Office of the Vermont
Secretary of State -
www.sec.state.vt.us
26 Terrace Street,
Montpelier, VT 05609-1101 : Phone 802-828-2363
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Volume 11,
Number 7
July/August 2009
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Message from the Secretary |
Table of Contents |
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Last week I had the great privilege of addressing
the National Civics Summit, a gathering of leaders in the field of
civics and voter engagement that was held in Minneapolis. I took
this opportunity to release a report titled "The Impact of Civics
Education on the Attitudes, Behaviors and Disposition of Youth."
Because we believe that it is important to
cultivate our next generation of citizens and leaders, the Secretary
of State’s Office, beginning a decade ago, developed a series of
experiential civics programs, including a mock election program
called Vermont Votes for Kids. In 2007 the Secretary of State’s
Office worked with the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation to
assess the impact of the Vermont Votes for Kids mock election
program on civic attitudes, behaviors and dispositions by surveying
the senior class of 2007. Students answered questions about their
participation in mock election programs during their school career
and how they intend to participate in the democratic process in the
future.
The report shows that the newest generation of
Vermont adults will be more active and engaged than the ones before
it. It also affirms the value of civic education programs and, in
particular, mock election programs that teach kids the importance of
voting. Students who were exposed to mock election programs were
significantly more likely to say they are better informed about
politics, understand the issues facing our country, and will vote in
the future. They reported that they learned how to address community
problems and learned about individual’s responsibility to community.
Students who accompanied a parent to the polling place scored even
higher, confirming the belief that parental involvement is a key
factor in shaping civic attitudes.
The findings of our study are significant. They
demonstrate the value of investing in experiential civics education
programs like Vermont Votes for Kids. When we teach young people the
mechanics and value of voting, and provide them opportunities to
develop and practice the skills necessary to be engaged citizens, we
see results.
It is my hope that this report will encourage
educators, government officials, and opinion leaders to see the
importance of civics education so that in future years every Vermont
student is given an opportunity to participate in a civics education
and mock election program.
A copy of the report is available by calling
802-828-2148 or by visiting the Secretary of State’s website at
www.sec.state.vt.us/Mock_Election_Report.pdf.

Deborah L. Markowitz
Secretary of State
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Voice From the Vault
by Gregory Sanford |
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The Veto and The Archives
The impasse between the legislative and executive
branches threatened to shut down government. Observers worried not
only about the immediate impasse, but the likelihood that, if left
unresolved, things would only get worse "by the course of migration,
the influx of foreigners, the multiplication of corporations, the
investment of large capital in banking, manufacturing, and other
establishments; and which will bring, in their train, a variety, and,
perhaps, conflicting interests." Those interests would pursue their
own narrow agenda at the expense of the Vermont’s founders’ commitment
to civic virtue and the broader public good. The year was 1835, the
observers were the Vermont Council of Censors, and the issue was how
to check "hasty or improvident" legislation influenced by these
narrower, conflicting interests.
Since the 1820s tensions had grown between the
executive branch, which consisted of the governor and an executive
council, and the unicameral legislature. The issue was whether the
executive branch could block hasty and improvident bills despite the
lack of a constitutional veto authority. The legislature, which
consisted only of a House of Representatives, declared that the
executive could not block legislation. The executive branch responded
by refusing to return bills it had perused and found wanting. An
attempt to create a veto authority faltered in 1828.
The Council of Censors, the sole body charged with
proposing constitutional amendments, tried again in 1835. It noted
that the house, in which each town regardless of size had one
representative, could pass legislation supported by representatives
from towns holding only a quarter of the state’s population. The
executive branch, elected on a statewide basis, was accountable, in
the Censors’ eyes, to a broader constituency. Without a check on the
House’s authority Vermonters confronted "so many additional,
amendatory, explanatory and repealing acts, in continued
succession" that there was no statutory stability. To confront this
instability the Censors proposed two constitutional changes. One was
creation of a Senate, partially based on population, as an additional
check on poorly thought out bills (the executive council would be
eliminated). The other proposal was for a gubernatorial veto power.
