WARREN — A Planning Board member who was elected to the Charter Review Commission promptly resigned yesterday after learning that his election violated the very document he was charged to examine.

Further complicating matters, only seven candidates ran for the nine-member board, and yesterday’s resignation has town officials going through 200 write-in nominations – which include Mickey Mouse and Bill Clinton – to appoint three more members.

In a letter André Asselin sent yesterday to the Warren Town Council, the Board of Canvassers and the state Board of Elections, the planning official said he was never informed that his new seat violated the Town Charter, which states that a Planning Board member cannot be an elected official or an employee of the Town of Warren.

“That is unfortunate since so much effort that has been expended by innocent people could have been avoided,” said Asselin in the letter.

Asselin, who has served on the Planning Board for more than 11 years, filed his candidacy for the commission with the state and local election officials and had his signatures verified by the local Board of Canvassers after deciding to run in June.

Commission members, who are appointed by the Town Council every six years, are charged to review the Town Charter and recommend any amendments or revisions that would then be presented to voters in a local referendum. Asselin said he ran for the commission to be involved in the review process, but was unaware of the Planning Board provision when he was contacted yesterday.

“Why didn’t anybody tell us that?” he said.

Other town officials were similarly perplexed.

“I don’t know why nobody caught it before,” said Town Manager Michael Abbruzzi.

Asselin was elected along with Brian Remy, Judith Fardig, Robert Bento, John Costa Jr., Carolyn O’Brien and Brian Richard Mellor for the nonpartisan board, and Deputy Town Clerk Sandrea Speroni said the Board of Canvassers received around 200 write-in candidates for the remaining positions.

Thanks to the write-ins, possible commission members include Bill Clinton, Governor Carcieri, Mickey Mouse, Charlie Brown, Town Council candidate William Ryan, Conservation Commission corresponding secretary Jane Harrison, and Blount Boats executive Julie Blount, among many, many others.

Speroni said she was advised by Town Solicitor Fausto Anguilla to tally the top four or five vote getters, but several “candidates” have the same number of votes. Provisional and mail-in ballots, which the state will tally next week, may add more commission nominees.

“A lot of questions on this one,” she said.

Robert Kando, executive director of the Board of Elections, said it’s unusual to have fewer candidates than positions, but that this seems to be a local issue.

“In all likelihood, they’d have to go to their charter,” he said.

Anguilla said there’s no help there.

“There’s nothing in the charter that I know of that specifically addresses this situation,” he said.

Presumably, the town would have to contact the residents who received the most nominations and ask them if they’re willing to serve, Anguilla said.

“If they’re not, then we’ll work our way down the list,” he said.