Elections

On this page, you'll find information on elections in the town of South Hadley. Information is divided into the following categories:

• Registration Requirements

• Process of Registration

• Voting Precincts

• Elections: Dates and Hours

• Town Elections

• Town Officials & Boards

CALENDAR AND GUIDE TO ALL ELECTIONS IN SOUTH HADLEY

Registration Requirements
Any American citizen may register to vote in South Hadley…

• if s/he is able to sign name.

• if s/he is 18 years old or over, or will be by the next Election.

• if s/he is a resident of South Hadley.

Place
Town Clerk’s Office, Town Hall (116 Main Street) or Main Library (Bardwell Street, during their normal business hours), Registry of Motor Vehicles and state agencies.

Hours
Monday through Friday, 8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M.
Note: Office hours are 8:30 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. on the last day of registration, i.e., 20 days before Town election and 20 days before state and national elections or primaries.

Mail-In
Forms may be requested from a city/town clerk’s office.

Process of Registration
To register, a citizen gives name, date of birth, birthplace, occupation, and residence. S/he should remember s/he signs his/her name when registering because that is exactly the way the name will appear on the Voters List.

Party Designation
On registering, a citizen may indicate membership in a political party/or designation or be recorded as unenrolled.

Re-registration
Re-registration is necessary only if a voter moves out of town and then moves back. A change of address within South Hadley is taken from the yearly census of residents over 17 years of age and is entered on the Voters List by the Town Clerk.

Registration of New Residents to Vote
There is no longer any length of residence necessary for registering to vote. A new person moving into town even on the last day of registration before an election may register immediately at the Town Hall (Town Clerk’s Office).

Registration for Married Women
A married woman whose husband claims residence elsewhere and has been unable to establish her residence there, may now register to vote where she is living.

VOTING

Precincts
There are five precincts – A, B, C, D, E – and five polling places as follows:

ELECTIONS: DATES AND HOURS

Town Elections
Held every year on the first Monday in April. Hours are set by the Board of Selectmen and announced in local newspapers.

State-National Primaries, really nomination: Date set by Secretary of State; held in even-numbered years.

Presidential Primaries
First Tuesday in March in "presidential" years.

State-National Primaries
All political parties nominate the candidate of their choice for the next election. The voter must take the ballot of the party in which s/he is enrolled. If the voter is unenrolled s/he may choose any party ballot. In a Presidential primary only, the voter becomes enrolled in that party unless s/he fills out a form after voting to retain his/her unenrolled status. S/he may do this by appearing in person at the Town Clerk’s office from the day of the primary up to the deadline 20 days before the next election. (Since any candidate, however good, is lost to the voters at election unless s/he has won in the primary, it is unfortunate that so many unenrolled and party members do not vote at the primaries.)

"Presidential Primaries"
Include a Democratic, Republican and other political ballots. They, however, are held not for nomination but for election: (1) of party delegates to the National Convention and (2) of working party committees: state, district and local. Also, in Massachusetts (since 1952), as in several other states, the ballot has space for a voter to write in his/her preference for presidential candidate.

Absentee Voting
Absentee voting is allowed in all elections. A voter who discovers suddenly that s/he must be out of town for election day may vote before s/he leaves by applying to the Town Clerk for an absentee ballot before noon of the day preceding election and marking his/her ballot in the Town Clerk’s presence or may request a ballot by mail. The deadline for absentee voting in Town elections is 5:00 P.M. on the Friday before election.

Nominations by Write-ins or Stickers
A voter may become a candidate by having his/her supporters write his/her name and address (exactly as on Voters List) on the ballot, or by having stickers prepared for voters to affix in the proper place.

Note to voters: A voter may vote for fewer candidates than the instructions specify, as his/her vote will be invalidated only if s/he votes for more than the number allowed in a given category. (If a voter is not informed on all candidates, s/he is well advised to vote only for those whose qualifications s/he knows.)

