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The following annual report of the Town Clerk for the year ending December 31, 2002 is herewith submitted in accordance with Section 3 of Article 3, Title I of the Town By-Laws. During 2002, the Annual Election of Town Officers (April 6, 2002), the State Primary (September 17, 2002), the State Election (November 5, 2002), the Annual and one Special Town Meeting were prepared for and conducted by the Town Clerk’s Office.
The Town has twenty-one AccuVote machines, one for each precinct, and a main counting system located in the Town Clerk’s Office. This system consists of paper ballots to be marked by the voters and inserted into the AccuVote machines, which automatically tally the votes appearing on the paper ballots. When the polls close, the precinct totals are immediately printed at the precinct, posted, announced, and then transferred to the Town Clerk’s Office on a memory card, where the precinct totals are accumulated by entering the memory cards into the main counting system. Finally, the complete official town results are printed and announced.
Town Meeting Members whose terms were to expire at the Annual Town Election were notified of that fact and of the provision of law that allows them to become candidates for re-election by giving written notice thereof to the Town Clerk. Nomination papers were issued to candidates for Town offices including Town Meeting Members, and, after being certified by the Registrars of Voters were filed with the Town Clerk.
Candidates for Town offices, except Town Meeting Members, were notified of the requirements of the law regarding the filing of periodic statements of campaign receipts and expenditures with the Town Clerk’s Office. Incumbents and candidates for election during the previous year, who had campaign finance activity, a balance and/or liability were also notified of the requirements of filing annual reports.
Upon application, absentee ballots were issued for the Annual Town Election, the State Primary, and the State Election. Applications for absentee ballots were automatically sent to all persons who had filed physicians’ certificates of permanent physical disability, as required by law. Many residents took advantage of the provision of law which allowed them to vote in person in the Town Clerk’s Office prior to the elections if they were to be out of town or otherwise unavailable to vote in person at the polls on the day of the elections. A total of 1,537 absentee ballots were issued in 2002.
The Annual Town Meeting began on April 22, 2002 and continued for nine sessions, dissolving on June 19, 2002. A total of seventy-four warrant articles were acted upon. The first article of the Annual Town Meeting is the Annual Town Election. The Special Town Meeting was called for on November 6th at which three articles were acted upon and adjourned that same evening. Meetings were held prior to the Annual and Special Town Meeting to fill vacancies in the Town Meeting membership (caused by resignation, removal from town, or death) until the next Annual Town Election.
Certificates of all appropriations voted upon at all town meetings and the provisions for meeting then were sent to the Board of Assessors and the Comptroller, as required by law. Certified copies of all votes authorizing indebtedness were sent to the Director of Accounts. The Secretary of the Commonwealth was notified of the acceptance by the Town Meeting of any provisions of the General Laws. In addition, certified copies of all votes passed at all Town Meetings were sent to the departments affected.
All the amendments to the Town By-Laws and Zoning By-Laws as voted at the Annual Town Meeting were submitted to the Attorney General and were approved within the statutory period provided. They were then advertised for two successive weeks in the local newspaper, as required by law, following which they took effect.
A summary of the Annual Town Meeting appears in the Legislative section of this Annual Report. A complete record of the actions taken is contained in the Records of Elections and Town Meetings in the Town Clerk’s Office.
Births, deaths, and marriages were recorded and copies forwarded to the Secretary of the Commonwealth monthly. Certified copies of these vital statistics and all other documents recorded in the Town Clerk’s Office were made available upon request.
A total of 965 dogs were licensed and 276 sporting (conservation) licenses issued by the Town Clerk’s Office. In addition, certain licenses granted by the Board of Selectmen were issued. Raffle and bazaar permits and gasoline permit renewals were issued, financing statements, utility pole locations, cemetery deeds, and business certificates were recorded. Decisions of the Zoning Board of Appeals, decisions on requests for Special Permits from the Redevelopment Board, and Amendments to the Traffic Rules and Orders were also placed on file in this office.
The Department of Revenue was notified of all licenses and permits issued and business certificates filed. Street permit, drainlayer, blasting, and other surety bonds covering contractors were also placed on file in this office. Oaths of office were administered to all elected or appointed Town officials and each was given copies of excerpts from the Open Meeting Law and the Conflict of Interest Law. Notices of meetings of all boards, committees, or commissions were publicly posted upon receipt, as required by the Open Meeting Law. Town officials and departments were notified of all Legislative Acts affecting them.
