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A new directive from the Secretary of State’s Office will allow Vermont towns to conduct upcoming local elections as they see fit, provided those elections remain socially-distanced.
On Monday, Secretary of State Jim Condos announced the directive, saying many municipalities are under “tremendous pressure” to adopt budgets, or hold other important elections during the pandmeic, and wanted to offer those towns as many resources as possible to conduct those elections safely.
The options for towns conducting elections include proactively mailing ballots to every registered voter, implementing a drive-up voting procedure, holding a polling location outside, adjusting the deadline for nominating paperwork for candidates, and forgoing the review of write-in votes in some cases.
He said he expects many towns to mix and match the available options as they see fit.
“The nature and character of these local elections varies greatly, which is why it was important to provide options to the municipalities and not be overly prescriptive about how those options are implemented,” Condos wrote in an email to VTDigger.
The Secretary of State’s Office doesn’t track local elections, Condos said, so he doesn’t know exactly how many local elections are scheduled in the near future. However, he said at least nine school budgets were rejected in March that must be revoted, and another “handful” of towns with April or May town meetings that need to be rescheduled.
The elections division has been advising municipalities across the state for the past month, and has spoken with “most, if not all of them” about upcoming plans.
Act 92, passed last month by the Vermont Legislature, gave the secretary of state discretion to administer the state’s elections during the pandemic, provided the governor is in agreement.
Condos said that allows him the flexibility to make decisions based on health and safety considerations, especially if the Legislature happens to be out of session. The authorization is only in place for this election cycle.
The state’s August primary and November general elections this year will likely have high turnouts, Condos said. Other states like Vermont that have full vote-by-mail systems have been shown to have “generally higher” voter participation.
Condos said no final decisions have been made about the primary and general elections.
“Our focus remains on preserving every Vermont voter’s right to vote, and ensuring that they’re able to vote in an accessible way that does not put their health, the health of election workers, and public health at risk,” he said. “We expect to be making a decision shortly.”
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