Nomination and election of state and federal officials, and such elective Town officials, as are provided for in this Charter, shall be conducted in the manner prescribed in the State Constitution and the General Statutes, except as provided herein. Regular town elections shall take place on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in odd-numbered years.
There shall be two voting districts in the Town. One voting district shall be called the "Windham Voting District" and shall comprise the area within the boundaries of the Town of Windham but outside the boundaries of the City of Willimantic as such boundaries were constituted on December 15, 1982, and the other shall be called the "Willimantic Voting District" and comprise the area within the boundaries of the City of Willimantic as such boundaries were constituted on December 15, 1982. In no event shall any future voting district in the Town of Windham comprise any area which is not entirely within one of the voting districts.
Electors may vote in the voting district in which they reside. Any voter, as defined in Chapter I-1 above, may vote in any voting district in which their property is located, but no one may vote more than once in any election or annual budget referendum.
Minority representation on any board, commission or similar body of the Town of Windham shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Section 9-167a of the General Statutes, as amended from time to time, and the provisions of such statute shall apply to the election of members of the Town Council in each voting district and also in the at large area, so that the maximum number of persons elected or nominated from one political party in each voting district and also in the at large area shall not exceed the maximum established by such statute. In any instance in which exactly two electors are to be elected to Town Council membership in any voting district or at large area, no more than one of those elected members may be a member of any single political party. Members of the Board of Education shall be elected as prescribed by General Statutes Section 9-204b and said Section 9-167a.
No person shall be eligible for election to any Town office who is not qualified to vote for that office at the time of such person's nomination and election. Any person ceasing to be a resident of the Town, or in the case of any Councilor other than one elected to an at large seat on the Council, of the voting District in which such Councilor resided at the time of the election, shall thereupon cease to hold elective office in the Town of Windham.
When any regular or special Town election results in a tie, and one of the tied candidates does not voluntarily retire from the contest, a special election shall be conducted to determine who shall be elected. Any special election shall be held as provided in the General Statutes.
All resignations of elected officials shall be made in writing to the Town Clerk. The Town Clerk shall notify the Mayor and chairperson of the board or commission from which the elected official has resigned. A resignation may be made by electronic communication to the Town Clerk if said Clerk reasonably confirms its authenticity.
Except as provided within this Charter any vacancy in any elective Town office shall be filled by appointment by the Town Council for the unexpired portion of the term or until the next regular election for Town officials, whichever shall be sooner. When the person vacating the office shall have been elected as a member of a political party, such vacancy shall be filled by the town committee of the same political party who may select any elector of their choice regardless of political party affiliation. The Town Clerk shall request the town committee of the party in question to submit one or more names to the Town Clerk within ninety (90) days from official notice of the vacancy. Should a political party not have a town committee, the Town Clerk shall submit said request to the Town Council. In the event that a town committee submits only one name to the Town Clerk for consideration by the Town Council, said nominee may be rejected by the Town Council upon a vote of at least three-quarters of the entire membership of the Town Council. In the event the nominee is rejected, the town committee shall be notified to submit additional names.
In the event that a party committee submits more than one name for consideration by the Town Council, the Town Council shall select among the individuals so nominated and that nominee attaining a majority vote of the Town Council shall be the confirmed nominee. In the event that a party committee submits any nominee(s) to the Town Clerk and the Town Clerk fails to transmit the nominee(s) to the Town Council for consideration, said nominee(s) shall be deemed de facto to have been submitted by the Town Clerk and the Town Council shall consider the nominee(s) submitted by the party committee as if forwarded by the Town Clerk. In the event that a party committee does not exist or shall fail to designate one or more nominees during the ninety-day period following the creation of a vacancy in an elected position, the Town Council may choose one or more individuals of the same party affiliation for their consideration and any such nominee may be confirmed by a majority vote of the Town Council.
In the event the person vacating the office had been elected as an unaffiliated voter, then the Town Council shall confirm, by a majority vote, an unaffiliated voter to the vacancy in office.
If there is a regular Town election before the expiration of the term of office under the provisions of this Section, such office shall be filled by the election of a person to fill that office for the unexpired portion of the term, such persons to take office on the second Tuesday following the election.
If the person prematurely vacating any elective office had been elected after running for the office on more than one line on the ballot, their successor shall be nominated by the party on whose ballot line the previously elected person received the most votes, or by the Town Council in any instance of default as set forth above.