This would provide a "safeguard against hasty and improvident
legislation." As an aside, this also led to the creation of Lamoille
County so the state’s informal, but rigidly observed Mountain Rule
could be applied to the Senate; the addition of Lamoille County meant
there were now 14 counties, seven on each side of the Green Mountains.
The proposed amendments were adopted in 1836 and in
1839 the first gubernatorial veto was issued. A second followed in
1845, which was overridden. Many of the early vetoes echoed the
caution against hasty or improvident legislation. The rationale for
vetoes began to expand as governors issued vetoes citing
constitutional grounds starting in 1869. A 1910 veto extended the
governor’s reach to include interpretations of the U.S., as well as
Vermont, Constitution.
The legislature almost never overrode vetoes;
override votes frequently gave unanimous support to a veto. In 1900
Governor William Stickney became the second governor to have a veto
overridden, despite his contention that the vetoed act was
unconstitutional. It is worth noting that Stickney, a Republican, was
overridden 163 to five in the House and 23 to five in the Senate; 194
of the 246 representatives were also Republicans as were all 30
senators.
At the time an override only required a majority
vote; still the veto was a powerful tool. Even when Governor John Mead
issued a record eight vetoes in 1910-1911, none were overridden. A
majority did vote to override Mead’s veto of a tax bill but the
speaker determined that tax bill votes required two-thirds of the
members to be present; since that quorum was not present the veto was
sustained. In 1910 the legislature proposed a constitutional amendment
raising the override threshold to two-thirds of those present and
voting; it was ratified in 1913. The two-thirds threshold was a more
difficult, but not insurmountable barrier. In 1921 Governor James
Hartness vetoed a bill equalizing the property rights of men and
women; he was overridden, again by a legislature overwhelmingly
controlled by members of his own party.
Another override occurred in 1925, but the next did
not occur until 1981. By the time the next override occurred in 1990,
the power of the veto was clear. Of the 90 vetoes issued prior to the
1990 override, only five had been overridden. Perhaps as a result, by
the 1980s governors began to use the veto for policy reasons, not
necessarily as a tool to prevent hasty legislation or constitutional
issues. Also by the 1980s gubernatorial administrations began
routinely to stretch beyond the informal two-term tradition and the
number of vetoes, often citing policy differences, also climbed.
Governors Snelling and Kunin each issued eight vetoes, tying Mead’s
total. Governor Dean issued a record-setting 21 vetoes, while Governor
Douglas now has 17 vetoes. To the degree that the state budget is the
ultimate expression of policy, the 2009 veto of the state budget—the
first time a budget was vetoed—provides evidence of the veto as a
policy tool. Prior to 2009 budget veto two supplement budgets were
vetoed (one overridden) and in 2005 a budget veto was averted when the
governor’s objections were addressed in a special session
The balance of powers among the branches is never
static; each branch seeks to push for advantage, while defending what
it sees as its prerogatives from encroachment. When Governor Dean used
the "pocket veto" to kill nine bills after the 1994 session adjourned,
the following year the legislature began enacting, as part of the
adjournment resolution, the authority to reconvene to address any
post-adjournment veto. Since then there have been six "veto" sessions,
though no veto was overridden. The 2009 override of the budget veto
occurred during a special session, not a veto session.
The other changing context was the occasional
election of a governor of one party, with a legislative majority held
by another party. This tension, established by the electorate, has
begun to alter the veto again. As one party approached attaining veto
proof legislative majorities the possibilities of overrides became
greater. Thus in 2009 for the first time a governor had two vetoes
overridden. The 2009 budget veto was also the first overridden in a
special session.
To learn more about the shifting balance between the
executive and legislative branches, as expressed by the veto, visit
our veto history:
http://vermont-archives.org/govhistory/governance/Vetoes/vetoes.html;
see also the June 2008 Voice from the Vault column at
http://vermont-archives.org/publications/voice/pdf/VotingOnVetoes.pdf.
Let us return for a moment to the push to create a
veto authority in the 1820s and 1830s. The 1835 Council of Censors
believed that the framers of Vermont’s 1793 Constitution meant to
grant some limited legislative authority to the executive council.
