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VERMONT SECRETARY OF STATE - Jim Condos | |||||||
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| State of Vermont Office of the Secretary of State http://www.sec.state.vt.us Volume 2 Number 11 |
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Redstone Building |
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Message from the Secretary |
Table of Contents |
No matter the outcomes of this year’s election, I think the whole State of Vermont will sigh with relief when the Official Return of Votes are completed. This is especially true for town clerks around the state who, like my election division staff, have been working nights and weekends to do all that is necessary to ensure that this year’s elections run as smoothly as possible.
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Message from the Secretary |
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Secretary of State's Home Page top of page
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A Voice from the Past
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YEARNINGS
THE ART OF CASTINGElection day is a day like any other. You just make one more stop than usual. It doesn’t take very long, but it gives you something to think and talk about the rest of the day.
Voting isn’t usually a very comfortable process. You’re in that narrow booth, feeling a little anxious, with the ballot and the runt of a pencil. The shelf is ridiculous. The ballot has to ride up the side of the wall in order to be find a hard surface, to make an X in a box. You can’t see because of the shadows.
But you get the job done. You make your choices on the ballot, fold it and cast it.
It isn’t very dramatic, for all the hoopla that led up to this day. The great parade of politics has paused now. Inside this building, the election has come to this: a line of booths, a pad of ballots, and a box.
This is, of course, no different than it has always been. There were small differences. The polls used to be open for only a few hours, at first, and everybody voted together. The ballots for town representative were then counted, and if no one obtained a majority, they’d hold another vote right away. Sometimes they ran out of time, having elected no one by the time of midnight, and the town went without a representative for the following term.
The old ways have passed. No longer does the constable turn the box, closing the polls at the end of the day. No longer do voters bring their own ballots to the polling place, as they did before 1892. Elections are run according to the code now.
But they are still run by people, usually the same people who work at the polls every year. That’s what makes elections work so well in Vermont. The system is in place. The machinery of the election is working.
You come in, you give your name, get your ballots, go to the booth, come out of the booth, go to the box, and you leave. Just a short line, everybody was courteous, and it was over before you thought about it—except the voting part, of course.
That’s the hardest part. It’s so serious. This is the General Election. The very thought of it should curl our toes. This is the one that counts.
Voting itself—that is, the act of choosing a candidate—probably has already happened by the time you enter the booth. You’ve gone over the lists, and heard all the talk. Marking the ballot is an afterthought, a mechanical process for registering a decision you’ve already made some days or weeks ago.
Then you head home, where you will be interested enough to try to learn the results from the radio or tv. You’ll be frustrated with the slowness of the reporting, and before you know it you’ll doze off in the big chair, and learn the final result only the next morning, when the paper arrives.
The finality of an election is the most sobering part. That morning, under your coffee and toast, is the result of all the noise and money of the campaign. There will be winners you don’t support and losers you did. You may be blue with the outcome, but you’ll adjust. We have great tolerance to adjust to disappointment.
Can you rest, knowing the majority made a mistake? Of course. In a democracy, we have only our vote, one of many, and disagreement is inevitable, but part of the contract is that we accept the majority or plurality as the end of the discussion.
A few years ago there used to be sticky patches you’d get, after you came out of the polling place, saying, “I voted.” Some places may still use them. But maybe we don’t need them. Maybe you can tell by looking intently at someone’s face the day after the election. You don’t need to ask, “Did you vote?” It should be obvious.
Want to increase turnout at the polls on election day? Tell everybody you meet you voted. Some will have their consciences tweaked enough to do the same. Some will look at you and decide they have a better idea than you about the choices to be made. Either way, you’ll have done your part. You voted.
"Voice from the Past" by Paul Gillies
Opinions Volume 2 Number 11 November 2000
top of this section November Opinions "Table of Contents" Secretary of State's Home Page
The Secretary of State’s Office
has just hired a Coordinator for the The Safe at Home Program
which is scheduled to begin in January.
About the Safe at Home ProgramThe Safe At Home program is part of an overall safety plan for survivors and their children of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking who have recently moved or are planning to relocate in the near future to a safe place unknown to their abuser.
