Town of Dunstable, MA

The Town Clerk is the Election Official responsible for the administration of all elections. At the start of the process, the Town Clerk certifies the offices that are open and posts the election calendar.

If you want to run for town office, there are two ways to be nominated for the annual town election:

• Town Caucus — Dunstable has traditionally used a Town Caucus to nominate candidates for the town election. Candidates who wish to have their name on the caucus ballot submit a signed, dated letter of intent to any member of the Caucus Committee by a given deadline, usually in March. (Look for a bulletin with election calendar for the exact dates for each election.) The letter must indicate which office the candidate is running for. The Caucus Committee then gathers the letters and files a report to the Town Clerk.  The Town Caucus is like a primary election; it's purpose is to select the candidates that the voters at the caucus would like to have on the ballot for the annual town election. Voters may also write in names of other candidates on the caucus ballot.
  
  The Town Caucus requires a minimum of 25 registered voters before the meeting can begin, at which time it is called to order by the Town Clerk.  The first order of business is to elect a chairman and a secretary for the caucus. Then, next year's Caucus Committee members are elected. Then, the members of the caucus vote on how long the polls will be open for the caucus (usually, an hour). Once that business is done, the polls are declared open. Any registered voter may check in, cast a ballot at any time during the polling period. At the designated time, the polls close and the ballots are counted.
  
  The number of candidates that can be nominated by the caucus depends on how many seats are open for each office. The caucus may nominate up to two candidates for each open seat. For example, if an office has one seat open, then the top two candidates may be nominated, if the office has two seats open, then the top four candidates will be nominated. In any case, a candidate must receive at least 8% of the total votes cast at the caucus to be nominated. All eligible candidates who are nominated by the caucus have the right to have their names placed on the Town Election ballot and must accept their nomination in writing to the Town Clerk within a designated period to be eligible for the town ballot.
  
  

• Paper Nomination — A candidate also has the option to file nomination papers within the timeframe determined by state law to have their name placed on the town election ballot. To begin the process, the candidate must appear at the Town Clerk's office and request a set of nomination papers.    To file the papers, the candidate must get at least 20 signatures from voters who are registered in Dunstable. (The Town Clerk will advise the candidate as to the exact number when nomination papers are drawn.) The candidate's signature does not count. The candidate must submit their nomination papers to the Town Clerk by the given deadline (date and time), which is governed under state election law. (Refer to the election calendar for the exact deadline for filing nomination papers.) The Town Clerk then certifies the signatures to determine whether the candidate has been duly nominated.

If a candidate files nomination papers and is also written in and wins the nomination of the caucus, the candidate must choose the method by which they are nominated. If such a candidate chooses to accept the caucus nomination, then the candidate must submit a notarized letter to the Town Clerk withdraw his or her nomination papers.

All candidates for election are required to file pre-election and post-election campaign finance forms, regardless of whether they spend money. The Town Clerk will provide all candidates with the necessary campaign finance forms and information regarding all election-related deadlines.

The Town Election is typically held on the third Monday in May. All dates for election deadlines and events are usually posted on this website and published in Neighbor-to-Neighbor.

For more information on the election process, contact the Town Clerk.