House Speaker Shap Smith has blocked a proposal to move up the primary election deadline.
Smith says moving up the primary will have a cascading effect and lead to an earlier deadline for candidates who must file signature petitions before May 22. Smith and House members say the change wouldn’t give candidates enough time to file the forms after the legislative session ends the first week of May. It’s too late in the game, to change the deadlines now, he said.
“I’m worried about candidates’ ability to have some certainty in the electoral process when it’s already started in April,” Smith said.
The primary date will remain the fourth Tuesday in August. This year the date is Aug. 26.
It’s the second time lawmakers have put the kibosh on an earlier primary date. Last year, the Senate voted down a push to move the primary to the first week of August.
Part of the problem politically is that the primary election date, which for many years was held in mid-September, was changed in 2010, and lawmakers are loath to move it again.
But Secretary of State Jim Condos says if lawmakers don’t change the date, the Department of Justice will do it for them.
Condos has insisted that the change was necessary in order to ensure the state’s compliance with federal law. Condos has argued that his office needs more time between the primary and the General Election in the event there is a recount. The secretary’s office missed overseas ballot deadlines as the result of a Progressive Party primary recount in 2012. As a result, the Department of Justice has threatened to assign the state a much earlier deadline (New York, which had similar trouble, now has a June primary).
Smith says he has “complete confidence” in the Secretary of State’s ability to meet the expectations of the Department of Justice.
“I don’t like the idea of changing the primary date at all, but it is potentially worthy of consideration from a cautionary standpoint (in future years),” Smith said.
Rep. Donna Sweaney, chair of the House Government Operations Committee, says the new deadline for petitions does not give representatives and senators enough time.
Sweaney said the bill satisfies Department of Justice concerns because it compresses the time in which candidates can request a recount (from 10 days to seven). Under the proposal, the Superior Court must schedule a recount within five business days of a candidate’s request. Currently there is no hard and fast rule for recount dates, according to Will Senning, elections director.
“I think it’s a good compromise,” Sweaney said.
Condos says the new deadlines could help, but it’s no guarantee his office will be able to meet the General Election deadlines if there is a statewide recount again. The state has held recounts in the last two election cycles.
“While this will hopefully speed up the process in the case of a statewide recount this is not a guarantee and it certainly does not replace moving the primary,” Condos said.
The Secretary of State remains concerned that the changes will not satisfy the Department of Justice.
“DoJ has been clear in their message: Vermont needs to send ballots to all military and overseas voters who request prior to the 45 days before the election,” Condos said. “The DoJ takes this issue very seriously – as do I.
“I think it is important not to lose sight of the heart of the issue, which is providing an opportunity to all eligible voters to exercise their constitutionally protected right to vote,” Condos said.
S.86 will be taken up by the House of Representatives on Thursday. House Government Operations passed the bill 11-0.