as otherwise provided, this section shall apply to all nominations and elections by ballot at primaries or caucuses. Nothing herein shall derogate from the provisions of chapter fifty-four A.
The Elections Division informed Town Counsel that it did not support a legal interpretation of this statute that would result in a failure to elect for only the second three-year seat and deem the two tied candidates to be elected to two-year terms. Instead, the Elections Division stated that the tie vote resulted in at least two failures to elect (the second three-year seat and the first two-year seat), and possibly four failures to elect (all positions except the first three-year seat), but that the agency would defer to Town Counsel as to which interpretation to recommend to the Town Clerk.
Following the advice of the Elections Division, Town Counsel recommended that the Town Clerk declare two failures to elect (the second three-year seat and the first two-year seat). This interpretation was based on the fact that the two tied candidates were technically eligible for both the second three-year seat and the first two-year seat, resulting in a greater number of candidates elected to those seats than were to be chosen. As such, M.G.L. c.50, §2, requires that the two tied candidates “shall not be deemed to be elected.” Based on Town Counsel’s recommendation, the Town Clerk has declared that there were two failures to elect, with the results as follows:
Three-Year Term:
Marie Eldridge
Three-Year Term:
Failure to Elect
Two-Year Term:
Failure to Elect
Two-Year Term:
Michael J. McNamara
One-Year Term:
John Belger
Section 3-1(e)(2) of the Town Charter provides that a joint committee comprised of the remaining members of the Board of Library Trustees and the Board of Selectmen shall make appointments to fill the two vacancies until the next Annual Town Election. Notice of the vacancies must be posted for 10 days, and the two boards may meet and vote on the appointments at least one week after giving notice of the date of the vote.
The Board of Selectmen and Board of Library Trustees are scheduled to meet at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 31, 2011, to discuss the appointment process.