The program grants participants a substitute mailing address to be used as the participant’s legal residence, work, and/or school address when corresponding with state and local government agencies (i.e., motor vehicles, health department, social services, etc.). State and local government agencies are not told the participant’s actual address. The program provides a substitute address so abusers cannot locate survivors through the public record system (I.e., voter registration, marriage and birth records, etc.). First-class mail is sent to the substitute address where it is then forwarded at no cost to the participant’s confidential physical location.
The Safe at home program plans to be in effect by January 2001, but until then, interested parties can call the Safe at Home Coordinator at (802)828-0586 for more information.
"The Safe At Home Program"
Opinions Volume 2 Number 11 November 2000
top of this section November Opinions "Table of Contents" Secretary of State's Home Page
Tell your pollworkers never to mention the name of a candidate during the hours the polling place is open. That way there will never be an occasion for anyone to accuse an election assistant of promoting a particular candidate. In explaining the voting process to a voter, describe the ballot as if there were no names written on it. Use “this candidate” or “that candidate.” The polling place should be like the “clean room” in a science lab: free of all politics, even a suggestion of one.
- NO POLITICKING IN THE POLLING PLACE.
LIMITING SIGNS AT THE POLLING PLACE. If you wish to prohibit political signs at the polling place there is a way you can declare the building containing a polling place and the lawn that goes with it, including the trees and sign posts, a sign-free zone. It depends on who owns the building. Is it the town’s? Then have the selectboard vote on the issue. Or the school board, if it’s a school, or the owner if it’s a private building. Enforce the order throughout election day. You can’t prohibit people from carrying signs, or having stickers on their cars in the parking lot. But you can keep the front lawn clear of signs.WHAT GOES INTO A BALLOT BAG. When you are done for the evening, after the counting is done, the counters have gone home, and the chairs are being folded up and put in their racks, you should be surrounded by ballot bags, all properly organized, sealed, and tagged, with all the information needed. Other than your coat, you should have only two items not packaged up in the ballot bags—(1) the summary sheet for all offices and questions and (2) the entrance checklist. Oh yes, the ballot bag tag numbers should be there as well. Otherwise, everything has gone into the bags, including the unused ballots (even those on the cardboard backing), the used absentee ballot envelopes and certificates, all neatly wrapped up category by category, with rubber bands and the exit checklist or alternative materials. Keep the ballots together. Imagine how it will look to the county clerk when it’s opened during a recount. If you have anything else left over, bag it and label it.THE 90 DAY RULE. You don’t have to keep all that material you bagged up on the night of the counting for 22 months, you know. Some town vaults are filled with bags that could be emptied. First of all you don’t need to keep anything from the 1998 elections, except the checklists, and statement of discrepancies (which are kept as permanent records for five years). 17 V.S.A. § 2590(d). After 90 days, you can dispose of the unvoted ballot pads, and the ballots and other materials on any local question or vote. The rest stays in the vault for 22 months in all.
TIPS ON COUNTING WRITE-INS. You need to discuss this subject with your counters. You should account for every write-in on the tally sheet. You should list instances where the voter was not accurate in spelling the name of a candidate rather than assuming what the voter intended. Then the election officials present can decide whether each variation was intended to be a vote for that candidate. You should count as a good vote a write-in of a candidate whose name appears on the ballot, but only as one vote per office ( A voter cannot mark an X for a candidate on the ballot and then also write-in that candidates name for the same office even in a two seat district. Where only a partial word appears, write that down on the tally sheet, keep that ballot at the top of the pile so that if you and your partner can’t agree on whether it’s a good vote, all of the election officials present will vote to decide the voter’s intent. (17 V.S.A. §2587(a))
CHARITY TO ELECTION ASSISTANTS. Please keep your election workers well-fed, appreciated, and happy during the polling process. Their jobs are not easy, after all, and they deserve all the kindliness available. Try rotating positions every hour, just to keep them fresh, and allow plenty of break time. A little cold air might be just the ticket. A letter following election day, expressing your thanks, will also go a long way to keeping friends.
