Voting in Vermont
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Contents
- 1 Voter registration
- 2 Voting in elections
- 3 Absentee voting
- 4 Early voting
- 5 Convicted felons' voting rights
- 6 Election administration costs
- 7 Election agencies
- 8 Noteworthy events
- 9 Election policy ballot measures
- 10 Election policy legislation
- 11 Recent news
- 12 See also
- 13 External links
- 14 Footnotes
Voting policies are enacted and enforced primarily at the state level. These policies, which include voter identification requirements, early voting provisions, online voter registration systems, and more, dictate the conditions under which American citizens cast their ballots in their individual states.
This page includes the following:
- Voter registration details, including methods of registering and requirements
- Details on voting in elections, including identification requirements, poll times, and primary election type
- Absentee/mail-in voting rules[1]
- Early voting rules
- Convicted felons' voting rights
- Election administration costs report
- Election agencies list
- Election policy ballot measures list
- Election policy legislation list
Voter registration
A United States citizen and state resident who is at least 18 years of age may register to vote in Vermont. The registrant must take the "Voter's Oath," which is included on the voter registration form.[2]
According to the Vermont Secretary of State's website, "eligible persons may register to vote on any day up to and including the day of the election. Registration is available during all normal business hours of your town or city clerk's office on days preceding the election and during polling hours on Election Day."[3][4][5]
Automatic registration
Vermont automatically registers eligible individuals to vote through the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Online registration
- See also: Online voter registration
Vermont has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.
Same-day registration
Vermont allows same-day voter registration.
Residency requirements
To register to vote in Vermont, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible.
Verification of citizenship
Vermont does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration.
Verifying your registration
The My Voter Page, run by the Vermont Secretary of State office, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.
Voting in elections
Voter identification
- See also: Voter identification laws by state
Vermont does not require voters to present identification while voting, in most cases. However, first-time voters who registered by mail are required to present identification at the polls.[6]
The following list of accepted ID was current as of November 2019. Click here for the Vermont Secretary of State's page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information.
- Valid photo ID (driver’s license or passport)
- Current utility bill
- Current bank statement
- Another government document containing your residential address
Background
As of April 2021, 35 states enforced (or were scheduled to begin enforcing) voter identification requirements. A total of 21 states required voters to present photo identification at the polls; the remainder accepted other forms of identification. Valid forms of identification differ by state. Commonly accepted forms of ID include driver's licenses, state-issued identification cards, and military identification cards.[7][8]
Poll times
- See also: State poll opening and closing times
In Vermont, all polls are open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Some polls open earlier. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.[9]
Primary election type
- See also: Primary elections in Vermont
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Vermont utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[10][11][12][13]
Absentee voting
- See also: Absentee voting
All voters are eligible to vote absentee in Vermont. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee.[14]
To vote absentee, an application must be received by the town clerk by 5 p.m. on the day before the election. In general elections, the office of the secretary of state delivers mail-in ballots automatically to all active voters in the state. A completed absentee ballot must be returned to the town clerk before the close of business on the day before the election or to the polling place before 7 p.m. on the day of the election.[14][15]
Early voting
- See also: Early voting
Vermont permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.
As of April 2021, 38 states and the District of Columbia permitted early voting. Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on election day. States that do not permit early voting still permit some or all citizens to vote early by mail—often known as absentee voting. Some states allow no-excuse absentee voting, while others require an excuse. States that allow in-person absentee voting without an excuse are counted among early voting states. Click here for early voting laws by state.[16]
Convicted felons' voting rights
- See also: Voting rights for convicted felons
In Vermont, individuals convicted of a felony do not lose their franchise and may register to vote in the town or city in which they lived before their incarceration if incarceration is a part of their sentence.
Voting rights for convicted felons vary from state to state. In the majority of states, convicted felons cannot vote while they are incarcerated but may regain the right to vote upon release from prison or at some point thereafter.[17][18][19]
Election administration costs
National Conference of State Legislatures report, 2018
On February 14, 2018, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) released a report on the costs of election administration in the states: "The Price of Democracy: Splitting the Bill for Elections." The report's authors noted that "no one knows how much [states] spend on elections ... [because] good research on election costs is slim." Generally, local units of government (most often counties, but sometimes cities and towns) are primarily responsible for election administration costs, though states and the federal government may also contribute. The report identified the states listed in the table below as assuming financial responsibility for at least some aspects of election administration.[20]
To access the complete NCSL report, click here.
| Election administration costs assumed by state | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| State pays all expenses for federal or state elections | State bears a portion of election costs | State pays for statewide special elections or statewide elections that don’t coincide with regularly scheduled elections | State pays for primary elections (statewide, presidential, or both) |
| Alaska Delaware |
Alabama Colorado Hawaii Kentucky Louisiana Rhode Island |
Arkansas Florida Iowa Michigan Missouri New Jersey North Dakota Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Tennessee Washington West Virginia |
Arizona Arkansas Idaho Kansas Michigan Minnesota Missouri South Carolina Tennessee Texas Virginia Washington |
| Note: If a state is not listed above, it was not included in the report. Source: National Conference of State Legislatures, "The Price of Democracy: Splitting the Bill for Elections," February 14, 2018 | |||
Election agencies
- See also: State election agencies
Individuals seeking additional information about voting provisions in Vermont can contact the following state and federal agencies.
