40A:14-71. a. For an election held at a time other than at the time of the general election, candidates for membership on the board shall be nominated by verified petitions and the procedures set forth in this subsection shall apply. Any such petition shall be in writing, addressed to the municipal clerk or the clerk of the board, as the case may be, stating that the signers thereof are qualified voters and residents in the district and requesting that the name of the candidate be placed on the official ballot. The petition shall state the residence of the candidate and certify his qualification for membership. The candidate’s consent to his nomination shall be annexed to the petition and shall constitute his agreement to serve in the event of his election. The petition shall contain the name of only one candidate, but several petitions may nominate the same person. Each petition shall be signed by not less than 10 qualified voters and shall be filed at least 29 days before the date of the election.

Any form of a petition of nomination which is provided to candidates by the Secretary of State, the county clerk, or the municipal clerk shall contain the following notice: “Notice: All candidates are required by law to comply with the provisions of ‘The New Jersey Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Reporting Act,’ P.L.1973, c.83 (C. 19:44A-1 et seq.). For further information please call (insert telephone number of the Election Law Enforcement Commission).”

If a petition is found to be defective, either in form or substance, the municipal clerk or the clerk of the board, as the case may be, shall forthwith notify the candidate to cause it to be corrected before the petition is given consideration.

A candidate shall be permitted to sign or circulate, or both sign and circulate, the petition required to nominate that candidate for membership on the board.

b. For an election held at the time of the general election, each candidate for membership on the board of fire commissioners shall be nominated by petition for direct nomination pursuant to the procedures set forth in R.S.19:13-1 et seq. Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S.19:13-5, however, a petition of nomination for such office shall be signed by at least 10 persons, one of whom may be the candidate, or two percent of the number of qualified voters who voted in the fire district at the next preceding annual election for members of the board of fire commissioners, whichever is less, and filed with the county clerk on or before 4:00 p.m. of the last Monday in July preceding the general election. The signatures need not all appear upon a single petition and any number of petitions may be filed on behalf of any candidate, but no petition shall contain the endorsement of more than one candidate.

Any candidate may withdraw as a candidate by filing a notice in writing, signed by the candidate, of such withdrawal with the county clerk on or before the 70th day before the date of the November election, as applicable, and thereupon the name of that candidate shall be withdrawn by the county clerk and shall not be printed on the ballot.

A vacancy created by any reason set forth in R.S.19:13-18, or in any other manner, shall be filled under the provisions of R.S.19:13-19. In each fire district in which candidates for the office of member of a board of fire commissioners will seek election at the general election, the board of fire commissioners thereof shall certify to the county clerk no later than the day of the holding of the primary election for the general election next occurring a statement designating the public offices to be filled at such election, and the number of such offices to be filled.

amended 1973, c.235, s.1; 1985, c.288, s.2; 2009, c.286; 2010, c.68, s.7; 2017, c.206, s.10.