COUNTING JPs. You know the rule that you don’t need to count all the votes for Justice of the Peace if you are certain there are insufficient write-ins to equal the number of candidates whose names are printed on the ballot. 17 V.S.A. § 2587(f). That process is not to be used if you have more candidates on the JP ballot than the number of JP seats you have to fill. This year, more than in other years we can remember, there have been many calls from citizens, wondering why parties are nominating full slates of JPs, when the local parties have long understood how the allocation should be done. If there are more candidates printed on the ballot than offices to be filled, count all the ballots, just as you did the other candidates in this election.
CHILDREN IN THE POLING PLACE, ONE MORE TIME. Let’s make this easy. If a child is not disruptive, the parent can bring the child into the booth. We learn from our parents, and the lessons of the voting booth are important.
MACHINE MALFUNCTIONS. It’s bound to happen. The voting machine is jammed, it just isn’t responding. The polls are closed, and it looks like you’re going to be counting by hand. Don’t think about this possibility for the first time when someone brings you a sad face. First, make sure you have the name of technicians who are on call to service your brand of machine. Also the pager numbers of additional staff from the manufacturer who may be able to talk you through resolving the problem with the machine. Also, plan ahead by talking to some additional people, and have them ready to help if needed. Ballots can’t be allowed to cool before they’re counted. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to find counters, and the longer you’ll be up tonight. Call the technician, of course, but be ready for the worst, just in case.
AFFIRMATION FORMS. At the back of Election Perspectives, we printed a form for voters to complete who have filled out the short form at the Department of Motor Vehicles and have nothing to show for the fact that they’ve already registered. As a last resort, in only those case, this form will be useful. Please don’t treat this form as a general amnesty from all laws on how to get on the checklist. To do that would be a mistake. No voter should be allowed to vote without having registered first, by the deadline on October 28 of this year—without a judge’s order.
TAKING IT TO THE JUDGE. Some people haven’t qualified to vote. They’re angry, and they blame you. “What can we do now,” they ask. They can visit the Superior or District Court and present a written appeal to a judge. 17 V.S.A. § 2148(a). The judge holds a hearing, and issues a written order, which might include direction to the presiding officer to admit the voter to the checklist. One town clerk goes the extra distance for these voters, and writes the judge a short note, explaining what she knows of the situation, and even explaining she has no objection to an order allowing the applicant to vote, if the Court makes the right order.
THE DELUGE. There may be more people voting in this election than in any other in our state’s history. In fact, that’s pretty likely, given the growth of the checklist and the number of absentee ballots that have gone out. Prepare for a groundswell. Have extra people available to be called if you need them. This is especially true from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., which are apt to be the busiest, except the noon hour. What a tragedy it would be for even a single voter to have to turn away and not vote because the line is moving too slowly. What can you do to ensure a smooth-running line? You can be sure nobody slows things down by stopping and talking to their friends. And you reassure the people in line that you’re doing the best you can under the circumstances.
POLLWATCHERS, AGAIN. Every major party and every candidate in the General Election not represented by a major party may send pollwatchers to the polling place on November 7. For most towns, those with over 500 names on the checklist, this means finding an area outside the guardrails of the polling place, where pollwatchers may hear the name of each person who goes to the entrance checklist (the voter is to state his/her name loudly and the entrance checklist person is to repeat it loudly.). There may be two people from each party or candidate, and they should be accommodated.
17 V.S.A. § 2564. For those smaller towns listed above, representatives of parties or candidates must notify you at least 12 hours before the opening of the polls that they want to view the checklist at two times during the election day, when you are not busy. 17 V.S.A. § 2572.
THE COUNTING PROCESS. Your Opening Remarks. As presiding officer you are responsible for organizing the counting process. Don’t just start. Gather everybody around you in a circle. Make sure everybody has taken the oath as an election official before the count begins. Pair up experienced counters with new ones, and go over the basic rule that the bottom number must equal 50 or 100 or whatever your target number is for each race except those running in races where two or more are being elected. Tell them to look carefully at each ballot and take close calls seriously enough stop a minute to consider them. If you can’t decide, put it aside and consider it as a group, with the majority of election officials present voting to determine any question regarding the intent of the voter. Bring your completed tallies, with bound ballots, to the summary table over there. Thank them for agreeing to help, and wish them luck.
