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Subchapter 001: PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY
§ 2701. Presidential primary; time of holding; form of ballot
In presidential election years, a presidential primary for each major political party
shall be held in all municipalities on the first Tuesday in March. The Secretary of
State shall prepare and distribute for use at the primary an official ballot for each
party for which one or more candidates qualify for the placing of their names on the
ballot under section 2702 of this title. Ballots shall be printed on index stock and configured to be readable by vote tabulators. (Added 1979, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 6, 1980; amended 1995, No. 38, § 2; 2013, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 33.)
§ 2702. Nominating petition
(a) The name of any person shall be printed upon the primary ballot as a candidate for
nomination by any major political party if petitions signed by at least 1,000 voters
in accordance with sections 2353, 2354, and 2358 of this title are filed with the Secretary of State, together with the written consent of the person
to the printing of the person’s name on the ballot.
(b) Petitions shall be filed not later than 5:00 p.m. on the 15th day of December preceding
the primary election.
(c) The petition shall be in a form prescribed by the Secretary of State.
(d) A person’s name shall not be listed as a candidate on the primary ballot of more than
one party in the same election.
(e) Each petition shall be accompanied by a filing fee of $2,000.00 to be paid to the
Secretary of State. However, if the petition of a candidate is accompanied by the
affidavit of the candidate, which shall be available for public inspection, that the
candidate and the candidate’s campaign committee are without sufficient funds to pay
the filing fee, the Secretary of State shall waive all but $300.00 of the payment
of the filing fee by that candidate.
(f)(1) In order to have votes listed for a write-in candidate under section 2587 of this title, not later than 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the election, a write-in candidate
for nomination shall complete a form of the Secretary of State’s design affirming
that the candidate wants to have received votes for that office in every major political
party’s primary results listed under subdivision 2587(e)(3) of this title. The candidate shall file the form with either all town clerks within the candidate’s
applicable district or the Secretary of State’s office in an electronic manner approved
by the Secretary. The Secretary of State shall notify the appropriate town clerks
of any filings made in accordance with this subsection as soon as practicable.
(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (1) of this subsection, a write-in candidate is not required
to file if:
(A) the candidate has already filed a consent to the printing of the candidate’s name
on the ballot for a major political party, as provided in section 2361, 2385, or 2402 of this title; or
(B) no candidate is printed on the ballot, or if a candidate whose name is printed on
the ballot dies or is otherwise disqualified prior to 7:00 p.m. on the election day. (Added 1979, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 6, 1980; amended 1995, No. 38, § 3; 2011, No. 66, § 16, eff. June 1, 2011; amended 2013, No. 1, § 82; 2017, No. 50, § 62; 2025, No. 70, § 12, eff. June 25, 2025.)
§ 2703. Examining petitions; supplementary petitions
The Secretary of State shall examine the petitions and ascertain whether they conform
to the provisions of this chapter, and sections 2353, 2354, and 2358 of this title. If found not to conform, the Secretary shall state in writing why a particular petition
cannot be accepted, and within two business days from receipt, the Secretary shall
return it to the candidate in whose behalf it was filed. In such case, supplementary
petitions may be filed not later than 10 days after the deadline for filing petitions.
However, supplementary petitions shall not be accepted if petitions with the signatures
of at least 1,000 persons were not filed by the deadline for filing petitions set
forth in section 2702 of this chapter. (Added 1979, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 6, 1980; amended 2015, No. 30, § 29, eff. May 26, 2015; 2025, No. 70, § 28, eff. June 25, 2025.)
§ 2704. Ballots
A person voting at the primary shall be required to ask for the ballot of the party
in which the voter wishes to vote and an election official shall record the voter’s
choice of ballot by marking the entrance checklist with a letter code, as designated
by the Secretary of State, to indicate the voter’s party choice. The names of all
candidates on the ballot shall be listed in alphabetical order. Each voter may vote
for one candidate for the presidential nomination of one party, either by placing
a mark opposite the printed name of a candidate as in other primaries, or by writing
in the name of the candidate of the voter’s choice. (Added 1979, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 6, 1980; amended 1995, No. 38, § 4; 2003, No. 59, § 43.)
