| | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: |
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| | | Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §1, sub-§46-A is enacted to read: |
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| | | 46-A.__Unenrolled voter.__"Unenrolled voter" means an | | individual who is registered to vote but has not enrolled in a | | political party. |
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| | | Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §501, sub-§3, as amended by PL 1997, c. 436, §65, is | | further amended to read: |
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| | | 3. Provisions applicable to both towns and cities. A warden, | | ward clerk or any deputy warden may not be an officer of a | | municipal committee of a political party. Ward clerks or deputy | | wardens shall perform the duties of the warden when necessary and | | may not replace election clerks prescribed by this Title. The | | warden, ward clerk and deputy wardens must be registered voters | | of the municipality, except when a nonresident clerk is acting as | | either warden, ward clerk or deputy warden. The warden, ward | | clerk and deputy wardens may be either enrolled or unenrolled | | voters of the municipality. |
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| | | Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §502, as amended by PL 1997, c. 436, §66, is | | further amended to read: |
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| | | §502. Duties and vacancies -- warden and ward clerk |
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| | | In the event of a vacancy in the office of warden or in the | | absence or incapacity of the warden, the ward clerk may perform | | the duties of the warden. A vacancy in the office of ward clerk | may be filled by an election clerk appointed by the warden. When | a ward clerk is elected in a partisan election, an election clerk | appointed by the warden must be enrolled in the same political | party as the ward clerk and shall serve as ward clerk pro tem. | | The election clerk serves as a ward clerk pro tem.__If the ward | | clerk is an enrolled voter, the election clerk must be enrolled | | in the same political party as the ward clerk.__If the ward clerk | | is an unenrolled voter, the election clerk must be an unenrolled | | voter. |
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| | | Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §503, sub-§2, as repealed and replaced by PL 1995, | | c. 459, §33, is amended to read: |
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| | | 2. Representation of parties. The municipal officers shall | | consider the following for appointment as election clerks. |
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| | A. The municipal officers shall consider persons nominated by | the municipal committees of the major parties to serve as | election clerks. The municipal officers shall appoint at least | one election clerk from each of the major parties to |
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