CHECKING THE LATE MAIL. Once the day’s mail has arrived, make sure you check through it for absentee ballots or voter registration information. It’s easy to forget in the hurly-burly of the day.
A WORD ABOUT ORDER. This is an important election for Vermonters, and some voters have worked themselves into a lather about a candidate or a cause. There’s no reason to expect trouble at the polling place, but prepare for it. Let the constable know he’s on duty that day, or at least talk to those who might be needed in an emergency.
HOW TO CLOSE A METAL BALLOT BAG SEAL. Thread the string through the grommets at the top of the bag, then thread the free end of the line through the tie so that both strings are through the back of the tie. The point is to tie a knot that will be inside the seal when it is folded shut. A square knot will do. Then carefully bend the seal toward you, around the knot, folding the clasp into place.
ASSISTANT PRESIDING OFFICER. There must be one at all times at each polling place. One person can’t do everything. There has to be time to go away from the polling place for a few minutes during the day. The appointment belongs to the presiding officer, and you may have more than one during the day. Don’t try to do everything yourself.
FIRST TIME VOTERS. Celebrate them. Have the pollworkers give them a round of applause. Encourage them to feel welcome.
THE BIN INSIDE THE DOOR. That’s where election materials go before the voter proceeds into the polling place, unless they’re tucked away in a pocket or handbag. Nothing disturbs some voters more than seeing a pamphlet left in a voting booth or on a table. Pollworkers need to keep a sharp eye out for such paper, and quickly dispose of it immediately.
TIMELY MAILING OF OFFICIAL RETURNS. With Veterans Day being celebrated on November 9 and 10, we need all Town Clerks to either hand deliver or use overnight delivery to make sure that the Office of the Secretary of State receives your Official Return of Votes by 4:30 on Thursday, November 9, 2000. If needed, we will reimburse towns for the additional expense of overnight delivery.
In our monthly Opinions we provide what we believe the law requires base upon our legal judgment, year of observing Vermont's local government practices, and Vermont court decisions. This information is intended as a reference guide. This information is not intended to replace the advice of legal counsel.
Opinions of Opinions
Opinions
Volume 2 Number 11 November 2000
top of this section November Opinions "Table of Contents" Secretary of State's Home Page
Chittenden County Public Service Awards
Trinity College, October 24, 2000
The Town of Essex
William B. Adams, John Bartlett, Barbara Blanchette, Jerry Firkey, Catherine Jones,
Barbara B. Mudgett, Willis Racht, Edward Von Sitas, and Larry Yandow, Jr.
"Chittenden County Service Awards"
Opinions
Volume 2 Number 11 November 2000
top of this section
November Opinions "Table of
Contents"
Secretary of State's
Home Page
ELECTION BULLETIN
2000 General ElectionPlease review the detailed Elections Bulletins that we have mailed to each Town and City Clerk. Kathy DeWolfe and Melanie Jacobs will be available from 7:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. November 7th if you need assistance of any kind at (800) 439-8683 or (802) 828-2363.
IMPORTANT DATES after the November 7th GENERAL ELECTION
November 9
Within 48 hours of the close of the polls, the town clerk shall deliver one certified copy of the official return of votes to the secretary of state, representative district clerk, senatorial district clerk and county clerk.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10TH IS A HOLIDAY THIS YEAR. WE MUST RECEIVE YOUR ORV’s BY THURSDAY NOVEMBER 9Th. USE AN OVERNIGHT MAIL OR DELIVERY SERVICE (UPS, FED EX) OR WHATEVER IS NECESSARY FOR US TO RECEIVE YOUR COMPLETED ORV’s BY THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2000. We will reimburse your town for costs if needed.
November 14
Tuesday, one week after the election, at 10:00 a.m. all canvassing committees meet to tally returns and issue certificates of election to the Candidates elected (17 V.S.A.§ 2592(g)). In the case of a tie vote, the canvassing committee must petition the appropriate Superior Court immediately to request a recount (17 V.S.A. § 2592(l)).
November 17
This is the last day a losing candidate may request a recount.
November 22
This is the last day a legal voter may contest the results of the general election (17 V.S.A. § 2603).
