Prepare your impeach * town meeting articles and resolutions now

[paineinthearse]

Town meeting time approaches. Mass state law states that any 10 registered voters in towns with town meeting form of government can sponsor articles that must appear on the warrant. I am not sure how a group of citizens can get a resolution onto the ballot (can anyone help?).

10 citizens in my town tried this approach with an article on the illegal war on Iraq last spring, only to have some freeper rise with a motion to table (cut off debate and force a vote). Other towns, including Arlington, passed

This post is stated to focus discussion on:

1. Warrant article do's and don'ts.
2. The advantages of a town meeting article vs a referendum.
3. Parlimentary procedure.
4. Article or referendum language.
5. Links to resources
6. Anything else related.

=====================================

As inspiration......

Four Vermont towns endorse move to impeach the president

NEWFANE, Vt. -- In a white-clapboard town hall, circa 1832, voters gathered Tuesday to conduct their community's annual business and to call for the impeachment of President Bush.

"In the U.S. presently there are only a few places where citizens can act in this fashion and have a say in our nation," said select board member Dan DeWalt, who drafted the impeachment article that was placed on the warning _ or official agenda _ for this year's town meeting. "It absolutely affects us locally," DeWalt said. "It's our sons and daughters, our mothers and fathers, who are dying" in the war in Iraq.

The article, approved by a paper ballot 121-29, calls on Vermont's lone member of the U.S. House, independent Rep. Bernie Sanders, to file articles of impeachment against the president, alleging that Bush misled the nation into the Iraq war and engaged in illegal domestic spying. At least three other southern Vermont towns, spurred by publicity about Newfane's resolution, brought up similar resolutions during Tuesday's meetings and endorsed them. They were Dummerston, Marlboro and Putney.

In Newfane, the impeachment item came at the end of a roughly four-hour meeting that was devoted mostly to the local affairs of the town of 1,600 located in southeastern Vermont. Some residents stayed alert with the help of coffee and sweet pastries offered as a school fundraiser at the back of the hall.

MORE.....

http://www.wcax.com/global/story.asp?s=459...tType=Printable

[PuraVidaDreamin]

1. dangit- too late in my town this year unless...

I do the special town meeting route

[paineinthearse]

2. How does one get a referendum on a town election ballot?

Link to SoS website or other?

thanks

[PuraVidaDreamin]

3. Well for us, Town of Bourne

I just got the signatures needed to bring an article before the
town meeting. Post office is the best place for that.
Then once the magic number of signatures have been verified
as town registered voters, I will be notified that I will
present it at town meeting, that is where a show of hands
decides if it gets on the ballot.

I just did this for our town showing support towards
federalizing the Wampanoag Indians. Town Meeting is
May 8, an this will be my first submission. We have
another woman doing this for showing the town supports
immediate withdrawal from Iraq.

[paineinthearse]

4. You're describing the warrant article process

I'm quite familiar with that.

What I'm looking for is how does one manage getting a referendum onto the election ballot?

[PuraVidaDreamin]

5. doh

so I am

[MaineDem]

6. Here are the state guidelines

The Initiative Petition Process, 2005-2006

An Overview for Interested Members of the Public

The initiative process is established by amendment article 48 of the Massachusetts Constitution and is a way for citizens to propose laws and constitutional amendments for approval by the electorate. The basic steps are: (1) the initiative measure is signed by ten voters and submitted to the Attorney General by the first Wednesday in August (August 3, 2005); (2) the Attorney General determines (usually by the first Wednesday in September, i.e., September 7, 2005) whether the measure meets the requirements of amend. art. 48; (3) if certified by the Attorney General, the measure is filed with the Secretary of State; (4) thousands of additional voter signatures are gathered (this year, the requirement is 65,825) and filed with local election officials by late November and then with the Secretary of State by the first Wednesday in December; (5) if enough are gathered, the measure is sent to the Legislature in January of 2006; (6) the Legislature either approves or disapproves the measure, proposes a substitute, or takes no action; (7) unless the Legislature has enacted the measure before the first Wednesday in May of 2006, the proponents gather still more signatures (this year, 10,971) by early July; (8) if they gather enough, the measure and any legislative substitute are submitted to the people at the next biennial state election (in this case, November of 2006).

The process is similar for constitutional amendments, but they must go through two successive sessions of the Legislature and must (unlike initiative petitions for laws) get the approval of 25% of the legislators in each session. Thus any proposed constitutional amendments submitted by August of 2005 could not appear on the ballot until November of 2008.

It is possible to file a petition with the Attorney General by the first Wednesday in August of an even-numbered year (i.e., August 2, 2006), but petitioners rarely do so, because filing at that time does not allow a proposal to appear on the ballot any earlier than if filed in the following, odd-numbered year. Please contact the Attorney General's Office for further information about this issue; contact information appears at the end of this memorandum.

http://www.ago.state.ma.us/sp.cfm?pageid=1246

Is this what you need? Looks like a lot of signatures are needed.

[paineinthearse]

7. Closer, but not quite there...

I am looking for the law regulating a LOCAL (town) referendum. What you provided is for a state-wide referendum.

Thanks, I'll search more from the link you provided,

[paineinthearse]

8. How to get a non-binding public opinion onto your town's election ballot

A non-binding public opinion advisory question can be placed on a local election ballot in accordance with General Laws chapter 53, section 18A.

http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/53-18a.htm

In a nutshell, the question requires just 10 registered voters, but must be submitted at least 35 days before the election

NOW.....let's start apending language that we can draw on in the areas of

IMPEACHMENT OF * / CHENEY

USE OF MASSACHUSETTS NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS IN IRAQ

WITHDRAWAL OF US TROOPS FROM IRAQ (could someone with a star search in the Mass forum the language Arlington used last year?)

other?

[unhappycamper]

9. I think this is the thread you were looking for.

In a few weeks our town meeting opens up and there will be an article under consideration that is a resolution against the use of Mass National Guard in the Iraq war.

I read about the VT towns doing this or something similar but only now saw what one of these looks like. I'm not a town meeting member but I am running unopposed for a seat and expect to be a TMM when Town Meeting opens up in a few weeks.

Any other TMM's here or anyone else trying to get a similar warrant article in front of their town's meeting?

Here is the draft:

ARTICLE 69 RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN OF ARLINGTON CONCERNING THE MASSACHUSETTS

<snip>

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=158&topic_id=3502