§ 6. Board of Civil Authority
(a) A Board of Civil Authority shall consist of the justices of the peace residing within
the Town, the Town Clerk, and the Selectboard. At the first meeting on or after February
1 of each year, the Board shall elect a Chair and Vice Chair from among its members;
the Town Clerk shall be the Clerk of the Board. In the event of the absence of the
Chair and Vice Chair or Clerk from any meeting of the Board, the first order of business
shall be the election of a Chair or Clerk, Pro Tempore, to serve for the balance of
the meeting.
(b)(1) The Board of Civil Authority shall meet as necessary to prepare, revise, and post
in the manner required by law an alphabetical list of all the legal voters in the
Town. For that purpose, the Board shall have access to any books or lists belonging
to the Town, except as provided by law, and may require the assistance of any of the
Town officers.
(2) The Town Clerk shall post in five places an attested copy of the list of voters so
prepared and corrected, at least 30 days prior to the regular or special Town meeting
or election, and the list of voters so prepared and corrected shall be used at annual
or special meetings and elections, except as otherwise allowed by State law.
(3) In preparing the list of voters, the Board shall record each name in such manner as
to identify each voter precisely, so as to avoid any possible confusion.
(c) In addition to any other requirement of law, the Board shall cause at least two notices
of the time and place of each of its meetings for the purpose of revising the checklist
to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town. Publication shall
be at least two and not more than 10 days prior to such meeting, but no notice need
be published with respect to an adjourned session of a meeting for which notice has
been given.
(d) The Board shall assist the Town Clerk and Moderator in supervising all Town elections
and meetings and shall take care that all laws and requirements relating to elections
and election procedures and Town meetings are fully and faithfully kept. The Board
may require the presence of any law enforcement officers it may judge necessary to
preserve the integrity of any election or Town meeting.
(e) Except as otherwise provided by law for additions to the checklist, a majority of
all of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for all purposes.
(f) Ballots, conduct of elections, counting of votes, recount of votes, and certification
of results shall be governed by the general State law, except as otherwise provided
in this charter. (Amended 2017, No. M-14 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. Mar. 1, 2018; 2019, No. M-1, § 2, eff. April 19, 2019; 2023, No. M-22 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 29, 2024.)