We thank all Vermont’s Town, City and County Clerks who with the assistance of election officials have very professionally and successfully carried out their pre-election responsibilities—we know there has been a great increase in pre-election activities. We look forward to a very professionally administered General Election because of your dedication and hard work.
THANKS
"Election Bulletin"
Opinions
Volume 2 Number 11 November 2000
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November Opinions "Table of
Contents"
Secretary of State's
Home Page
A MESSAGE FROM ARCHIVES
GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR MUNICIPAL RECORDS
The Vermont Historical Records Advisory Board (VHRAB) is in the midst of a two year project to provide training and other resources for Vermont's recordkeepers. Municipal clerks are a primary audience we would like to work with.
In addition to workshops, we are offering two grant programs. The first provides for an archivist to work directly with staff to do an on-site needs assessment. The municipal office would then develop an active management for its records, based on the assessment report. The plans would prioritize needs, develop a timeline of action steps, and identify funding strategies. VHRAB feels that such plans, by clearly stating goals and activities, can help municipal governing bodies, and residents, better understand the realities, and costs, of keeping records authentic and accessible.
The second grant is to provide an archivist to work with staff and volunteers to arrange and describe a local collection of records. While this program is primarily designed for public libraries and local historical societies, VHRAB would entertain proposals to explore the indexing of municipal records.
VHRAB encourages collaborative proposals through which several towns could share an archivist not only to address their individual needs, but also to work together to identify common needs or best practice models.
For further information contact Gregory Sanford at the State Archives (gsanford@sec.state.vt.us; 802 828-2369) or visit the VHRAB website at: http://www.vermont-archives.org/boards/vhrab/vhrab.htm
"A Message from Archives"
Opinions
Volume 2 Number 11 November 2000
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November Opinions "Table of
Contents"
Secretary of State's
Home Page
November Calendar
TUESDAY 7
GENERAL ELECTION DAY 17 V.S.A. § 2103(15).
Presiding Officer must ensure that there is no campaigning of any kind and no campaign literature displayed, placed or distributed inside the polling place. On walks and driveways leading to a polling place, no candidate or other person may physically interfere with the progress of a voter to and from the polling place. 17 V.S.A. § 2508.
Polls must be open no earlier than 6:00 a.m. and no later than 10:00 a.m. (opening hours set by Board of Civil Authority). Polls remain open until 7:00 p.m. 17 V.S.A. § 2561.
(Upon opening of polls) List of absentee voters must be posted at polling place(s) and in Town Clerk’s office, and must remian posted until all votes are counted. 17 V.S.A. § 2534.
For those who became eligible to vote after the second Saturday prior to election day and had notified Town Clerk of intent to apply for addition to the checklist, the Board of Civil Authority may act on applications until polls are closed. 17 V.S.A. § 2144(c).
As soon as possible after the polls close, Town Clerk or other Presiding Officer must examine entrance and exit checklists and prepare a statement of discrepancies. 17 V.S.A. § 2583.
Presiding Officer directs Election Officials in counting ballots. 17 V.S.A. §§ 2581, 2582.
Election Officials must seal all ballots, entrance checklist(s) and tally sheets. 17 V.S.A. §§ 2590, 2689, 2583.
WEDNESDAY 8
(No later than 24 hours after polls close) Presiding Officer and one other Election Official shall transfer the totals from the summary sheets to the return and both sign the return. 17 V.S.A. § 2588.
THURSDAY 9
(Within 48 hours of closing of polls) Town Clerk shall deliver one certified copy of each general election return to the Secretary of State, county clerk, representative district clerk and senatorial district clerk. 17 V.S.A. § 2588.
SATURDAY 11
Veterans Day. 1 V.S.A. § 371.
FRIDAY 17
Last day for a losing candidate to request a recount (within 10 days after election). 17 V.S.A. § 2588(b).
WEDNESDAY 22
Last day a legal voter may contest the results of the general election (within 15 days after the election). 17 V.S.A. § 2603(c).
THURSDAY 23
Thanksgiving Day. 1 V.S.A. § 371.
"November Calendar"
Opinions Volume 2 Number
10 November 2000
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