Over the 30 years following adoption of that constitution, "so long as
the framers of the constitution, or their contemporaries, continued to
take part in the councils of the state" that limited authority was
recognized. Now, however, "those patriotic men have passed away, and
others have succeeded to their places…" The Censors concluded that
without the living memories of the founders the original intent of the
constitutional powers of the executive council was lost and had to be
remedied by amendment.
The passing of the Revolutionary generation during
the 1820s occasioned a great deal of concern. The realization that we
could no longer rely on the living memory of our founders gave rise to
an interest in preserving the government archives, as evidenced by
Secretary of State William Slade’s 1823 publication of some of
Vermont’s important early state papers.
The recent veto battles further illustrate, and
expand, on the importance of government archives. No one could be
expected to know the evolving use of the veto or the legislature’s
responses to vetoes. Even recent memory can be faulty; some of our
callers, who had observed government for years, could not recall
whether the 2005 budget had been vetoed (it had not, but only because
of changes made at a special session). Simply preserving records
related to vetoes, however, is no longer enough. Those records and the
information they contain need to be made accessible to decision makers
and the public in ways that are most useful for taking action or
forming opinions. That is why we have used the continuing issues
section of our website to synthesize important information related to
key processes of government (http://vermont-archives.org/govhistory/governance/index.htm).
Continuing issues is just one way we are trying to
make information available to you. I hope you take an opportunity to
visit our website at
http://vermont-archives.org/.
Table of Contents |
Past Issues of
Opinions |
Secretary of State's Homepage
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Opinions of
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1. A meeting of the board of civil authority
can be called by the town clerk or by one of the selectboard
members. 24 V.S.A. §801. Generally, after the town clerk or
one of the selectboard members decides to call a meeting, the
meeting is warned by the town clerk. The notice must be posted
in two or more public places at least five days before the
meeting and mailed to each member. If the town clerk is
unavailable, the notices can be done by the assistant town clerk
or another member of the board.
2. Reserve fund may generally be spent by
board without town vote. If a town has established a reserve
fund for a special purpose, such as a reserve fund for highway
equipment, the statute provides that the reserve fund is to be
under the control and direction of the legislative body. 24
V.S.A. §2804. This means that a reserve fund that has been
established and funded by town vote may be expended by the board
for such purposes for which the fund was established without
another town vote. If the legislative body wants to spend
those reserve funds for any other purpose, then the spending
must be authorized by a majority of voters at an annual or
special meeting.
3. Elected officials are not generally
eligible for workers compensation or unemployment compensation
benefits. Elected public officials, such as selectboard
members are specifically excluded from the definition of
"employee" in Vermont Worker’s Compensation and Unemployment
Compensation statutes. Officials serving in positions
that are "elected" when originally filled, are excluded from
coverage, even if a particular selectboard member or other
official has been appointed by the selectboard to fill an
unexpired term.
4. BCA members should take oath before each
tax appeal. Vermont law requires that BCA members take an
oath before performing tax appeals. The required oath for
members of the board of civil authority who will be hearing tax
appeals is found in 32 V.S.A. §4405. We believe it is
good practice to take this oath before each tax appeal since it
impresses on the parties to the appeal that the board takes its
obligation seriously to perform its duties professionally and in
an unbiased manner.
5. BCA should meet regularly to clean up the
voter checklist. We recommend that board of civil authority
meet at regular intervals to maintain the town’s voter
checklist, including sending the required letters to challenge
voters. For BCAs that have not been able to do this on a regular
basis, it is now time to warn a meeting of the board to update
your checklist. The statute requires that by September 20 of
each odd-numbered year, towns must send a letter to the Office
of the Secretary of State certifying that the town’s checklist
has been updated and that detailed records have been maintained.
17 V.S.A. §2150(d)(7).
6. Board correspondence must be authorized by
the board. Chairs of municipal boards do not have authority
to act on their own making representations for the board. This
means an individual board member may not write a letter using
town or official stationery, representing that the letter is on
behalf of the board without a motion passed at a duly warned
meeting authorizing the board member to send the letter on
behalf of the board. 1 V.S.A. § 172. Except as authorized above,
no board member of any municipal body has any authority to act
alone unless that authority is derived from a specific state
statute or municipal charter. An official who acts on his or her
own may run the risk of personal liability because the official
is acting outside of his or her authority as a board member.
