Whether Town Meeting members voted for Amherst’s new charter or not, complying with our Massachusetts Constitution should be a nonpartisan matter on which we all agree.
The special Town Meeting on Monday, April 30, should vote down Article 1. This would ask the Massachusetts Legislature to enact an unconstitutional special act for the initial election, on Nov. 6, 2018, of the 13 new town councilors.
Why would this Article 1 be unconstitutional? Because it would deprive students of their equal right, under Article 9 of the Massachusetts Constitution’s Declaration of Rights, to be elected to the office of town councilor. Article 9 provides: “(A)ll the inhabitants of this commonwealth … have an equal right to elect officers, and to be elected, for public employments.”
To be elected, a would-be candidate must first take out a nomination petition, which will be available June 1. They are due back at Town Hall, with at least 50 signatures of registered Amherst voters to run townwide, on Aug. 1. Aug. 13 is the last date for candidates to take their names off the Sept. 4 primary ballot.
Thus, except for the primary election on Sept. 4, a Nov. 6 final election date would mean that all of the events necessary for candidacy were scheduled during summer break. During the summer break, of course, practically all students, and many faculty and permanent Amherst residents, are away.
In addition, Aug. 15 is the last day to register to vote in the Sept. 4 primary. As of Aug. 15, thousands of incoming students would not yet have arrived on campus. So a Nov. 6 election date would deprive them, also, of their right to vote in Amherst on Sept. 4.
Finally, this unconstitutional deprivation of voting rights is unnecessary. Section 10-9 of the charter provides an automatic default date for the initial election: Jan. 24, 2019.
Town Meeting members, please do what our Massachusetts Constitution requires: Vote down Article 1 at the special Town Meeting on Monday. It’s simply the right thing to do.
Sarah McKee
Amherst