§ 2358 — Examining petitions; supplementary petitions

(a) The officer with whom primary petitions are filed shall examine them and ascertain whether they contain a sufficient number of legible signatures. The officer shall not attempt to ascertain whether there are a sufficient number of signatures of actual voters, however, unless the officer has reason to believe that the petitions are defective in this respect.
(b) If found not to conform, the officer shall state in writing on a particular petition why it cannot be accepted, and within two business days from receipt, the officer shall return it to the candidate in whose behalf it was filed. In such case, supplementary petitions may be filed not later than 10 days after the date for filing petitions. However, supplementary petitions shall not be accepted if petitions with signatures of different persons totaling at least the required number were not received by the filing deadline.
(c) A signature shall not count for the purpose of meeting the requirements of section 2355 of this title if the officer with whom primary petitions are filed:
(1) cannot identify the name of the person who signed; or
(2) if necessary, determines that the person is not on the checklist of the town that the person indicates as his or her town of residence.
(d) An officer with whom primary petitions may be filed may obtain from the appropriate town clerks certified copies of current checklists as needed to verify the adequacy of primary petitions; town clerks who are asked by a filing officer to furnish certified copies of checklists for this purpose shall furnish the copies promptly and without charge. (Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1979, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 20; 1985, No. 197 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 2025, No. 70, § 23, eff. June 25, 2025.)