7. Sender is responsible to ensure those cc’d
get copy of letter. It is a best practice to make certain
that copies are sent to everyone listed as having been cc’d on
your correspondence. The addressee of your letter may rely on
your representation that you have already sent copies of the
correspondence to other necessary parties. This is especially
important for resignations and other official letters where more
than one board or person may need to be involved in the process.
8. Minutes of a meeting of a public body
should not restate the public discussion at the meeting.
Meeting minutes should be short and sweet. The purpose of the
minutes are to create a legal record of any action taken, and to
permit people who could not attend the meeting to know what
topics were discussed and what action was taken at the meeting.
It is rarely a good idea to include comments or dialogue that
have taken place during a meeting as this can end up being a
distraction. Too much detail can cause citizens and/or board
members to spend more time at meetings debating the accuracy of
the "transcriptions" and dialogue recorded in minutes of past
meetings, than on the new action items. The minutes need only
include the people present and participating in the meeting, the
topics discussed and any motions made and votes taken. 1 V.S.A.
§312.
9. Public bodies cannot conduct a public
meeting "online." Someday online public meetings might be
common. At this time it would be hard for most, if not all of
our towns to meet the requirements of the open meeting law using
web conferencing. The open meeting law requires meetings to be
accessible to the public so that members of the public can see
and hear what is going on, and be heard by the board. In order
for web conferencing to work the town would need enough
terminals at the town office for member/s of the public to use
so that they can observe and participate in the meeting. Note
that it is conceivably possible right now for board members to
participate in a meeting through web-conferencing – so long as
the board member can hear what is going on and can be heard by
all present. This is not so different than the current practice
of allowing board members to participate in a meeting by a
speakerphone. 1 V.S.A. §312.
10. Public agency does not have to convert
electronic documents. When a town maintains public records
in an electronic format, nonexempt public records shall be
available for copying in either the standard electronic format
or the standard paper format, as designated by the party
requesting the records. An agency may, but is not required,
provide copies of public records in a nonstandard format, create
a public record or convert paper public records to electronic
format. 1 V.S.A. § 316(i). This means that if a town maintains
records in a particular database, it is not required to convert
it to another upon request of a member of the public. Note,
however, that if a public official or agency chooses to create a
public record or convert to a nonstandard format, it may charge
for staff time that exceeds 30 minutes.
11. The governor appoints to fill a vacancy
in the office of justice of the peace. Whenever a vacancy
occurs for a justice of the peace, whether by death or
resignation, the town party chair for the party that has lost a
justice, or the town clerk (for independent justices), must
notify the office of the governor. 17 V.S.A. §2623. The
town committee of that party (after a properly warned
meeting—five days written notice to all town committee members)
may then submit one or more recommendations to the governor as
to a successor. The statute does not include any language for
recommendations when the justice who created the vacancy was an
independent. Interested persons could send a letter of interest
to the governor’s office. However, in all cases, the governor
may appoint any qualified person to fill the vacancy for the
remaining portion of the term and is not bound by any town
committee recommendations.
12. The time and place of regular meetings of
the board must be publicly available. The time and place for
regular meetings of any public body may be designated by
charter, regulation, ordinance, bylaw, or resolution and this
information shall be available to any person upon request.
1 V.S.A. §31(c)(1). Many selectboards and school boards
establish their regular meeting schedule by a resolution at the
first organizational meeting after election at Town Meeting.
Once established the board does not have to "warn" each regular
meeting, although the board must make the agenda available to
the news media or any person upon request prior to the meeting.
Many towns have a practice of posting the agenda and
distributing it to the media on a regular basis.
13. A board may change its regular meeting
time and place as it wishes. A board can change its regular
meeting schedule by adopting a new resolution at any time. The
law does not limit the designation to the organizational
meeting. However, when a board has changed the schedule in this
way it should make some effort to let the public know so that
the people who regularly come to these meetings are not caught
off guard.
