Vermont has already registered a record number of voters this election season.
As of Halloween, 461,070 Vermonters were slated to cast ballots. That’s 7,209 more voters than the previous record of 453,861 set in 2008. (The state of Vermont didn’t start tracking the total number of registrations until 2006.)
Secretary of State Jim Condos speculates that the increase will lead to an overall rise in early and absentee voter numbers this year, and a recent Vermont Public Radio story reported a similar scenario across the state.
In 2008, early voter or absentee ballots accounted for 28.9 percent of the 327,301 cast, and in 2010 they accounted for 20.7 percent of the 243,617 votes cast. This year, early voter numbers in many towns are on track to fall somewhere in between.
Data from six large municipalities show that early voter ballot requests are up from the number cast in the 2010 general election.
But they are significantly lower than the number of early ballots cast last presidential election in all towns and cities except for Burlington. And some town clerks say there will be fewer early ballots cast in their towns than in 2008.
By midday Friday:
• Burlington received 8,951 requests for early ballots, and of those 6,196 had been submitted. Those numbers compare to the 2,081 cast in 2010 and 6,161 in 2008.
• Montpelier received 1,207 early requests, and of those 976 had been submitted. Those numbers compare to the 960 cast in 2010 and 1,880 in 2008.
• The city of Rutland received 1,375 requests for early voter ballots, which compares to the 1,003 cast in 2010 and the 1,784 cast in 2008. The city hadn’t yet totaled the number cast.
• Brattleboro received 1,855 requests and 1,526 early ballots. Those numbers compare to the 1,273 cast in 2010 and 2,535 in 2008.
• The town of St. Albans received 766 requests, and of those, 642 had been submitted, compared with 620 in 2010 and 1,029 in 2008.
• Bristol received 364 requests, and of those, 303 had been submitted, which compares to 620 in 2010 and 1,029 in 2008.
“We’re seeing high numbers,” said Brattleboro Town Clerk Annette Cappy. “But I’m guessing it will still be lower than four years ago.”
When Rutland’s Assistant City Clerk Patty Carbine was asked if she thought this year’s early voter numbers would exceed those cast in 2008, she said: “My crystal ball is in the shop this week.”
The absentee ballot paper trail
In Vermont, voters can request an early ballot during a window that begins 45 days before the election and closes when the town offices do the day before Election Day.
Unlike some other states, Vermont towns and cities don’t count early votes separately.
“The ballots are counted just like anybody else’s are,” said Condos. “We don’t segregate them, they actually get comingled.”
To ensure that voter fraud doesn’t occur, Condos said, clerks keep close tabs on the ballots. When the ballots are sent out, a clerk is to record the voter’s name, and when it comes back a clerk documents its arrival. When the absentee ballot is submitted, it must have the voter’s signature on the envelope it is enclosed in.
The clerk then places the envelope in a secure place. On Election Day, officials are to open the envelopes and mix them together to ensure voter privacy. Then the ballots are fed through a machine or tallied up.
According to Condos, there has never been a case of voter fraud reported to the Vermont attorney general.
“There’s a lot that needs to be done to track that ballot as it goes out and comes back,” said Brattleboro’s Cappy. “But I think you’ll find every town clerk will say it’s a good thing. It encourages more people to vote early. They can vote at their leisure and that’s what we’re here for.”
Therese Kirby, Bristol’s longtime clerk, voiced a similar sentiment.
“I love seeing people turn out to vote and represent themselves and their community,” she said. “I speak to Cub Scouts, elementary and high school students throughout the year to discuss voting, and I always tell them it is our responsibility as good citizens.
“Early voting is more work for myself and the staff here, but I love being able to offer the ability to early vote to people.”
