Does your state lean blue or lean red? Check out our new report, highlighting partisan control of state government from 1992-2013.
Vermont elections, 2013
Contents |
| On the 2013 ballot |
|---|
Exceptions include special elections. Find current election news and links here. |
Voting absentee
- See also: Absentee Voting
2012 developments
The U.S. Justice Department has settled a lawsuit with Vermont over the state's delayed mailing of some absentee ballots, which was filed by the federal government.[1]
The U.S. Uniformed and Overseas Absentee Voting Act requires that those absentee ballots which are requested by voters be mailed out at least 45 days before an election.[1]
Due to a dispute over the Progressive Party's gubernatorial primary results, the completion of the general election ballot was delayed until September 30. This caused at least 191 of the 894 absentee ballots to be mailed late.[1]
As a result of the lawsuit, voters whose ballots were sent late will have their receipt deadline extended by 10 days.[1]
Eligibility
All voters are eligible to vote absentee in Vermont. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee.
Deadlines
To vote absentee, an absentee ballot application must be received by the election office at least 1 day prior to the election. A returned absentee ballot must then be received by the elections office by close of polls on election day.
Military and overseas voting
For full details, visit the Federal Voting Assistance Program here.
Voting early
- See also: Early voting
Vermont is one of 33 states that has early voting with no specific requirements as to who can vote early. Early voting begins 45 days before an election and ends on the day prior to election day. The average number of days prior to an election that voters can cast an early ballot is 21 days in states with a definitive starting date.
Elections Performance Index
Vermont ranked 38th out of the 50 states and District of Columbia in the Pew Charitable Trusts' Elections Performance Index (EPI), based on the 2010 elections. The EPI examines election administration performance assigning an average percentage score based on 17 indicators of election performance. The indicators were chosen within the framework of determining the convenience and integrity of each of the three administrative phases of an election: registration, voting and counting. Vermont received an overall score of 59%.[2]