14. Special board meetings must be publicly
announced within 24 hours of the meeting. If any public body
needs to hold a special meeting between regularly scheduled
meetings, the time, place, and purpose of the special meeting
must be publicly announced at least 24 hours before the meeting.
1 V.S.A.§312(c)(2) A notice containing the time, place and
purpose of the meeting must be posted in or near the municipal
clerk’s office, and in at least two other public places in the
municipality at least 24 hours before the meeting. Notice must
also be given either orally or in writing to each member of the
public body at least 24 hours before the meeting; however, a
member can waive notice. Committees appointed by public bodies
must also comply with the open meeting law including this
warning of special meetings.
15. Delinquent tax collector penalty applies
only after the final installment is due and taxes become
delinquent. In towns that have voted to collect taxes by
installment, unless a town has a charter provision, the
delinquent tax collector cannot add the penalty (eight percent,
unless a smaller amount has been voted by the town) to
installment payments, but only to the final payment of the year.
32 V.S.A. §1674(3)(b). Several Chittenden County towns have
charters that allow the town to collect the eight percent
penalty in addition to interest on each installment. If your
town does not have a charter, the town can assess interest on
each late installment but cannot collect the penalty until the
final installment payment for the year is due.
16. The penalty for a delinquent tax payment
can only be charged or assessed once on the full amount that is
delinquent. If a partial payment is made, the full
delinquent tax collector penalty (eight percent, unless a
smaller amount has been voted by the town) is taken first on the
full amount of the taxes that are delinquent, then the interest
to date is taken, then the remainder of the partial payment is
applied to the taxes. Only the interest per month charge
continues to be added each month on the remaining balance of the
taxes until the taxes and interest are paid in full.
17. Towns are not required to accept postmark
dates for payment of taxes. Although some towns have a
policy to rely upon the postmark for tax payments, Vermont Title
32 generally contemplates that a tax payment must be paid on or
before the due date. In state statutes, if use of a
postmark date is acceptable it is so stated in the law. The law
provides that taxes not received by the town by the due date are
delinquent. If a town wants to accept payments that have been
postmarked by the due date the town should make this clear to
the taxpayers.
18. Listers should schedule site visits with
property owners. It is a best practice for listers to call
property owners to set appointments to look at property to
complete listers cards for reappraisals. If listers show
up unannounced it is reasonable for the property owner to say
that it is not a convenient time and set an appointment for a
mutually convenient future date. If the property owner refuses
entry to the property at any time, then the listers must do
their best appraisal without entering the property. However, if
a property owner subsequently files an appeal of his listed
value, the appeal must be considered withdrawn by the property
owner if the property owner refuses to allow the BCA to inspect
the property to determine its fair market value. 32
V.S.A.§4404(c).
19. Large commercial public events require
state permit. The organizers of a commercial public event or
gathering expecting 2,000 or more attendees must apply for a
permit from the Department of Public Safety at least 30 days
before the event is held. The Department of Public Safety may
grant the permit, deny the permit, or grant the permit with
conditions, such as providing a bond or other financial
security. 20 V.S.A. § 4501 et seq. If a town wants to regulate
smaller assemblies it must adopt a local ordinance. 24 V.S.A. §
2291.
20. Roberts Rules of Order is only required
for annual and special meetings and school board meetings.
The law requires moderators to use Roberts Rules of Order when
they run the annual or special town or school district meeting,
unless the municipality has adopted another rule of procedure.
17 V.S.A. § 2658. The law also requires school boards to use
Roberts Rules of Order for the conduct of its board meetings. 16
V.S.A. § 554. No law requires the selectboard or any other
municipal board to use Roberts Rules of Order as their
procedure. Many boards develop their own practices and
procedures. We recommend that a board that does this puts its
procedure rules in writing so that new members of the board and
members of the public know how the board works.