Posting of Ballots
For any election, a specimen ballot is posted at least seven days before election date at the following places:

TOWN ELECTIONS

Nomination for Town Elections
Any registered voter may run for town office or for Town Meeting member from his/her own precinct. To run for either, s/he must sign a nomination paper at the Town Clerk’s office, signifying his/her acceptance of the nomination. Signatures are then obtained by the candidate and/or his/her supporters: for a town office, at least 50 signatures of registered voters are required; for a Town Meeting member, at least ten signatures are required, all of voters in his/her own precinct. Nomination papers must be returned to the Town Clerks office no later than 5:00 P.M., 42 days before election, not including Sundays, for certification of names by the Board of Registrars.

Nomination for Re-election
For a town officer, the procedure for re-election is exactly the same as for election. A Town Meeting member needs only to give written notice to the Town Clerk at least 49 days before election that s/he is a candidate for re-election, using the card mailed to him/her by the Town Clerk; if s/he neglects to do so, s/he must follow the same procedure as for his/her first nomination.

Sources of Useful Information for Prospective Candidates
The Town Clerk’s Office

The Daily Hampshire Gazette for a list of incumbents whose terms expire in April, published early in February; and a later list of town officials and Town Meeting members who will or will not seek re-election.

Ballot
Town elections have been non-partisan since 1935. Specimen ballots are posted seven days before election at the usual places. The ballot for town elections contains the following:

List of Town Officials and Boards on the Ballot, with Summary of Duties of each:

Moderator
Term one year. Presides at all Town Meetings. At Annual Town Meeting names and appointing committee, one of whom holds an elective town office, to bring in three names for a three-year term on the Appropriations Committee of nine members. The appointing committee is also to bring in a name for any unexpired term on the Appropriations Committee. No appointee shall be holder of an elective town office. When Town Meeting votes for the appointment of a special committee, such as the School Planning Committee, it usually names as the appointing committee the Moderator (who votes only in case of a tie) and the Chairmen of the following boards: Selectmen, School Committee, Planning Board, and Appropriations Committee.

Selectmen (5)
Term three years, one or two elected each year. As chief administrative officers of the town, the Selectmen are responsible throughout the year for implementing the decisions of Town Meetings. They are the town’s legal agent; the commissioners of highways and sewers, and of police; the Board of Public Welfare; and the License Board, holding hearings on license applications for sale of alcoholic beverages, storage of gasoline, etc. They draw up the Warrant for every Town Meeting. They appoint most of the nonelected officials and boards; e.g., Board of Appeals, Conservation Commission, Industrial Development Commission, but not the Committee on Appropriations (see "Moderator"). Their chairman shares in appointing special committees.

Town Clerk/Treasurer
Term three years. Keeps all town records, vital statistics. Issues marriage licenses, sporting licenses, dog licenses, raffle permits, etc. Notifies Town Meeting members of Town Meetings and of hearings by the Appropriations Committee. Is Clerk of Town Meeting; permanent member and Clerk of Board of Registrars; and the official in charge of the annual census, the Voters List, elections, posting of the ballot and the Warrant for Town Meeting. Treasurer receives money from taxes and other sources; pays bills approved by Selectmen; pays town employees; arranges loans voted by Town Meeting.

Tax Collector
Term three years. Sends out town tax bills, including bills for excise taxes on motor vehicles; receives taxes, enforces prompt payment. Collects taxes for Fire Districts 1 & 2.

School Committee Members (5)
Unpaid, one or two elected in a given year for a three year term. A broad summary of the principal duties of the School Committee include: policy determination, budget making, appointment of personnel, approval of courses and textbooks, planning of school services, evaluating the program, and negotiation under the collective bargaining law. School Committees exercise their power at the local level subject to the State Constitution, the laws enacted by the Great and General court and regulations of the Department of Education.

Assessors (3)
Term three year, one elected each year, all positions part-time. Determine assessed value of all taxable real estate-residential, business, industrial; also of "personal property", i.e., business equipment and stock-in-trade of a wide variety of unincorporated businesses. Compute tax rate for town and for Fire Districts 1 & 2. Also handle motor vehicle excise tax, with the rate determined by State Commissioner of Taxation. Review all abatement requests on real estate and motor vehicle excise.

