A push to make universal mail-in voting a fixture of Vermont’s general elections is gaining momentum in the Statehouse.
Lawmakers began mulling permanent expansion of vote-by-mail after election officials mailed a ballot to every registered voter in the state this fall, a step taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19 at normally crowded polling places. The move helped to drive record turnout in the Nov. 3 election.
Last week, the Senate Comittee on Government Operations voted 4-1 to back legislation requiring local officers to mail ballots to all registered voters in the weeks leading up to future November elections.
Mail-in voting worked well in November, and should be made permanent for general elections, said Sen. Jeanette White, D-Windham, chair of the government operations committee.
“There was no fraud, there were no huge issues, and it increased voter participation — people who had never voted before, voted,” White said.
White said she believes vote-by-mail allows people to cast ballots “more intelligently.” She said the system gives voters the opportunity to conduct research in advance and reach out to political candidates without leaving their homes.
Expanding vote-by-mail is also a priority for House members this year, said Rep. Sarah Copeland Hanzas, D-Bradford, chair of the House Committee on Government Operations.
“The reports that we heard from folks around Vermont were pretty positive about the way the November election worked,” Copeland Hanzas said. “And certainly, given the experience of much higher voter turnout, probably because of the convenience of being able to vote from your kitchen table, I think it’s a great idea, good for democracy.”
The Senate bill would also give voters an opportunity to fix their ballots if they’re “defective,” meaning they can’t be counted because they were filled out or mailed back incorrectly.
Under the proposal, local officials would need to contact voters if their ballots were faulty and give them the chance to fix the mistake. During the primary election last August, roughly 6,000 ballots, 5% of all votes cast, came back defective. In the general election, the number dropped to 1,500, or fewer than 0.5% of all ballots cast.
Senate committee member Brian Collamore, R-Rutland, voted against the bill. He said the Covid-19 pandemic was the only reason state officials expanded voting by mail in 2020. He believes the state will be in a much better position with the virus in 2022, as more Vermonters are vaccinated.
Collamore said the state’s absentee ballot system works well; it already allows Vermonters to request mail-in ballots ahead of elections.
“I think there’s a very positive social aspect to in-person voting, and quite frankly, I see the absentee voting system that we have works very well, and I don’t feel that there’s a need to change that,” Collamore said
He also opposes allowing voters to correct defective ballots.
“I just sort of scratch my head and say, with all due respect, how difficult is it to fill in a circle next to the name of somebody that you want to vote for?” he said. “Everybody that votes should be able to figure out how to fill out a ballot correctly; there’s plenty of directions on it. I just don’t see that that needs to be an issue for us.”
Gov. Phil Scott has yet to take a position on adopting a permanent universal vote-by-mail system. On Monday, Jason Maulucci, Scott’s press secretary, said the governor is following the discussions on the bill.
If the Legislature moves ahead with the legislation, Scott believes “consistency is important” in expanding vote-by-mail, Maulucci said, and so “universal voting-by-mail should be included for all statewide primaries and strongly encouraged for municipal elections and school budgets, as well. “
The current bill would institute universal mail-in voting only for general elections, not primaries or local elections, but it would give municipalities and school boards the flexibility to use vote-by-mail.
Senators decided to exclude primary elections from the bill because they’re the way political parties select candidates for the general election.
“It’s up to the parties to get their people out to vote,” White said.
This year, the Legislature and governor gave municipalities temporary authority for vote-by-mail ahead of Town Meeting Day.
The Senate legislation would also make permanent other election changes made during the pandemic. For instance, local officials could start processing absentee ballots up to 30 days in advance of an election, and towns would have the flexibility to set up outdoor or drive-thru polling places.
The bill now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee, which will analyze the financial impacts.
The Vermont Secretary of Secretary of State’s Office estimates that printing and mailing ballots for all voters in general elections will cost the state $1.5 million. It also estimates $800,000 in one-time startup costs for a universal ballot mailing system.
