Ninety-two elected members were absent from the first night of Swampscott’s Town Meeting at the high school, though Town Moderator Michael McClung said the number wasn’t unusual.

Swampscott elects 18 Town Meeting members from each of the six precincts each year. Members serve three-year terms, making for a total of 324 representatives overall. 

A vote on the town budget required a standing vote, where members stand to indicate their preference in the election. The amended budget did pass, in a 134 to 98 vote, but that means almost 30% of the elected members were not present on night one.

“I have a running document with a number of calls: ‘I got called away,’ ‘I had work scheduled,’” McClung said. “I hear from a fair amount of people that they know they can’t make it, and I let the clerk know so we plan on having some number of reduction.”

In addition to those with a conflict, McClung said there’s a few that have an actual last minute emergency. 

“And then there’s the unknown,” McClung said, noting that an article later on the Town Meeting agenda may help resolve that issue.

Article No. 22, proposed by the town clerk with input from McClung, would require write-in candidates to receive at least five votes to be elected to Town Meeting.

“We do have some people who were written in this year or the years before, and they may not even know,” McClung said. 

McClung mentioned a town member in Precinct 1, which he described as “often underrepresented.” The member would write-in all of her neighbors. They would get elected but wouldn’t know. 

“If the town clerk or I don’t have a phone number or an email address, they’ll be sent a warrant to where they live,” McClung said. 

In April’s election, Precinct 5 saw only 15 candidates for the 18 Town Meeting member spots. Kristin Doerrer received 16 write-in votes. Irma Zarinsky earned five, and Paula Pearce received four. Joseph Ippolito Jr. also received three votes to serve until 2027.

Even still, without 92 elected officials, there is still a quorum, and the Town Meeting is able to run as usual.

“We assume some people are not going to be able to make it,” McClung said. “That’s why we have so many members.”