21. Board can restrict use of ATVs on town
highways. An all-terrain vehicle may not be operated along a
public highway (unless it is not being maintained during the
snow season) unless the highway has been opened to all-terrain
vehicle travel by the local governing body and the town or
village posts this on the roads. A road is opened to ATV use by
a vote of the selectboard (or village trustees) at a meeting of
the board at which the issue was on the agenda. A board that
votes to open a road can change its mind – but it should post a
notice of the prohibition to alert ATV drivers who may have
become accustomed to using the road in question. 23 V.S.A. §
3506. Note however that an ATV that is being used for
agricultural purposes may not be so limited. The law permits the
ATV to be operated not closer than three feet from the traveled
portion of any highway for the purpose of traveling within the
confines of the farm.
22. Municipality may not contradict state law
concerning minors crossing the road in ATV. The law creates
rules to determine whether a minor may cross a public highway in
an ATV. 1. No minor under 12 may cross the road. 2. A minor
between the age of 12 and 16 must be under the direct
supervision of a person 18 years of age or older. 3. Minors who
are over the age of 16 may freely cross the road. Because there
is a specific law on this issue, the general enabling
legislation that permits a municipality to adopt an ordinance
regulating the time, manner and location of operating ATVs
within the town will not permit the town to adopt stricter or
more lenient rules. 23 V.S.A. § 3506, 3510.
In our monthly Opinions, we provide what we
believe the law requires based upon our legal judgment, years of
observing Vermont's local government practices, and Vermont Court
decisions. This information is intended as a reference guide only
and should not replace the advice of legal counsel.
Table of Contents | Past Issues
of Opinions | Secretary of State's Homepage
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A summary of Vermont election laws
enacted in 2009:
1. 17 V.S.A. §1904(a) – Minor changes were made to the
formula for the composition of the political party
representation on the legislative apportionment board.
2. 17 V.S.A. §2103(22) – The definition of a political
committee was repealed from the general definitions at the
beginning of Title 17 because the definition is included in
Chapter 59, Campaign Finance, section 2801(4). (You only want
the definition to be one place in the statutes so when it is
revised it only has to be revised in one place.)
3. 17 V.S.A. §2454(a) and (b) – This section was amended at
the request of several cities so that election officials are
no longer required to reside in the ward or district in order
to work as an election official in the polling place for a
voting district.
4. 17 V.S.A. §2532a - The automatic "sunset" was removed so
that mobile polling stations can be used in future elections.
5. 17 V.S.A. §2588 - This section was revised to add a
separate subsection to provide specific instructions for towns
that use vote tabulating machines that will allow the posting
of the printer results tapes from the optical scan tabulators
as "unofficial incomplete results."
6. 17 V.S.A. 2602a(b) – When the law was revised to have
ballots transported to county courts by election officials for
recounts following the 2006 statewide recount, one reference
to state police was inadvertently left in. Now the sections
all consistently refer to "two election officials who are not
members of the same political party."
7. 17 V.S.A. §2602l – This section was revised so that a
candidate who petitions for a recount can request that the
recount be conducted by optical scanner instead of by the hand
count procedures for a recount.
8. 17 V.S.A. §2647 – The section on incompatible offices
was revised by adding a section (b) so that when a school
district uses an independent public accountant it will no
longer be a statutory conflict for a school board member to
have a spouse who serves as an auditor.
9. 17 V.S.A. §2685 – This section was revised so that a
candidate who petitions for a recount can request that the
recount be conducted by optical scanner instead of by the hand
count procedures for a recount.
10. 17 V.S.A. §2803(f) - The Secretary of State may now
require that the forms for campaign finance filings and mass
media reports be filed in a digital format.
The Secretary of State's Office distributes
Election Bulletins containing updates and information to all
municipalities. These bulletins are also available online at:
http://vermont-elections.org/elections1/elbulletins.html
For a list of all laws passed during the 2009
regular legislative session:
http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/acts.cfm?Session=2010
For laws passed during the 2009 Special Session:
http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/acts.cfm?Session=2010.1
Table of Contents | Past Issues
of Opinions | Secretary of State's Homepage |
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Civics Behind the Scenes
by Missy Shea, Civics Education & Vote
Outreach Coordinator |
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"Hi, my name is Sydney Rubin. I started as an intern at the Office of
the Secretary of State yesterday. I’ll be old enough to vote on the 26 th
of this month."
