By-Laws – New Canaan Republican Town Committee

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Primary and Committee Rules

Republican Electors of the

Town of New Canaan

As Adopted January 14, 2008

Amended January 13, 2014

Amended March 20, 2020

Amended, April 13, 2020

ARTICLE I

Definitions

As hereinafter used, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

Section 1. “Town Committee” means the Republican Town Committee of the Town of New Canaan, Connecticut. The official name is New Canaan Republican Town Committee.

Section 2. “Caucus” means a meeting. at a designated hour and place, of the enrolled members of the Republican Party within the Town of New Canaan for the purpose of selecting candidates, who shall then be Party-endorsed candidates in case of a primary to be held by the Party, or for the purpose of transacting other business of the Party.

Section 3. “Primary” means a meeting of the enrolled members of the Republican Party held during consecutive hours at which such members may, without assembling at the same hour, vote by secret ballot for candidates for nomination to public office or for town Committee members or delegates to conventions.

Section 4. “Municipal office” means any office for which only the electors of the Town of New Canaan may vote and includes the office of each elective official of the Town, justice of the peace, and judge of probate in the probate district composed of the town.

Section 5. “State office” means any office for which all the electors of the State may vote and includes the office of governor, lieutenant governor, secretary, treasurer, comptroller, attorney general and senator in congress, but does not include the office of elector of president and vice president of the United States.

Section 6. “District office” means any office for which the electors of two or more towns, but not all the electors of the state, may vote and includes the office of representative in congress in any of the congressional districts of the state, sheriff, state senator and state representative in any district composed of the Town and one or more other towns.

Section 7. “Registrar” means the Republican Registrar of voters and refers to such Registrar in the Town of New Canaan unless the context indicates otherwise.

Section 8. “Statutes” means the General Statutes of State of Connecticut as amended from time to time by the State Legislature.

ARTICLE II

The Republican Town Committee

Section 1. The Town Committee shall be elected at such times as required by the Statutes, and the Convention and Committee rules of the Republican Party of the State of Connecticut not inconsistent therewith and shall consist of a minimum of fifteen (15) members and a maximum of twenty (20) members as said Town Committee shall determine from time to time.

Section 2. The terms of Town Committee members shall start on the first Monday following the date of the primary set in connection with their election and they shall serve for two (2) years or until their successors shall have been chosen, but not more than twenty-six months. The terms of all members shall end on the same day.

Section 3. Vacancies in said Town Committee occurring in the interim between elections may be filled by majority vote of the members of the Town Committee then in office. In the event of a tie vote of the Town Committee, the Chairman shall cast the deciding vote.

Section 4. No person shall be a member or officer of any Town Committee unless he be an enrolled Republican elector of the Town of New Canaan at the time of his election and during the term of his office.

Section 5. Members of the Town Committee shall be chosen as hereinafter provided and as provided under the provisions of the Statutes, except as to interim members as referred to in foregoing Section 3.

Section 6. Members of the Town Committee shall meet within two (2) weeks after the beginning of their term as hereinbefore specified, at the call of the previous Committee Chairman or, in the event of his failure to act, at the call of a member of the State Central Committee from the district in which said Chairman resides, and name a chairman, vice chairman, a secretary, a treasurer and such other officers as the Committee may by its rules provide for. The terms of all officers shall be for two years or until their successors have been duly elected and qualified, but not more than twenty-six (26) months.

Section 7. Within one (1) week after the organization of the Town Committee, the Secretary shall file with the Secretary of the State Central Committee the names and addresses of the officers and members of the Town Committee and the name and address of the Republican Registrar of Voters.

Section 8. No member of the Town Committee or officer thereof shall expend any party funds on behalf of any candidate in a pre-endorsement contest or in a primary.

Section 9. (a) The Town Chairman, vice Chairman or other elected officer of the Town

Committee may be removed by any affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3rds) of the entire authorized membership of the Town Committee at a duly warned meeting called for that purpose by one-third (1/3rd) of the members of the Town Committee.

(b.) Not less than five (5) days written notice shall be given of any meeting under subsection (a) of this section.

ARTICLE III

Election of Members of the Town Committee

Delegates to Party Conventions

And

Nominations of Candidates for Elective Office

Section 1. Insofar as a caucus shall have jurisdiction and except as hereinafter provided, all members of the Town Committee and all delegates to Party Conventions shall be elected and all candidates for elective municipal office shall be nominated by a plurality vote of the caucus for the purpose of endorsing candidates for such positions. Such caucuses shall be held with in the period established by law and as communicated from time to time by the Republican State Central Committee. Such endorsements shall be certified to the Town Clerk within the period established by law. Each candidate, other than a candidate who has received Party endorsement by vote of a caucus, must file with the Registrar a petition conforming to the provisions of the Statutes.

Section 2. The Town Committee shall cause a notice to be published in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in the Town of New Canaan, such notice to set forth the following: (a) the date and approximate date of the caucus; (b) a list of the offices and positions to be voted on at such caucus; (c) the Rules relevant to nominations for Party endorsement by the caucus of candidates nomination for such offices and positions; (d) a statement that any person who seeks Party endorsement by the caucus as a candidate for any office or position in said list, except candidates for justices of the peace or constable, shall file with the Chairman or Secretary of the Town Committee a petition of candidacy signed by at least twenty-five (25) duly enrolled Republican electors oof the Town of New Canaan; and (e) a statement that all such petitions shall be so filed before a stated date, which date shall be at least (10) days prior to the date of the caucus.

