The Vermont House gave preliminary approval Wednesday to give Secretary of State Jim Condos the unilateral authority to expand mail-in voting for the November general election because of the coronavirus epidemic.
The move came after Condos and Gov. Phil Scott struggled to reach agreement.
The lower chamber voted 106-31 by virtual voice vote in favor of S.348, which removes the need for the secretary of state and the governor to concur on emergency election protocol in 2020.
“We are in the middle of a public health pandemic, and we should be doing everything in our power to keep people safe and that their vote be counted,” said House Majority Leader Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington.
“It’s critical we move this bill forward again so we can ensure that we have safe and secure elections in Vermont,” Krowinski added.
“These changes are really critical to protecting every Vermonter’s access to the ballot box, and also to protect their health and safety during Covid-19,” said Rep. Sarah Copeland-Hanzas, D-Bradford, chair of the House Government Operations Committee.
Condos and Democratic leaders in the Vermont Legislature have wanted to swifty move forward with a plan to send every registered voter in the state a returnable ballot for November.
On Nov. 3, Vermonters will vote for U.S. president, as well as governor, and other state and local offices.
Under Condos’ plan, voters would not be required to vote by mail and could still vote at the polls. But all registered voters would have the option to vote by mail, and receive returnable ballots without having to request them.
The legislation is expected to be given final approval by the end of the week. It would then head to the governor’s desk.
Condos and Democratic lawmakers have said that it is necessary to move forward as quickly as possible to give the secretary of state’s office the time needed to expand the state’s vote-by-mail system.
Rep. Heidi Scheuermann, R-Stowe, who does not oppose expanding mail-in voting, said she plans to introduce an amendment before final approval to prohibit political candidates or politically active groups from transporting ballots for residents.
The crux of the debate on the virtual House floor Wednesday centered on who could return ballots to the town clerk’s offices. Republicans wanted only the voter, an “authorized” family member, or a justice of the peace to be allowed to return the ballot to the clerk’s office.
Rep. Linda Myers, R-Essex Junction, said the bill had been rushed and not enough done to protect the integrity of the vote.
“We are here today looking at a bill that has been, pardon me, thrown together, to enable Vermonters to cast ballots without fear of the pandemic we are facing and in rushing to enable this legislation we are failing to look at ballot security,” Myers said.
Rep. Anne Donahue, R-Northfield, raised a different issue.
“I have a philosophical concern,” Donahue said. “Philosophically, I like to think that people need to have some small degree of initiative in terms of their desire to vote and I think asking for a ballot matters.”
Other Republicans raised concerns of ballot harvesting and voter fraud.
The amendment failed on a roll call vote of 95-50.
Scott has said he is not concerned with voter fraud as part of expanding mail-in voting, but has been reluctant to sign off on Condos’ plan because he would prefer to hold “normal” elections.
The governor has wanted an independent committee to decide after the August primary whether the universal vote by mail expansion.
Early last week, the Senate voted 21-7 in favor of removing Scott from the emergency elections equation. Senate Republicans expressed concerns that voter checklists could be outdated, inaccurate, or contain voters who have died or moved.