That’s what I said to a room full of Vermont town
clerks who were at the Secretary of State’s Office attending a HAVA
(Help America Vote Act) refresher training. I was in the room to
observe and learn.
In some ways, it might seem odd that I’ve become an
intern here. I won’t receive the high school credit usually rewarded
through the program: I’ve already graduated. I don’t need an
internship to put on my college application: I’m already accepted. I
wouldn’t say I fancy a career in a government office, either: I’m
planning on majoring in English. All I really knew about the
internship before I began was that I would be working with Missy Shea,
the person in charge of voter outreach and civic education for
Secretary Markowitz. So, my first task was to explore the Kids’ Pages
on the Secretary of State’s website to get a handle on the variety of
materials the office has created to promote civic education in Vermont
schools.
My other tasks include helping Missy prepare for
the National Civic Summit in Minneapolis in July. While there, she
will present the Vermont Guard Card project, an initiative that will
provide calling cards to the 1,500 Vermont soldiers who will be
deployed later this year. This deployment is something that’s going to
greatly affect our community and our state. The Secretary of State’s
Office has collaborated with Verizon, who has generously donated the
actual cards through the USO.
Even though the calling cards have been obtained,
there is still a great opportunity for the Office of the Secretary to
facilitate school-based service learning projects to help support the
deployed Guard soldiers and their families. Schools can organize
efforts that range from Benson Village School’s wonderful
Vermont-themed holders for the card to Cavendish’s raising $1,400 for
the Vermont Charitable Fund. Students can volunteer to mow lawns,
babysit, or stack wood for the families of deployed soldiers. Service
learning projects can really benefit those impacted by the deployment,
while simultaneously helping students learn the process of becoming
informed, engaged citizens who really can make a difference.
I now realize that students do not learn about
their state and the government by running for office someday. Instead,
we learn by contributing to our government and communities no matter
our ages or what we do for a living.
It seems I am just now starting to get my civic education—a little
later than grade school, but in a way that is much more meaningful.
And though I can’t vote yet, I’m learning that I can still have a say
in what my government does. That knowledge alone has made this a very
worthwhile internship.
To learn more about this project, visit
www.sec.state.vt.us/kids/service_for_service.html
For more information about the Secretary of State’s Office’s Civics
Programs
Visit
www.sec.state.vt.us
or contact Missy Shea at 802-828-1296
or email
mshea@sec.state.vt.us
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Tip of the Month |
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Purging the Statewide Voter Checklist
The town clerk and BCA should be sure to get together to create a
list of voters to challenge soon, while we are not within 90 days of
an election.
While the town clerk is required to have BCA approval to challenge
voters, the BCA may vote to permit the town clerk to send challenge
letters on an ongoing basis—this is the most successful way to get a
response back from a voter shortly after he or she has left town. Some
materials that may help your town: the Vermont Secretary of State’s
office provides window envelopes for challenge and response letters at
no charge; simply email your request to
voterreg@sec.state.vt.us
Challenge and response letters are printed directly from the
Statewide Checklist; however, if your town prefers to use preprinted
post cards instead of response letters, you can order them from
Eastern Systems Group (800-223-0101) and they will be paid for by the
Vermont Secretary of State’s office.
If you have a tip to share, contact John Cushing at
jcushing@town.milton.vt.us.
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Quote of the Month |
"A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is
blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken."
James Dent
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Upcoming Events |
Introduction to GIS
Date: Two-day course
on Wednesday, August 5 and Thursday, August 6
Time: 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM both days.
Place: 133 State Street in Montpelier, VT
Coordinating Organization(s): Vermont Center for Geographic
Information
http://www.vcgi.org
Cost: $60
Contact for More Information: Leslie Pelch at Vermont
Center for Geographic Information
Phone: 802-882-3002
Email:
lesliep@vcgi.org
Website for info/registration:
http://www.vcgi.org/commres/?page=./training/default_content.cfm#intro
Summary: This course
provides training designed to teach basic Geographic Information
Systems (GIS) knowledge and skills. It is not required that the
intended participant have any prior experience using GIS, but
familiarity with using computers (especially basic file
management) is important. Successful completion will give
participants the skills necessary to acquire, evaluate, and use
digital geographic data in a GIS application; modify the
appearance of geographic data layers; perform simple queries and
analyses; and create and export maps and data.
