Photo: Town Clerk’s Office.

Nomination papers for the election of Town Meeting Members and Town-wide offices taking place at Belmont’s annual Town Election (Tuesday, April 5, 2016) are now available at the Town Clerk’s Office, located on the first floor of Town Hall.

The papers are due back to the Clerk for certification by Feb. 16, 2016 at 5 p.m.

Fifty certified signatures of registered Belmont voters are required for Town-wide office, 25 certified signatures of Belmont registered voters dwelling in the appropriate precinct are required for Town Meeting. It is always wise to obtain and provide at least 20 percent more signatures than the requirement to meet the certification minimums.

Getting Your Name on the Ballot

Running for election is simple. Have your neighbors and friends who are registered voters sign your papers and submit the signed forms to the Town Clerk by the deadline.

Town-wide Offices

To be considered a candidate for Town-Wide Office, you must be at least 18 years old and a registered voter of the Town of Belmont.

There are many Town-wide elected offices that will appear on the annual Town Election ballot. If you’re interested or want to share your skills in this way, you may file Nomination Papers until Feb. 16, 2016. 

The following is a list of elected Town-wide offices that will appear on the April 5 ballot:

Moderator	elect one person for one year
Board of Selectmen	elect one member for three years
Board of Assessors	elect one member for three years
Board of Cemetery Commissioners	elect one member for three years
Board of Health	elect one member for three years
Members of the Housing Authority	elect one member for five years elect one member of three years
Trustees of the Public Library	elect two members for three years
Members of the School Committee	elect two members for three years
Town Clerk	elect one person for three years

Representative Town Meeting: Representatives from Each of the Eight Voting Precincts

The elected term of a Town Meeting Member is three (3) years, though should a resignation occur, there may be openings for one (1), or two (2) year periods.

In addition to the Twelve Representative Town Meeting Members that are elected for three-year terms from each of our eight voting precincts, there are also several partial terms available.

• Precinct 3 – elect one person for one year
• Precinct 5 – elect one person for one year
• Precinct 7 – elect three people for one year

Incumbent Town Meeting Members

Incumbent Town Meeting Members who intend to run for re-election must notify the Town Clerk by signing and returning the Intention Letter that is mailed to them by Jan. 26, 2016. Missing the return deadline means having to collect signatures on nomination papers.

New Candidates for Town Meeting Member

To be considered a new candidate for Town Meeting Member, you must be at least 18 years old and a registered voter of the Town of Belmont. If you are currently serving as a Town Meeting Member, who was elected at a caucus, not by Town ballot, you will need to submit nomination papers as a new candidate.

Signatures of at least 25 registered voters of your precinct are required on the nomination papers. The Town Clerk must certify these signatures, so we always suggest obtaining about 20% more just to be safe.

Withdrawing Your Name From the Ballot

If you have taken out nomination papers and the signatures have been certified, but you change your mind, you may remove your name from the ballot by notifying the Town Clerk in writing by the deadline.