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Town Clerk - Home Page Town Clerk Marion Douglas, Town Clerk Carol St Pierre, Assistant Town Clerk Departmental Hours of Operation: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Holidays Observed Description The office touches the lives of every Cohasset family taking its members from the cradle to their demise through the issuing of birth, marriage and death certificates. Our office registers the newcomers and the eighteen year olds to vote, certify signatures on petition and nomination papers, issues dog licenses to the pet lovers, business certificates to the enterprising, travel identification cards to the adventurous and assist in researching your ancestors. We also do street lists, voting lists, jury lists, file Zoning Board of Appeals decisions, issue raffle and bazaar permits, notarize signatures, issue fuel storage licenses and file forms and plans for the Planning Board. These are just a few of the important functions of the office. Answering the annual town census establishes residency. Generally, if a family member removes you from the census list or if you fail to answer the census your name will be removed. However, a letter is sent to deleted voters giving them the opportunity not to be removed from the voting list. From the census material we then generate our other lists such as the voting list, jury list, school list, street list, dog owners, etc. Cohasset has an open town meeting. Articles are presented to the town meeting in the form of a warrant prepared by the Town Manager and the Board of Selectmen. The Moderator is elected and runs the town meeting and declares the votes. The Town Clerk records the votes, takes the minutes of meeting, and sends voted general and zoning bylaws to the attorney general for approval. The date of the Annual Town Meeting is set by the Board of Selectmen before December 1st of the preceding year and shall be held in either March or April. The Annual Town Election shall take place within thirty-five days after the opening of the There is a cut off date for voter registration prior to each town meeting and election to allow the office time to prepare the voting lists, etc. The cut off is twenty (20) days before an election or town meeting and ten (10) days before a special town meeting. Voters may vote absentee at elections for the following reasons:
You must first apply for an absentee ballot. You may fill out a form available at the clerk’s office or request one in writing. Include your name as registered (your registration address), the address you wish the ballot sent, the ballot you wish in a primary and your signature. Your ballot will be mailed and can be mailed back or returned by a family member. You may also vote absentee in the town clerks office. Nomination papers for the Annual Town Election are available at the Town Clerks office where the annual election ballot is prepared. State and town elections are held at the town hall auditorium and certified results are forward to the secretary of state. Dog licenses are issued starting January 1st. Mail in registration dog forms are attached to the census forms and maybe processed thru the mail provided they are accompanied with the current original rabies certificate and appropriate fee. The first statutory requirement that a town design and adopt a town seal appeared under Chapter 389 of the Acts of 1898. The official seal was to be provided for the use of the town clerk and was to include the name of the town the date of incorporation and a general design approved by the selectmen. Generally, the raised town seal is used on papers, which need to be certified as true copies of official records. In the clerk’s office, the most common of these would be copies of birth, marriage and death records, copies of town meeting votes, copies of Zoning Board of Appeals decisions and other required documents. The town seal is not used on regular correspondence or memos. The town seal adds security and prestige to our community. Our town seal was adopted November 5, 1898. The scene with its ledges and breakers illustrates the meaning of the word Cohasset - A long rocky place. Minot Lighthouse and White Head are shown with two old fishing schooners at the entrance of the harbor. The three buildings, Town Hall, Osgood School, and First Church, symbolize the three functions of town life the municipal, the educational, and the religious.
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