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VERMONT SECRETARY OF STATE - Jim Condos | |||||||
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December 2008 Press Releases
Secretary of State
Markowitz Takes Voluntary Pay Cut - December 15, 2008 Vermont's Electors to Cast Official Ballots for President and Vice-President - December 11, 2008 Vermont Secretary of
State Deb Markowitz Takes Part in National Conference in Washington, DC
- December 9, 2008 Vermont Secretary of
State's Office Seeks Nominations for Vermont Centennial Business Awards
- December 3, 2008 Vermont Secretary of
State's Office to Conduct Election Audit - December 1, 2008
December 1, 2008 Vermont Secretary of State’s Office to Conduct Election Audit Montpelier. The Vermont Secretary of State’s Office will conduct a random audit of vote tabulator results for the 2008 general election at Noble Lounge, Union Institute (formerly VT College), in Montpelier on December 2, 2008, starting at 8:30 a.m. Results of the races for Governor and Lieutenant Governor from the towns of Barnet, Brattleboro (Windham 3-2), Rockingham, and Stowe will be audited.
What:
Random audit of vote tabulator results ### | |
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Contact: Ginny Colbert For Immediate Release (802) 828-2148 December 3, 2008 ____________________________________________________________________
Is Your Business A Century Old? Program Honors Vermont's Centennial Businesses Montpelier. Today Secretary of State Deb Markowitz put out a call for nominations for the 2009 Vermont Centennial Business Awards. This program, a joint project of the Secretary of State’s office, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, and the Vermont Business Magazine, honors businesses that have operated in Vermont for at least 100 years. Secretary Markowitz said, “Any business that has been in operation in Vermont for 100 years or more can participate in the awards program by filling out an application and providing verification of its business start date." Vermont's centennial businesses will be presented with a plaque at an awards ceremony in March. “It is important to recognize Vermont's businesses for their longevity," said Secretary Markowitz. “It takes a tremendous amount of dedication to keep a business active for 100 years. The Vermont Centennial Business Award acknowledges Vermont's oldest businesses for enriching our economic heritage. This program deepens our understanding of how Vermont's businesses have enhanced our community life during the last 100 years.” Deadline for applications is January 16, 2009. For more information about the awards program and to obtain an application, contact Ginny Colbert at 802-828-2148 or gcolbert@sec.state.vt.us or visit the Vermont Centennial Business Awards page on the Secretary of State's website: http://www.sec.state.vt.us/centennial_business.html ### Contact – Ginny Colbert,
802-828-2148
Immediate Release – December 9, 2008 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Secretary of State Markowitz Takes Part in
National Conference Elections experts gather to evaluate the 2008 election and plan for the future. Washington, D.C. Vermont Secretary of State Deb Markowitz is in the nation’s capitol this week participating in a national conference on elections. Voting in America: The Road Ahead is sponsored by Make Voting Work, a project of the Pew Center on the States and hosted in collaboration with the JEHT Foundation. “I am pleased to be part of this discussion and share Vermont’s experiences. I also appreciate the opportunity to hear from other election experts,” says Markowitz. Voting in America will revisit the 2008 election, using that experience as an opportunity to assess what progress has been made since 2000 in modernizing the nation’s system of voting and what work remains. Over 200 leading policymakers, election officials, and experts across the field will come together to present research, build partnerships, and encourage discussion aimed at shaping the future of American elections in 2009 and beyond. The conference begins today and runs through Wednesday, December 10, at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. Learn more about the Pew Center at www.pewtrusts.org. Information about Vermont’s election process is available at the Secretary of State’s website at www.sec.state.vt.us. ###
Contact: Office of the Secretary of State
For Immediate Release:
Vermont Electors to Cast Official Ballots for President and Vice-President Montpelier. The Secretary of State’s Office announces that the three Vermont electors will meet on Monday, December 15, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. in Room 11 of the Statehouse in Montpelier to cast official ballots for president and vice-president of the United States. Vermont’s electors are Claire Ayer, Weybridge; Euan Bear, Bakersfield; and Kevin B. Christie, Hartford. At the meeting the electors will take oaths of allegiance and oaths of office; organize by electing a president, clerk, and messenger; cast official ballots for the president and vice-president of the United States, and complete a Certificate of Vote to be sent to Washington. According to 17 V.S.A. §2731, the statewide canvassing board shall issue its certificates of election “to the electors nominated by the party whose candidate for president has received the greatest number of votes.” The next section (17 V.S.A. §2732) provides that “the electors must vote for the candidates for president and vice-president who received the greatest number of votes at the general election.” For more information about this meeting, or the Electoral College proceeding in Vermont, please contact Kathy DeWolfe, Director of Elections at (802) 828-2304. ### Monday, December 15, 2008
Contact: Ginny Colbert _______________________________________________________ Markowitz Takes Voluntary Pay Cut Secretary of State Deb Markowitz to take five percent pay cut beginning in January Montpelier. Today, Secretary of State Deb Markowitz announced she would join Governor Douglas in taking a voluntary five percent reduction in salary in 2009. The announcement comes after the Douglas administration released details of the state’s rescission package earlier today. The administration’s proposal is seeking a five percent pay cut for all non-elected Executive Branch exempt employees making over $60,000 per year. “Since the administration is asking our employees to make personal financial sacrifices; it is only fair that I, as an elected official, do so as well,” says Markowitz. The proposed pay cuts will impact appointed state employees…generally commissioners, attorneys, deputies, and assistants. Secretary Markowitz remarked, “The national financial crisis is hitting Vermont hard and state government needs to find ways to be nimble in times of fiscal difficulties. While cutting salaries is a short term solution, we should look at how we can make government work better for Vermont taxpayers.” These pay reductions would become effective in January 2009. # # # # | |