Town Meeting:Voting at Town Meeting

The quorum for transaction of Town Meeting business is 100 members. The presence of a quorum is assumed, and all votes are valid unless a member rises to doubt the quorum before the results of the vote on a motion have been declared and a count shows that fewer than 100 members are present. All subsidiary motions and most main motions require a simple majority vote for passage, but certain articles require more. For example, to authorize the Town to take land by eminent domain, change the zoning bylaw, or authorize a bond issue requires a two-thirds vote. A voice vote is called first. The Moderator announces, "The ayes have it," or "The nays have it," and the Town Clerk records the vote. A standing vote is called if the Moderator is in doubt, or if 20 members question the Moderator's interpretation of the voice vote for a motion requiring a majority vote or 7 members for a motion requiring a two-thirds vote. The Moderator calls for members to rise and remain standing until counted, first for "yes" and next for "no" votes. If a standing vote is called, tellers are used to count the vote in each precinct. The tellers are selected by the Moderator, who in recent times has called on the precinct clerks to report the count for their precinct to the Town Clerk. The Moderator announces the votes as they are reported from each precinct. The Town Clerk computes the totals and the Moderator announces the result. A recorded vote may be requested by any member who must specify whether it is to be taken by a poll of the meeting (roll-call) or in writing. If 50 members agree, a recorded vote is ordered. In the case of a roll-call vote, the Town Clerk calls the name of each member, alphabetically by precinct. The member calls out "yes," "no," or "abstain," and the Clerk records the vote. The totals are added by the Town Clerk and announced by the Moderator. In the case of a written vote, a list of the members is circulated in each precinct. Members record their votes in the appropriate places and affix their signatures beside their names. The signed list constitutes the official vote of the meeting. In either case, the recorded votes must be posted in the Town Office Building within 24 hours of the vote and must remain posted for two weeks.

TODO: electronic voting