Gov. Peter Shumlin, a Democrat, won the election in November by 2,434 votes, but he won’t know whether he can continue to hold office until Thursday when lawmakers will decide the fate of the governor’s race.
“I’m not taking the vote for granted,” Shumlin said in a press conference on Monday. “Having said that, I feel strongly that it does not enhance our democracy or good governance by having a system where the person who gets the most votes doesn’t win.”
Shumlin received 46.4 percent of the ballots cast, while his Republican opponent, Scott Milne got 45.1 percent of the vote. But Milne did not concede the race, and he has maintained that he won more legislative districts than Shumlin did and therefore should be declared the winner by the General Assembly in a special vote on the floor 10 a.m. Jan. 8.
Under the Vermont Constitution when no candidate wins a majority of the votes (that’s 50 percent plus one) in a statewide contest, the General Assembly must determine the winner. Neither Shumlin nor Milne reached the 50 percent threshold. Vermont is the only state besides Mississippi in which the Legislature decides the outcome of a close governor’s race.
Last week Milne’s supporters began actively campaigning for his election in the Legislature with TV ads and an email and phone campaign aimed at lawmakers. Lawmakers interviewed for this story say they have received dozens of calls supporting his legislative gubernatorial campaign.
The governor says he has respect for the legislators’ judgment and has not lobbied lawmakers individually.
He told reporters that he supports Sen. Bill Doyle’s proposal to amend the constitution in order to lower the threshold for legislative elections for governor to 40 percent.
“If we enter an atmosphere in Vermont democracy where you have to run two campaigns, the first to get 50 percent and the second to try and convince folks that the person who got the most votes shouldn’t win, I think that’s really dangerous precedent,” Shumlin said.
Past major party candidates that did not win the popular vote have conceded, and the majority of lawmakers have supported the top vote-getter. Doug Racine, a Democrat who lost to Jim Douglas, and Brian Dubie, a Republican who lost to Shumlin and others have conceded races to the top vote-getter.
Not doing so this time, Shumlin says, sets a dangerous precedent for Vermont democracy.
John Bloomer, the Secretary of the Senate, says that the vote is by ballot, as required by the Vermont Constitution. While votes in the Legislature can be by roll call, he says written ballots are private and do not have to be disclosed in his opinion.
Outgoing state Sen. Peter Galbraith says any legislator on the first day of the session could propose that the House and Senate adopt a rule requiring that the vote for governor be by open ballot. This would allow lawmakers to call for a roll call on Thursday and require every member of the body to declare their support for one candidate or another.
Republican Scott Milne’s bid to win the 2014 gubernatorial election in the Vermont Legislature could have an impact on future elections, political scientists and historians say.
If elected by the Legislature, Milne will overturn the popular vote. He says his decision to wage a legislative campaign will not lead to the future disenfranchisement of voters, in fact he believes more Vermonters would be inclined to vote to make sure someone gets 50 percent.
Historians say lawmakers should consider amending the Vermont Constitution, experts say, to prevent future candidates from following Milne’s precedent-setting refusal to concede and subsequent pursuit of a legislative candidacy.
UPDATE: This story was updated to include John Bloomer’s opinion on the question of the open ballot.
