BROWNFIELD – Elections are normally held to put people in public office. But on Tuesday, the voting ended with three selectmen in this western Maine town booted out of their jobs.

On a day when turnout throughout most of Maine was light, Brownfield residents flocked to the polls and gave their approval to petitions to recall Vincent Pestilli, Irving Potter Jr. and C. David Thompson.

The Oxford County town of about 1,200 was left in the unusual if not unprecedented position of having no elected leaders. Michael Starn of the Maine Municipal Association said he hasn’t seen a parallel situation in decades, although he’s seen two selectmen recalled at the same time.

“I’ve been here 30 years, and I have never known it to happen,” Starn said.

The petitions were prompted by the selectmen’s alleged harassment of Wanda Bartlett, town clerk and tax collector, as well as last year’s failed attempt to enact a land-use ordinance in town. In her race, Bartlett won re-election.

Town Administrator Julie Watkins said a long series of events led up to Tuesday’s voting.

At the June 2005 town meeting, voters considered adopting a new zoning ordinance. Supported by selectmen, the proposal would have replaced the town’s weaker land use laws with traditional zoning. The zoning plan was rejected by four votes.

The Board of Selectmen later received a complaint that Bartlett tried to influence an elderly voter to oppose the proposed ordinance. The Maine Attorney General’s Office looked into the matter and first concluded that Bartlett did nothing illegal.

Brownfield residents soon began circulating petitions to recall all three selectmen, accusing them of harassing the clerk.

In May, the Attorney General’s Office reversed course and charged Bartlett with a misdemeanor. She has pleaded innocent and asked for a trial.

Bitterness stemming from the charges against Bartlett and her removal lasted into Election Day. But in the race for town clerk, Bartlett defeated her challenger by an almost 3-1 margin.