Section 3. At least ten (10) days prior to the date of each caucus, the Town Committee shall cause a notice to be published in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in the Town of New Canaan, said notice to set forth the following: (a) the date, time and place of the caucus; (b) a list of the offices and positions to voted on at such caucus; (c) the Rules relevant to nominations for such offices and positions; and (d) the names of all persons who shall have filed petition for party endorsement for nomination to such candidacy, as provided in Section 2 of this Article III, together with a designation of the respective offices and positions for which such persons seek Party endorsement for nomination as candidates.

Section 4. At least one (1) week prior to the date of each caucus, the Town Committee shall cause to be published in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in the Town of New Canaan, the names of any candidates it proposes to recommend to the caucus.

Section 5. In the event that any vacancy in the list of candidates endorsed by the caucus occurs subsequent to the action of the caucus, the Town Committee shall have power to fill such vacancy by majority vote. In case of a tie vote of the Town Committee, the Chairman is empowered to dissolve such tie.

Section 6. In the event that any vacancy in the list of candidates chosen by a primary occur prior to twenty-four (24) hours before the opening of the polls on the day of the election for which such nomination has been made, the Town Committee shall, subject to the rules of the State Central and District Committee of the Party, have power to fill such vacancy as provided under the provisions of the Statutes.

Section 7. Each delegate, after being lawfully chosen or elected, shall immediately designate in writing an alternate delegate to act for him in his absence. In the event of the inability of any delegate of his alternate to attend a convention, the elected delegate may designate in writing a substitute delegate. In the event of the inability of an elected delegate to act for any reason, his designated alternate shall have all his powers and duties. Town delegates shall immediately certify their alternates to the Town Committee.

ARTICLE IV

Caucus Rules

Section 1. The Chairman, after consultation with the Town Committee, will appoint a moderator of the caucus and determine the format of the caucus including, but not limited to, the method of determining the order in which the time allowed for each candidate to speak. The Chairman shall also appoint a sufficient number of tellers to observe the ballot boxes and to count the votes.

Section 2. In the case where there are five (5) or fewer votes between a winning candidate and any losing candidates, the votes of the affected candidates will be recounted until two (2) consecutive counts are identical. If a tie vote is unchanged after two (2) consecutive, identical counts, the moderator must cast the deciding vote.

ARTICLE V

Amendments

Section 1. These rules may be amended or repealed at any regularly constituted caucus by a majority vote of those present and entitled to vote, provided notice of the intent to amend or repeal has been given as hereinafter provided.

Section 2. Proposals for the amendment or repeal of these Rules may be made by the Town Committee or by written petition signed by at least twenty-five (25) duly enrolled Republican electors of the Town Committee at least three (3) weeks prior to the date of the caucus at which the proposal is to be moved. Upon receipt of any such petition, it shall be the duty of the Town Committee to notice the matter for the next regularly constituted caucus.

Section 3. Whenever an amendment or repeal is proposed, as hereinabove provided, the Town Committee shall cause notice of the intent to amend or repeal to be published in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in the Town of New Canaan at least ten (10) days prior to the date of the next regularly constituted caucus. Such notice shall state that copies of the proposed amendment or repeal of these Rules may be obtained from the Secretary of the Town Committee or from the Town Clerk of the Town of New Canaan during the ten (10) days prior to the date of the next regularly constituted caucus.

Section 4. Party rules shall not be effective until sixty (60) days after the filing of same with the Secretary of the State.

REPUBLICAN TOWN COMMITTEE

New Canaan, Connecticut

______________________

John Ponterotto, Chairman

E. Irene Barrack, Secretary

Amendment

January 14, 2014

ARTICLE II

The Republican Town Committee

Section 1. The Town Committee shall be elected at such times as required by the Statutes, and the Convention and Committee rules of the Republican Party of the State of Connecticut not inconsistent therewith and shall consist of twenty (20) members. (original of January 14, 2008)

Amended to read

ARTICLE II

The Republican Town Committee

REPUBLICAN TOWN COMMITTEE

New Canaan, Connecticut

____________________

James T. O’Hora, Chairman

E. Irene Barrack, Secretary

Amendment

March 20, 2020

ARTICLE III

Election of Members of the Town Committee

Delegates to Party Conventions

And

Nominations of Candidates for Elective Office

In the unprecedented time of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the prohibition of large gatherings, delegate selection for the 2020 Congressional, multi-town state senate, and multi-town state house districts will be by a majority vote of the New Canaan Republican Town Committee.

REPUBLICAN TOWN COMMITTEE

New Canaan, Connecticut

Patrick F. Donovan, Chairman

Mary Anne Mercogliano, Secretary

Amendment

April 13, 2020

ARTICLE III

Nominations of Candidates for Municipal Elective Office

In the unprecedented time of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the prohibition of large gatherings, the 2020 endorsement of Registrar of Voters and Justices of the Peace will be by a majority vote of the New Canaan Republican Town Committee.

Patrick F. Donovan, Chairman

Mary Anne Mercogliano, Secretary