§ 19

The assistant town clerk shall, in the absence of the clerk, perform his duties and have the powers and be subject to the requirements and penalties applicable to him, unless a temporary clerk is elected or appointed pursuant to section fourteen. Such duties and powers shall include acting as clerk of the board of registrars of voters, in a town where the town clerk performs this function; provided, that equal representation of the two leading political parties on said board, in accordance with section eighteen of chapter fifty-one, is not affected thereby. In towns having five thousand or more inhabitants an assistant clerk appointed under authority of this section shall not be subject to chapter thirty-one. An assistant clerk appointed under this section shall not be required to be a resident nor a registered voter of the town.