Some Vermonters can expect their general election ballots a week late this year due to manufacturing problems, according to Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas.
“We’ve never had a scenario like this,” she said.
Election ballots were mailed to all registered Vermont voters on Wednesday, a week after the deadline mandated by Vermont’s universal mail-in ballot law. The delay came as a result of “technical problems” at the printing press in the last week of September, Copeland Hanzas said.
Copeland Hanzas said that Vermonters can expect to receive their ballots by mid-October.
An announcement by the Secretary of State’s office Wednesday recommends that voters mail completed ballots to their town clerk by Oct. 20. Voters can also return ballots in person or to the clerk via a secure drop box.
Amid delays and mishaps in mail delivery across the state, some Vermonters have expressed concern that they had yet to receive ballots, according to Putney Town Clerk Jonathan Johnson.
“I get between five and 10 calls a day, you know, asking where the ballots are,” he said. “People are pretty aware that the ballots were supposed to be mailed and are a little frustrated that they don’t have their ballots already.”
At least people are paying attention, Copeland Hanzas said.
“And certainly with all of the rhetoric that we’re hearing out of the Oval Office, they are rightfully anxious and concerned about the potential for interference,” she said. “But all indications that we have are that this election will proceed as expected.”
Vermont first piloted universal mail-in voting for the 2020 presidential election to mitigate the spread of Covid-19. That year saw record turnout, and approximately 75% of registered voters submitted ballots by mail. Seven other states and Washington D.C. use universal vote by mail.
Throughout the state, Copeland Hanzas said typically about two-thirds of election ballots come in by mail. In Putney, the 2024 presidential election saw twice as many voters mailing in ballots than voting in person, Johnson said.
Despite frustration, Johnson said, voters in Putney are understanding of delays.
“Interest in this election is really high,” he said.
In a follow-up email Thursday afternoon, Johnson wrote that ballots had gone out for delivery that afternoon. Within three hours, he said he had received nearly a dozen ballots.
Voters can track their ballot’s delivery online. The general election takes place on Nov. 3.