Introduction to GIS
- Date:
Three-day course held on August 12, 19, and 26
Time: 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM on all three days.
Place: 133 State Street in Montpelier, VT
Coordinating Organization(s): Vermont Center for Geographic
Information
http://www.vcgi.org
Cost: $60
Contact for More Information: Leslie Pelch at Vermont
Center for Geographic Information
Phone: 802-882-3002
Email: lesliep@vcgi.org
Website for info/registration:
http://www.vcgi.org/commres/?page=./training/default_content.cfm#intro
Summary: This course provides training designed to teach
basic Geographic Information Systems (GIS) knowledge and skills.
It is not required that the intended participant have any prior
experience using GIS, but familiarity with using computers
(especially basic file management) is important. Successful
completion will give participants the skills necessary to acquire,
evaluate, and use digital geographic data in a GIS application;
modify the appearance of geographic data layers; perform simple
queries and analyses; and create and export maps and data.
Advanced Lister Training
Thursday, July 23, 2009 – TEGU, Route 100
Morrisville
Thursday, August 20, 2009 – Londonderry Town Hall, Londonderry
Thursday, September 17, 2009 – Royalton Academy, Royalton
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Tuition: $125.00 VT town officers, $150.00 others
This class is designed for listers who have had three or more years
of experience in their office. It will cover the equalization study
and a brief introduction to the various statistics, tracking the
market, reappraisal requirements, and utility valuation. Offered by
the Vermont Tax Department. For information and registration go
to
http://www.state.vt.us/tax/pvrlistereducation.shtml or call
802-828-2824
-
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Municipal Calendar |
August 2009
15 - Last day for town clerk to electronically transmit a copy of
the grand list, tax rates, and assessed tax amount to the director
of property valuation and review. 32 V.S.A. § 5404(b)
16 - Bennington Battle Day. 1 V.S.A. § 371(a)
26 - (Date dependent on caucus date, which is set by state
chairman) - First day for the chairman of a state committee of a
political party to mail a notice of the date and purpose of the
caucuses to each town clerk and to each town chairman of the party.
17 V.S.A. § 2302 (14 days before date set for caucus which is set
for a date between September 10 and September 30.)
September 2009
1 - Marriage Equality Law takes effect. Act No. 3, 2009 Session
7 - Labor Day. 1 V.S.A. § 371(a)
10 - First day for members of political party to meet in caucus
in their respective towns. 17 V.S.A. § 2302
15 - Last day for town clerk to remit to state treasurer an
accounting of dog and wolf-hybrid licenses sold and remit the
license fee surcharge for a rabies control program. 20 V.S.A. §
3581(f)
15 - By September 15 of each odd-numbered year the board of civil
authority shall review the most recent checklist name by name and
consider, for each person whose name appears on the checklist,
whether that person is still qualified to vote. 17 V.S.A. §2150(c)
16 - (This could change depending on what the date of the caucus
is set for.)Last day for the chairman of a state committee of a
political party to mail a notice of the date and purpose of the
caucuses to each town clerk and to each town chairman of the party.
17 V.S.A. § 2302
20 - Last day for the board of civil authority to certify to
secretary of state purging of the checklist has been completed. 17 §
2150(d)(7)
30 - Last day for members of a political party to meet in caucus
in their respective towns. 17 V.S.A. § 2302 Within 72 hours of hours
after the caucus, the chairman and secretary of the town committee
shall mail to the secretary of state, the chairs of the state and
county committees, and the town clerk a copy of the notice calling
the meeting and a certified list of the names and mailing addresses
of the officers and members of the town committee and delegates to
the county committee. 17 V.S.A. § 2307
The Municipal Calendar is provided by the
Vermont League of Cities and Towns/Chittenden Bank and the Secretary
of State's Office.
The Secretary of State's 2009-2010
Elections Calendar is available
here.
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