Board of Registrars

Every city and town must have a board of registrars or election commission whose responsibilities, historically, have included registering voters, making local listings of residents, certifying nomination papers and petitions, processing absentee voter applications, and administering election recounts.   Certain functions are performed by the Town Clerk, a member of the board.

Registrars assist the Hamilton Town Clerk’s office by certifying signatures on nomination papers and petitions and signing the papers, investigating challenges to local nomination papers, conducting recounts, reviewing and processing census forms for the preparation of the annual street list and checking in voters at Town Meetings.  Registrars may also assist the Town Clerk’s office in promoting voter registration, maintaining voter registration, and certifying absentee voter applications.

The board is comprised of four members:  three members appointed by the select board, and the town clerk.  The board must always contain, as nearly as possible, representatives of the two leading political parties and can contain no more than two members of each of those parties.