Fines were collected for citations issued under Section 21D of Chapter 40, Massachusetts General Laws, for violations of the Town By-Laws. Citations for persons who did not pay the penalties within the required time (twenty-one days) were referred to the Clerk of the District Court of Middlesex for further action.
 Your attention is directed to the following vital statistics of the Town, which are recorded at this time. It should be noted, however, that the summaries of births and deaths are incomplete, inasmuch as records thereof pertaining to Arlington residents are still being received by our office from the cities and towns where these events occurred.
REGISTRARS OF VOTERS
A combined Annual Town and School Census was conducted during the months of January and February 2002, as mandated by law. The census was conducted entirely by mail, with computer preprinted forms sent to each household in Arlington requesting that the information contained therein be confirmed or corrected. The census forms contained the names of all persons residing in Arlington. Once returned to the Registrars’ Office, all census and voter information was entered and continually updated in the Town’s computer base by the Registrars’ Office.
A list of persons from birth to twenty-one years of age was transmitted to the School Committee. The Jury Commissioner obtained juror information directly from the Massachusetts Voter Registration Information System from data entered into the system by this office. The Annual True List of Persons (persons seventeen years of age and over) was published as required by law. 3,891 notices were sent by first-class mail to persons whose names were to be removed from the voting list because they had not been reported as residing in Arlington on January 1, 2002, as required by law. Those who proved residence were reinstated. The total number of registered voters upon completion of the annual revision of the voting list was 28,131. The voters enrolled in the three political parties, those who were unenrolled, and voters who
were enrolled in other legal political designations are as follows:
 The following designations had no enrollees: Natural Law Party, Conservative Party, We the People, New Alliance Party, and Prohibition Party. Voters who enroll in a political designation may not vote in any state or presidential primary. Cards were mailed to voters acknowledging receipt of change or cancellation of political party enrollments received during the year by this office.
Throughout the year, daily sessions for registration of voters were held during regular business hours in the Office of the Town Clerk. Special sessions were also held until 8:00 P.M. on the last day to register voters for the Annual Town Election, the State Primary, and the State Election.
The provisions of the so-called “Motor Voter” Bill permit mail-in voter registration and eliminated the requirement that special evening and Saturday sessions for the registration of voters be held except for the final day prior to the deadline for registration for primaries and elections. Special forms for mail-in voter registration were made available at various locations throughout Arlington and all other cities and towns in the State.
In addition, persons were allowed to fill out voter registration affidavits at public offices throughout Massachusetts, such as the Registry of Motor Vehicles, Social Security, Welfare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, Military Recruitment Offices, and other State and Federal offices. These affidavits were forwarded through the computer or by mail to the Registrars of Voters or Election Commissioners of the voters’ places of residence. As required by law, acknowledgment forms were sent to persons who registered to vote at special locations or mailed in registration affidavits, notifying them of their precincts and voting places.
The Board certified 1,018 voter signatures appearing on nomination papers filed by or in behalf of candidates seeking offices at the Annual Town Election. Petitions were certified for: articles to be inserted in the warrant for the 2002 Annual and Special Town Meeting, referenda to be placed on the 2003 State Election Ballot, and absentee ballots applications for: the Annual Town Election (290), the State Primary (378), and the State Election (869). After nomination papers for the Annual Town Election had been certified by the Registrars of Voters and filed with the Town Clerk, the Registrars of Voters held a meeting to draw names for the order of position on the official ballot for the election, as required by law.
During the year, the information contained on approximately 20,000 census forms of residents of the Town on January 1 was transferred to their individual master cards. These cards provide a complete official record of residence for all persons seventeen years of age or older from the time they first become residents of the Town. From such information, certificates of residence are issued daily to establish eligibility for attendance at state and regional schools, colleges and universities, receipt of old age assistance, veterans’ services, social security, employment in state or federal civil service, and for many other purposes. In addition, Registered Voters’ Certificates were issued throughout the year from the Board’s records for identification purposes and for proof of citizenship.
During the Annual Town Election, State Primary, and the State Election, the Registrars of Voters were in session throughout the entire time the polls were open to assist voters who had questions relating to registration, name and/or address changes, precincts, polling places, and other problems arising during that time. After the polls closed, the Registrars assisted in the tabulation of the ballots until the final results were announced.
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