Board of Health Members (3)
Term three years, one elected each year. Comprise the chief public health agency of the town with a Registered Sanitarian as its director. Responsibility covers prevention and treatment of disease and environmental sanitation.

Municipal Light Board Members (3)
Unpaid, term three years, one elected each year. Determine the policy for South Hadley Electric Light Department, which purchases power from Holyoke Water Power Company and distributes power within the town for all public and domestic needs; sells energy to municipal departments at cost; and provides public installations at no cost to town.

Tree Warden
Term three years. Has care and control of all public shade trees in town, except those along state highways and those on forestry property or in public parks (the latter being under control of the Parks Division of the DPW). S/He may treat or remove trees in public parks only on written request of the Parks Division. Care of trees includes "sanitation" (removing diseased trees or parts of trees), spraying, pruning, and planting young trees. Sanitation and spraying for Dutch elm disease are done under the Insect Pest Control Superintendent, who may be the same person as the Tree Warden but in an appointive position. To remove a live public tree, notice must be posted on the tree and in two public places for seven days followed by a public hearing. The Tree Warden also makes rules and regulations for the care of public shade trees, which have the force of town by-laws after being posted and approved by the Selectmen. S/He may also deputize another to serve as Deputy Tree Warden.

Planning Board Members (5)
Unpaid, term five years, one selected each year. Responsible for drawing up the Zoning By-Laws and Zoning Map and for drafting Subdivision Control Regulations. In 1965 completed a comprehensive Plan as a guide for South Hadley’s development. In 1979, Master Plan update formatted and passed. Make recommendations to Town Meeting for amendments to the Zoning By-Laws and Map. Conduct public hearings on zone changes proposed by citizens and make recommendations for or against these changes to the Town Meeting. Hold public hearings for special permits. Special permits can then be granted with a four out of five vote. Review all subdivision plans and, after holding a public hearing for each, approve those that comply with the subdivision regulations. Work with other town boards and the town engineer to ensure that a developer’s performance fulfills the terms agreed upon.

Trustees of Public Library (9)
Unpaid, term three years, three selected each year. Determine policy for the South Hadley Main Library (Bardwell Street) and have the final responsibility for expenditure of appropriated funds for the library. Draw up and present to Appropriations Committee the annual budget for the library.

Housing Authority Members (5)
Unpaid, term five years, one appointed by the Governor, four elected, one at each election four years out of five. Carry out the vote of the Town Meeting in providing and administering housing for the elderly. Appoint Executive Director for management and maintenance. The Executive Office of Communities and Development approves each project and gives financial aid for the construction. First project: Newton Manor, 40 units, opened 1967; 48 additional units opened in 1976.

Town Meeting Members
Unpaid, term three years. Represent all the citizens as legislators at Town Meetings. Each precinct is represented by 24 town meeting members; eight members are elected each year for a three year term.  This is a total of 120 town meeting members plus ex officio members.  On the ballot for each precinct appear only the name of candidates for Town Meeting members or representatives from that precinct.

Referenda Heretofore on Town Ballot
From time to time there have appeared at the end of the town ballot one or more referenda, that is, questions of town policy referred to all voters at election. Such questions ranged from matters directly affecting only a few town employees or officials to larger issues such as a change in the form of a Town Meeting. In either case they called for acceptance or rejection of a special act already passed by the Legislature in response to a petition (bill) drawn up by individuals or prepared by a committee and voted on by Town Meeting. (See Home Rule Amendment below).

Referenda on State Ballot (not on town ballot, but of local concern)
On the state ballot every two years there are referenda about the sale of alcoholic beverages in South Hadley, and every four years, on horse and drag racing.

In this state there are sometimes very special referenda by which voters may repeal laws already passed by the Legislature or even pass laws rejected by the legislature.

Constitutional Amendments which have been approved by two successive legislatures must appear as referenda on the state ballot. For instance, in 1966 there were four amendments on the state ballot, including one to grant more Home Rule in local affairs to cities and towns in Massachusetts, and to do away with special acts of the Legislature for individual communities. (See above Referenda on Town Ballot.) Home Rule amendment passed November 8, 1996.