Town Meeting:How to Run for Election

Any registered voter may run for election to Town Meeting. A new candidate must obtain nomination papers from the Town Clerk's office, which is in the Town Office Building, 1625 Massachusetts Avenue, on the first floor just opposite the main entrance. These papers must be signed by ten registered voters who live in the candidate's precinct. Precinct voters may sign papers for as many candidates as they wish. Papers must have valid signatures, that is, the signatures must correspond exactly to the names on the voting list with the correct address. To compensate for possible errors, it is recommended that one obtain at least fifteen signatures. These nomination papers must be submitted to the Board of Registrars at the Town Clerk's office at least 49 days before the election.

An incumbent Town Meeting Member may become a candidate for re-election by giving written notice thereof to the Town Clerk at least 56 days before Election Day. The Town Clerk issues a courtesy inquiry for Town Meeting Members to complete and return, indicating their intent to run for reelection. Incumbents do not have to file nomination papers if notification of their intent to run for office is submitted to the Town Clerk by the designated deadline.

How to Campaign
The League of Women Voters customarily organizes a yearly evening event in early January on how to run for Town Meeting. The session usually includes an overview of the election process and a chance to ask questions of current Town Meeting members. Town Meeting candidates often create campaign flyers promoting themselves. Campaign literature should be signed with the name and address of a citizen, usually the candidate. Campaign literature may be distributed in public places. Door-to-door distribution of handbills or flyers is customary. Material placed in home mail boxes without postage affixed may result in substantial charges by the postal services. Posted signs on public property are illegal in Lexington. Political signs on private property are subject to the Town's sign bylaw. Several weeks in advance of Election Day, the local newspapers, the Lexington Minuteman and The Colonial Times, print information about each candidate. The Minuteman also publishes an election guide with each candidate's response to questions asked by the League of Women Voters. The League of Women Voters usually sponsors a Candidates' Night one or two weeks before the election, at which Town Meeting candidates may present their views to the attending citizens from their precinct. Other organizations, such as neighborhood associations, sometimes hold similar meetings. Other groups may also solicit written statements from candidates on their positions on issues. In addition to distributing flyers, candidates often hold campaign signs outside the polls. Campaigning within 150 feet of the entrance to a polling place on Election Day is illegal. Hand-held or car-top signs outside the 150 foot limit are common on Election Day.