Voters will vote on the repeal in a special town-wide election (a referendum) on Thursday, July 19.
Q: What is on the ballot?
A: According to the Town's web site, the language of the vote is as follows:
Shall the town vote to approve the action of the representative town meeting whereby it was voted to amend the Town Bylaws to prohibit the use of gas-powered leaf blowers on private property between May 15th and October 15th by a vote of 95 in the affirmative to 85 in the negative.A yes vote is a vote to retain the new bylaw restricting leaf-blower use. A no vote is a vote to repeal the bylaw.
Q: Why has the Town scheduled this vote?
A: State law provides for a special election (a town-wide referendum) on any new bylaw adopted by Town Meeting on receipt of signatures from at least 3% of all registered voters in Town requesting a repeal election.
Lawn-care companies collected some 1,400 signatures and on May 31 the Town Clerk certified 1,053 of them as valid.
That exceeded the 3% minimum and triggered the special election.
The law governing this vote is MGL Chapter 43A Section 10.
Q: Why did the Town schedule the vote for July 19? Why not hold it on Election Day in November?
A: Under the terms of the law, the Town must schedule this vote "forthwith." Town Counsel, in consultation with the Attorney General's Office, has determined that this election may not be combined with any regular election and must be held as soon as possible.
The Selectmen may have chosen the Thursday date to minimize costs, since on Thursdays many Town employees work late and would not require extra pay to staff the election.
Q: Exactly when and where is the vote?
A: The polls will be open from 2–8:00 pm on Thursday, July 19.
Voting is by precinct. Polling places and precinct boundaries are indicated on the Town's precinct map. You can also find your polling location by going to wheredoivotema.com
Note that the polling places for several East Arlington precincts have moved during the construction of the new Thompson School.
Q: Why don't the polls open until 2 pm?
That is another requirement of state law.
Q: Is there a minimum-turnout requirement? A "quorum" for this vote?
A: Yes. Under state law,
no action of the representative town meeting shall be reversed unless at least twenty per cent of the registered voters shall so vote.That means that to repeal the bylaw, not only must a majority of votes favor repeal, but at least 20% of all registered voters must do so.
Q: Is there a similar turn-out requirement for those who want to keep the new bylaw?
A: No. In the case of a special repeal election, where a bylaw has already been approved by Town Meeting, state law places the burden on those seeking repeal.
Votes in favor of the bylaw are not counted towards the 20% turnout requirement.
Q: What will happen if the repeal fails? What if it passes?
New bylaws must be approved by the Attorney General and then be legally advertised before going into effect. This would probably occur around October 15. Since the bylaw does not restrict leaf blowers after October 15, the practical effect of the new bylaw would not be felt until May 15 of 2013.
If the repeal passes, with at least 20% of registered voters voting "No" (for repeal), the bylaw is repealed.
Q: Is it too late to register to vote in this election?
A: The last day to register to vote for this election is June 28.
Q: How much will the election cost the Town?
A: Arlington's Town Manager, Adam Chapdelaine, has estimated the election will cost from $25,000 to $30,000. Costs include legal notice to voters and poll workers and police at each voting location.
Q: Why did Town Meeting pass this bylaw?
The bylaw passed by a vote of 95-85 following debate that spanned two nights. The discussion at Town Meeting touched upon noise, health effects, and individual rights.
Q: Couldn't there have been a compromise?
The bylaw was a compromise between no action and a proposed year-round ban. The bylaw that Town Meeting passed restricts leaf blowers to October 15 to May 15.
Q: The bylaw passed by only 10 votes. Is that legal?
A vote of 95-85 is close, but not exactly a squeaker, with a margin of difference of more than 5.5%. Town Meeting votes, and indeed local, state, and federal elections, are routinely decided by narrower margins.
In any case, the legal requirement is that the majority rules.
There's a perception out there that going out to vote in favor of the ban might help opponents get the 20% turnout. You state in the answer above "Votes in favor of the bylaw are not counted towards the 20% turnout requirement," but this was not addressed in the Boston Globe article this morning. Please clarify the 20% requirement ASAP.
ReplyDeleteThis is a persistent question and source of confusion. For the seasonal restriction to be overturned two things must occur:
Delete1. 20% of registered voters must vote “No,” and,
2. The number of “No” votes must be a majority of votes cast.
Both of the above criteria must be met to overturn the current seasonal restriction. As such, "Yes" votes do not count toward the 20%, and those who support the seasonal ban should vote "Yes."
The Globe got it wrong. Our account is correct.
DeleteThe Globe has now clarified this in its online edition: "at least 20 percent of Arlington’s registered voters would have to cast a ballot against the ban in order to overturn..."
DeleteThanks for the clarification. Why don't you post this on the front page of the blog? I just voted at the Brackett school and it looked like a lot of landscapers up there.
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