Vermont Secretary of State, Elections Division
- 128 State Street
- Montpelier, Vermont 05633-1101
- Telephone: 802-828-2464
- Email: sos.elections@sec.state.vt.us
U.S. Election Assistance Commission
- 1335 East West Highway, Suite 4300
- Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
- Telephone: 866-747-1471
Noteworthy events
2021
On June 7, 2021, Governor Phil Scott (R) signed SB15 into law, enacting a series of changes to the state's election administration laws, including (but not limited to) the following:[15]
- Requiring the secretary of state to deliver mail-in ballots to all active voters in every general election.
- Authorizing the use of secure ballot drop boxes for the return of voted mail-in ballots.
- Authorizing the use of outdoor polling places.
- Authorizing the use of drive-up/drive-through voting (defined as procedures that "enable voters to complete the voting process without leaving their vehicle").
Upon signing the bill into law, Scott said, "I’m signing this bill because I believe making sure voting is easy and accessible, and increasing voter participation, is important. Having said that, we should not limit this expansion of access to general elections alone, which already have the highest voter turnout. For greater consistency and to expand access further, I am asking the General Assembly to extend the provisions of this bill to primary elections, local elections and school budget votes when they return to session in January."[21]
Enactment of SB15 made Vermont the sixth state to establish a program whereby election authorities sent mail-in ballots automatically to all active voters in select elections.[22]
Election policy ballot measures
Ballotpedia has tracked the following ballot measures relating to election and campaign policy in Vermont.
- Vermont Direct Primary Act (1916)
- Vermont End the Residency Requirement to Vote Amendment (1974)
- Vermont Manner of Electing the Vermont Secretary of State (1883)
- Vermont Primary Elections Act (1914)
- Vermont Statewide Referendum: Primary Elections Question 1 (1914)
- Vermont Statewide Referendum: Primary Elections Question 2 (1914)
- Vermont Statewide Referendum: The Direct Primary (1916)
- Vermont Voting Age Amendment, Proposal 5 (2010)
Election policy legislation
The following is a list of recent election bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Vermont state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.
Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Vermont voting. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
Elections in Vermont
- Vermont elections, 2022
- Vermont elections, 2021
- Vermont elections, 2020
- Vermont elections, 2019
- Vermont elections, 2018
- Vermont elections, 2017
- Vermont elections, 2016
- Vermont elections, 2015
- Vermont elections, 2014
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ We use the term "absentee/mail-in voting" to describe systems in which requests or applications are required. We use the term "all-mail voting" to denote systems where the ballots themselves are sent automatically to all voters. We use the hyphenate term for absentee voting because some states use “mail voting” (or a similar alternative) to describe what has traditionally been called "absentee voting."
- ↑ Vermont Secretary of State, "Voter Registration," accessed October 8, 2019
- ↑ Ballot Access News, "Vermont Governor Signs Bill for Election-Day Voter Registration," June 1, 2015
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Vermont Governor Signs Bipartisan Election Day Registration Bill," June 1, 2015
- ↑ Vermont Secretary of State, Registration," accessed October 8, 2019
- ↑ Vermont Secretary of State, "Voting Information," accessed October 6, 2019
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Voter Identification Requirements|Voter ID Laws," June 5, 2017
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Do I need an ID to vote? A look at the laws in all 50 states," October 27, 2014
- ↑ Vermont State Legislature, “17 V.S.A. § 2561,” accessed October 17, 2019
- ↑ NCSL,"State Primary Election Types," accessed October 25, 2019
- ↑ FairVote,"Primaries," accessed October 25, 2019
- ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
- ↑ Vermont Secretary of State,"Party Organization," accessed October 25, 2019
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Vermont Secretary of State, "Absentee Voting," accessed January 26, 2015
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Vermont General Assembly, "S.15," accessed June 8, 2021
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Laws Governing Early Voting," August 2, 2019
- ↑ Vermont Secretary of State, "Voter Registration Frequently Asked Questions," accessed October 21, 2019
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Felon Voting Rights," accessed July 15, 2014
- ↑ American Civil Liberties Union, "State Criminal Re-enfranchisement Laws," accessed September 13, 2019
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "The Price of Democracy: Splitting the Bill for Elections," February 14, 2018
- ↑ Office of the Governor of Vermont, "ACTION TAKEN BY GOVERNOR PHIL SCOTT ON LEGISLATION - JUNE 7, 2021," June 7, 2021
- ↑ The Hill, "Vermont governor signs mail-in voting bill," June 8, 2021
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