Fire District Elections (Including Absentee Ballots)

• Pages: 161-196
• Author: Raymond S. Diraddo

FIRE DISTRICT

ELECTIONS

CHAPTER 3

FIRE DISTRICT

ELECTIONS (INCLUDING

ABSENTEE BALLOTS)

FIRE DISTRICT

ELECTIONS

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FIRE DISTRICT

ELECTIONS

3-3 Fire District Elections (Including Absentee Ballots) §3:10

§3:10 ANNUAL FIRE DISTRICT

ELECTIONS FOR COMMISSIONER

Two of the primary responsibilities of a board of

re commissioners are, rst, to be sure that a proper

and legal election for re commissioners is held each

year and, second, to ensure that when an action of the

board of re commissioners requires a special election,

a special election is done in a proper and legal manner.

§3:10.1 Date of Annual Election

The annual re district election must be held on the

second Tuesday in December. Unless there is special

legislation pertaining to your district, the annual election

can never be held on any other date. Town Law §175 (1).

§3:10.2 Legal Notice of Annual Election

The qualied electors in the re district must be

notied of the date of the annual election by an appro-

priate legal notice. Town Law §175 (1). This notice

must clearly state the date of the election and the place

where the election will be held. It must also specify

the oces to be lled, the term of such oces and the

hours during which the polls will be open. In addition,

if the board of re commissioners requires a petition to

be led to have a name placed on the ballot, the legal

notice must so state (See Form 3-1).

§3:10.3 Dates For Publication of the

Notice of Elections

The legal notice must be published once in the o-

cial newspaper of the Fire District not less than 27 days

and not more than 34 days before the second Tuesday in

December. To determine the correct dates for this publi-

cation, you must rst determine the Election Day, which

occurs annually on the second Tuesday in December. For

example, in 2011, the second Tuesday is December 13th.

Then begin counting back 27 days starting with Decem-

ber 12th. Twenty-seven days before December 13th is

November 16th and 34 days before December 13th is

November 9th. The legal notice for the 2011 annual

re district election must be published no earlier than

November 9th and no later than November 16th. Only one

publication is required. There are now requirements that

the legal notice must also be posted. Town Law §175 (1).

§3:10.4 Posting of the Notice of Election

§3:10.4.1 Website Posting

In addition to the publication requirement, the Fire

District Secretary must post the notice of any upcoming

general or special election on the re district website,

if one exists. This notice of election must be posted on

the website for at least 15 days prior to, and no sooner

than 20 days before, such election.

§3:10.4.2 Signboard Posting

A further posting requirement exists if the re dis-

trict maintains a signboard. If one is maintained, a copy

of the notice of election must also be posted on the

signboard. Town Law §175-c (1).

§3:10.4.3 Posting On the Town or

Village Website

The Fire District Secretary is also required to send

the notice of election to the Town or Village Clerk for

posting on the website of any town or village located

within the geographic boundaries of the district, or any

town or re district with which the district contracts.

This website posting is only required if such a website

exists. This posting must occur at least 15 days prior to,

but no sooner than 20 days before, the election.

§3:10.4.4 Posting On the Town Clerk’s

Signboard—Town Law §30(6)

The Town Clerk is now required to post a copy

of the notice of election on the Town Clerk’s bulletin

board in his or her oce, and on the Town signboard

maintained according to Town Law §30 (6). The Town

Clerk shall cooperate with the re district to ensure the

timely notication of the upcoming hearing or election.

§3:10.5 Place of Election

The polling place must be located within the re

district. If the number of registered voters in a re dis-

trict exceeds 600 and it has become very dicult to

conduct the election at one polling place, the board

of re commissioners may divide the re district into

election districts and provide a polling place for each

election district. The number of election districts cannot

exceed one for each 600 qualied registered voters, plus

one for a remaining fraction of 600. If it is determined

that there will be more than one election district, the

legal notice must clearly specify the various election

districts and where the polling places will be located.

Town Law §175 (5).

§3:10.6 Polling Hours

The polling place or places must be open between

the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. on the evening

of the second Tuesday in December. The board of re

commissioners may specify additional hours prior to

6:00 p.m. if it is felt that more than three hours are