Marshfield Board of Registrars Sets May 22 Hearing on Recall Petition Objections

MARSHFIELD -- May 11, 2026, Marshfield Board of Registrars approved a procedural framework for a May 22 hearing on objections to a recall petition. With Chair Dave O'Reilly absent and hospitalized, Member Norris Casper invoked the rule of necessity to preserve quorum, and Member Walter Sterling was elected acting chair on a unanimous roll call vote. Town Counsel Lauren Goldberg outlined a compressed filing calendar running May 14 through May 20, requiring objectors to submit signature-line challenges by 5 p.m. May 14 and written legal arguments by noon May 19, with lead petitioners responding by noon May 20. The board agreed to follow state ballot law commission practice on two key evidentiary points: consolidating overlapping objector arguments under a single presenter, and refusing affidavits as evidence of whether someone signed a petition, requiring in-person testimony instead. The clerk's office will number-stamp all petition pages before distributing them to parties, and Sterling was authorized to sign a formal notice letter to objectors and petitioners that Goldberg said she would draft within the hour.