Many towns across Vermont are ready to welcome early voters for the primary election.
Although the Secretary of State’s Office marks the official start of early voting as Friday, June 24, for the primary election scheduled Aug. 9, Vermonters can technically begin voting as soon as ballots are available at their local town or city clerk’s office.
Several town clerks told VTDigger they have already received ballots and are ready to provide them to voters.
Unlike the November general election, when every Vermont resident who is registered to vote will receive a ballot in the mail, people wishing to vote early or absentee in the primary must request a ballot. Voters can request a ballot online from the Secretary of State’s Office, by mail or in person at their town clerk’s office.
Each early or absentee voter will receive three ballots, one for each major party in the state — Democratic, Republican and Progressive. However, only one ballot should be completed, and all three — including the blank ones — must be returned.
Only registered voters are eligible to vote early or absentee. Vermonters who are unsure whether they are registered can check their status using the My Voter Page tool from the secretary of state. Those who are not registered can register online, by mail or in person at their town clerk’s office.
“Early voting options have proven to increase both voter access and voter participation in our civic process,” Secretary of State Jim Condos said in a press release. “Our democracy is stronger when we all vote.”
Some town clerks around the state are planning to promote the local options for early voting.
Manchester Town Clerk Anita Sheldon said her office will be posting information through social media, on its website and with signs around the town.
Early voting “gives voters an opportunity to vote if they are interested in voting, and the accessibility just helps everybody with their voice being heard — if they choose to have their voice heard,” Sheldon said.
The Secretary of State’s Office also has mailed postcards to all registered voters. The mailings provide details on how to request a ballot, and they include a QR code — a graphic that can be scanned using a smartphone camera — to open the ballot request form.
Middlebury Town Clerk Ann Webster said early voting options were critical for people with mobility issues or people who may not be available on the day of the election. “And for Vermont, you never know what the weather is going to be. So I think people should have options to get their vote in,” she said.
According to Condos, a record number of voters cast their ballots early in 2020, when voting began just months after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. That year — the first in which the state mailed general election ballots to all registered voters — total voter turnout reached a record high.
“For a lot of people, it's convenient for them,” St. Albans Town Clerk Anna Bourdon said of early voting. “It gives them time to think about it before the actual date.”
For a ballot to count in the primary election, it must be submitted to the local town clerk by close of business on Aug. 8, the day before the election, or to the polling place before polls close at 7 p.m. on Aug. 9.
The state is required to make sure all towns receive their ballots by Friday, when all registered voters will be able to begin voting.