§ 2705. Checklist
The checklist for the primary shall be the checklist to be used at the annual town
meeting, except that the names of residents of unorganized towns and gores shall be
added to the checklist in the manner provided in section 2123 of this title and it shall be stated next to their names that they are eligible to vote in the
presidential primary but not on town meeting items. Towns that do not hold an annual
meeting on the first Tuesday or the Monday evening before the first Tuesday in March
shall update their checklist before the election as required by chapter 43 of this
title. (Added 1979, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 6, 1980; 1995, No. 38, § 5.)
§ 2706. Provisions applicable
The appropriate provisions of this title shall apply to presidential primaries, unless
clearly inconsistent herewith. (Added 1979, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 6, 1980; amended 1995, No. 38, § 6.)
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Subchapter 002: DELEGATES TO NATIONAL CONVENTION; PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS
§ 2715. Party convention to elect delegates
(a) The State committee of each major political party holding a national convention shall
call a party convention, under rules proposed in advance and adopted by the committee,
to be held during the month of May or June in each presidential election year. At
the convention, delegates and alternates to the national convention of such party,
to the number apportioned to this State, shall be elected by the rules adopted by
each major political party.
(b) Each major political party shall adopt rules relating to the delegates and alternates
of a candidate who has withdrawn as a candidate. A declaration of withdrawal shall
be made in writing and becomes effective when filed with the Secretary of State.
(c) Each major political party shall adopt rules relating to the manner in which the delegates
elected in accordance with this section shall represent, at the national convention,
the voters for whom the delegates were elected. (Added 1979, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 6, 1980; amended 1991, No. 126 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 10, 1992; 1995, No. 38, § 7.)
§ 2716. Notification to Secretary of State
Not later than 5:00 p.m. on the 65th day before the day of the general election, the
chair of the State committee of each major political party shall certify in writing
to the Secretary of State the names of the presidential and vice presidential nominees
selected at the party’s national convention. (Added 1979, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 6, 1980; amended 2013, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 60; 2017, No. 50, § 63.)
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Subchapter 004: MEETING OF ELECTORS
§ 2731. Certificates of election
When the canvassing committee provided for in section 2592 of this title meets, it shall issue its certificates of election, with respect to the presidential
election, to the electors nominated by the party whose candidate for President has
received the greatest number of votes, except that if the agreement set forth in chapter
58 of this title (agreement among the states to elect the President by national popular
vote) governs the appointment of presidential electors as provided in subsection 2753(i) of this title, the committee shall issue its certificates of election, with respect to the presidential
election, to the electors nominated in association with the national popular vote
winner as provided in subsection 2753(c) of this title. (Added 1979, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 6, 1980; amended 2021, No. 123 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2022.)
§ 2732. Meeting of electors
(a) The electors shall meet at the State House on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday
in December next following their election to vote for the President and Vice President
of the United States, agreeably to the laws of the United States.
(b)(1) If there is a vacancy in the electoral college on that day, occasioned by death, refusal
to act, neglect to attend, failure of a person elected to qualify, or for other cause,
the other electors present shall at once fill such vacancy viva voce and by a plurality
of votes.
(2) When all the electors appear or a vacancy therein is filled, the electors shall perform
the duties required of them by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
(3) If a vacancy occurs and is filled as aforesaid, the electors shall attach to the certificate
of their votes a statement showing how such a vacancy occurred and their action thereon.
(c)(1) Each elector shall vote for the candidates for President and Vice President who were
nominated by the same political party or organization that nominated the elector or
for the legal successor who has replaced that candidate for President and Vice President
due to the candidate’s death, resignation, or disqualification.
(2) Each elector shall present the elector’s completed ballots to the Secretary of State,
who shall examine them.
(3)(A) The Secretary of State shall accept and count the ballots of an elector who has voted
for the candidates for President and Vice President required under subdivision (1)
of this subsection (c).
(B) The Secretary of State shall not accept and shall not count an elector’s ballots if
the elector has not marked both ballots or has marked one ballot in violation of subdivision
(1) of this subsection (c).
(4) If an elector refuses to present a ballot, presents an unmarked ballot, or presents
a ballot marked in violation of subdivision (1) of this subsection, then the elector’s
office is vacated, the Secretary of State shall declare the creation of the vacancy,
and the vacancy shall be filled as set forth in subsection (b) of this section. (Added 1979, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 6, 1980; amended 2021, No. 123 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2022; 2023, No. 87 (Adj. Sess.), § 80, eff. March 13, 2024.)