November 2008 Press Releases

Statewide Canvassing Committee Certifies Vermont's Election Results - November 11, 2008
Secretary of State's office releases official election returns

Vermont Students Vote for Obama for President and Douglas for Governor in Mock Elections - November 5, 2008
Secretary of State's Office announces mock election results.

PRESS RELEASE

 Contact Missy Shea: 802-828-1296
Civic Education and Voter Outreach Coordinator

For Immediate Release: November 5, 2008

Vermont Students Vote Obama For President
And Douglas For Governor In Statewide Mock Election 

Montpelier.  Presidential candidate Barack Obama and gubernatorial candidate Jim Douglas were the students' choices in this year’s Vermont Votes for Kids mock election. Barack Obama was the favorite for president, receiving approximately 72 percent of the students’ vote.  John McCain received 24 percent.  The remaining candidates received four percent of the votes cast.

In the governor’s race Jim Douglas won with 51 percent of the vote. Gaye Symington received 21 percent, with Anthony Pollina receiving 15 percent of the student vote. 

This year over 300 Vermont schools participated in Vermont Votes for Kids activities with 35,000 students casting mock ballots.  A centerpiece of this year’s Vermont Votes for Kids program was Democracy in Action, a six week Newspaper in Education Series on voting and democracy which was used in classrooms across Vermont. Democracy in Action was developed by Vermont Votes for Kids in partnership with the Burlington Free Press.  Through Vermont Votes for Kids students participated in classroom lessons that included mock elections, monitoring election results, researching candidates and “registering” to vote for the election.  Students then went to their local polling places to vote or cast a ballot in their classroom.

Look for our sixth and final Democracy in Action page in daily newspapers across the state this Thursday and Friday.  Detailed results from 30 schools, as well as final voting percentages for the major races, will be included.  Complete results by school will be available on www.VermontVotesForKids.com on Wednesday afternoon.

Vermont Votes for Kids is a non-profit, non-partisan organization designed to increase voter turnout and create a better-informed electorate.  For more information about Vermont Votes for Kids or with questions about this year’s mock election visit www.VermontVotesForKids.com or contact Missy Shea at 802-828-1296.

View the 2008 Mock Election Results on our website at http://www.sec.state.vt.us/kids/vtvotes/2008_Mock_Election_Results.pdf

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PRESS RELEASE

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Contact:  Ginny Colbert (802) 828-2148

Canvassing Committee Certifies Election Results 

Statewide canvassing committee certifies results of Vermont’s general election 

Montpelier.  The statewide canvassing committee, composed of the secretary of state and the chair of the state committee of each major political party or his/her designee, met today at the secretary of state’s office to certify the election returns from the November 4, 2008, general election.

Abstracts containing official returns from all Vermont towns were sent to the secretary of state's office where they were reviewed and totaled to prepare the official statewide results. Prior to the canvass, all returns from the election were considered unofficial. Results were compiled by the secretary of state for the offices of president, U.S. representative, governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer, secretary of state, auditor of accounts, and attorney general.

Markowitz said “I am pleased to see that we had a very strong turnout in this election.  Over 66 percent of the voting age population cast votes.”  Markowitz says that 326,822 out of 489,901 Vermonters of voting age turned out to vote in the general election.  Approximately 29 percent of voters cast their votes by early or absentee ballot, surpassing previous records.  The official report of the canvassing committee is posted on the Secretary of State’s elections results webpage at http://vermont-elections.org/soshome.htm.  A chart comparing voter turnout from 1974 to 2008 is available at http://vermont-elections.org/elections1/1974to2008RegPop.html. 

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