| A location for the caucus has been confirmed; it will be held on Wednesday, September 24th at:
Waltham High School Auditorium,
617 Lexington St
Waltham, MA 02452
(781) 314-5440
Doors will open at 5:00PM and the Caucus will begin at 6:30PM.
Rules and Procedures for filling vacancies of a Party Candidate who has been nominated by winning a Primary and has withdrawn
1) The Town and Ward Committees of Middlesex County must meet and elect delegates by and from its members to a county meeting called by the Chair of the Party. The county meeting may nominate a candidate to fill the vacancy. Only members of Ward and Town Committees may vote and run for delegates to the county meeting. Associate Members may not vote and may not be elected delegates to the county meeting.
2) Meetings of town and ward committees to elected delegates: - the Meetings should be called either after 5 pm on Monday September 22nd or on Tuesday September 23nd. We encourage you to notify members now that a meeting MAY happen and announce the time and location. If Register Buonomo wins the nomination on Tuesday AND resigns after receiving the nomination, then you will need to hold your meeting.
3) Delegates to be elected at the Town or Ward Meeting must be Gender Balanced in the same manner as the election of delegates to the State Convention (examples below). Town/Wards with an even number of delegates will hold two elections where they will elect the male and female delegates. Towns with odd number of delegates will hold three elections where they will elect the male and female delegates and one of either gender. Town or ward Committees that do not have enough of one gender to fill the allotment of that gender cannot elect extra delegates of the other gender to fill the allotment (see example below).
a) Town and Ward Committees with 4 delegates will elect 2 men and 2 women.
b) Town and Ward Committees with 5 Delegates will elect 2 men, 2 women and one of either gender.
c) Town or Ward Committee with 10 Delegates and 15 male candidates and 2 female candidates are allotted 5 men and 5 women. They can elect 5 men and 2 females, and forfeit the remaining 3 female seats.
4) The Middlesex County Meeting of Delegates will then be held on Wednesday, September 24th at 6:30 p.m. This meeting of delegates may nominate a candidate to fill the vacancy. The nominee will be filed with the Secretary of State by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday September 25th.
The above rules have been adopted from Chapter 53, Section 14 of the Massachusetts General Laws.
Rules for the Middlesex County Meeting to fill vacancy for the Democratic Nomination for the Middlesex County Register of Probate
The Chair of the Massachusetts Democratic Party will appoint a Chair pro-tem to call the Middlesex County Committee Meeting to order on September 24, 2008. The Chair will have a list of Delegates elected at their Town and Ward Committee for this meeting and reported to the Democratic State Committee by 11:59 p.m., Tuesday, September 24th and in accordance with the Rules and Procedures sent to Middlesex County Chairs.
Every delegate will be asked to provide photo identification and must sign-in indicating their presence to be eligible to vote and be recognized. All ballots shall be written and signed. There will be no absentee or proxy voting. The Chair pro-tem will call the County Meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
There will be only 4 items on the agenda:
a) Election of Permanent Chair of the County Meeting
b) Adoption of County Meeting Rules
c) Candidate Nominations and Speeches
d) Election to fill vacancy for Democratic Nomination for Middlesex County Register of Probate - "Democratic Nominee for Register"
Registration will remain open until a vote for Democratic Nominee for Register is called for. When a vote is called, registration will close at the call of the vote and re-open once all votes are cast on that ballot.
When the meeting is called to order, only delegates or State Party designated staff will be allowed in the delegate area. Spectators and guests will not be allowed in the delegate area. There will be a location for guests in the room. The County Meeting is a Democratic Party meeting and no Democrat, person ineligible to register or media representative shall be denied admittance.
Candidates may distribute materials on their behalf.
Nominations will be made by Official Form. Official Nomination forms will be available at the meeting and must be signed by a nominator and two seconds. All three must be Delegates to the County Meeting and have signed-in. A candidate for Middlesex County Register of Probate must be present and give his or her written consent by signing their Official Nomination form. If a candidate is a delegate, they can be a nominator or second on a nomination form.
After the nominations have been closed, each candidate will be allowed to make a two-minute speech. Nominations cannot be closed prior to 6:45 p.m. or 15 minutes after the call to order, whichever is later. Speaking order will be drawn by lot.
All ballots shall be written and signed.
Election of the Democratic Nominee for Register at the County Meeting shall be held by a majority of those present and voting. If a candidate has not received a majority of the vote on either the first or second ballot, those candidates receiving less than 15% of the total vote on the second ballot will be dropped on the third ballot and subsequent ballots. Balloting will continue until a candidate receives a majority, provided that on all ballots subsequent to the second ballot there are at least two candidates remaining. On the 2nd or subsequent ballots, if all candidates receive 15 % or more; or only one candidate receives 15% or more; or no candidate receives 15% on any ballot, the candidate or candidates receiving the lowest vote total shall be removed from the next ballot, providing that there are at least two candidates remaining. (example below)
The Chair of the caucus shall fill out the form certifying the election of the Democratic Nominee to fill the Vacancy for Register of Probate for Middlesex County. The Chair of the Party will file with the Secretary of State the Nomination as certified by the Chair of the Middlesex County Meeting.
Voting Examples:
A) On the second ballot, the following represents the vote count. Candidates H and I would be removed from the 3rd Ballot. Reason: Only one candidate received more than 15%, therefore the lowest vote totals are removed from the next ballot.
Total Votes cast 100
Candidate A ..... 16 votes - 16%
Candidate B ..... 13 votes - 13%
Candidate C ..... 12 votes - 12%
Candidate D ..... 12 votes - 12%
Candidate E ..... 12 votes - 12%
Candidate F ..... 12 votes - 12%
Candidate G ..... 11 votes - 11%
Candidate H ..... 6 votes - 6% - dropped
Candidate I ..... 6 votes - 6% - dropped
B) On the second ballot, the following represents the vote count. Candidate A and Candidate B would be on the 3rd Ballot, all others would be dropped. Reason: No candidate received a majority and two candidates received more than 15%, therefore all others would be dropped from the next ballot.
Candidate A ..... 21 votes - 21%
Candidate B ..... 18 votes - 18%
Candidate C ..... 14 votes - 14% - dropped
Candidate D ..... 12 votes - 12% - dropped
Candidate E ..... 12 votes - 12% - dropped
Candidate F ..... 12 votes - 12% - dropped
Candidate G ..... 11 votes - 11% - dropped
C) On the third ballot, the following represents the vote count. Candidate A and B would be on the 4th Ballot, Candidate C would be dropped. Reason: No candidate received a majority and all candidates received greater than 15%, therefore the lowest vote total is dropped from the next ballot.
Candidate A ..... 48 votes - 48%
Candidate B ..... 30 votes - 30%
Candidate C ..... 22 votes - 22% - dropped |
