State of VermontOffice of the Secretary of State
State of VermontIn keeping with our statutory obligations, we provide election officials with workshops and informational material every two years.
We will be mailing all Board of Civil Authority members a copy of the 1996 Election Perspectives in July. Each book will contain a letter inviting BCA members to the following workshops:
- BENNINGTON: Tuesday, July 23, 7 p.m., County Court House.
- CHELSEA: Thursday, July 25, 7 p.m., County Court House.
- MIDDLEBURY: Tuesday, July 30, 7 p.m., Ilsley Public Library.
- HYDE PARK: Thursday, August 1, 7 p.m., County Court House.
- WOODSTOCK: Tuesday, August 13, 7 p.m., County Court House.
- ST. JOHNSBURY: Wednesday, August 14, 7 p.m., County Court House.
In addition, we will be doing two interactive television workshops. The first is Tuesday, August 20 at 7 p.m. and the second is Thursday, August 22 at 1 p.m.
We'll be broadcasting from the Waterbury site and will be beamed to all other sites (Bennington, Brattleboro, Canaan, Middlebury, Newport, Randolph, Rutland, St. Albans, St. Johnsbury, South Burlington and Springfield). More information will be forthcoming in the Elections Perspectives mailing.
We look forward to seeing all of you. For any of you who can't make the above workshops and might want to organize several towns for a workshop, please e-mail Elections Director Ellen Tofferi (Etofferi@sec.state.vt.us) or give us a call.
- PETITIONS
Petitions for the primary are due Monday, July 15, by 5 p.m. 17 V.S.A. § 2356.
Candidates for state representative must submit petitions containing 50 signatures as well as a consent form. Candidates for state senate, who file with the senatorial district clerk (the county clerk in all counties but Essex and Grand Isle) must submit petitions containing 100 signatures and a consent form.
County clerks should expect to receive petitions from candidates for high bailiff. Unlike other county officers who hold office for four years, high bailiffs still run every two years.
High bailiff candidates also must submit a consent form and petitions containing at least 100 signatures to their respective county clerks. 17 V.S.A. §§ 2355 and 2357.
By July 18, the law requires representative district clerks, senatorial district clerks and county clerks to notify our office of the names of all candidates and the offices for which they have filed. 17 V.S.A. § 2359.
We have found that the easiest method of doing this is for you to mail or fax the consent forms to our office. The mailing address is:
Elections Divisionand our fax is: 802-828-5171.
Office of the Secretary of State
109 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05609-1101We ask that you send names along with all due haste as we will be sending ballots to the printers by Friday, July 19th or Saturday, July 20th.
The law requires only that the filing officer examine the petitions to ascertain whether they contain a sufficient number of legible signatures. 17 V.S.A. § 2358.
Filing officers need not do anything more than count to 50 or 100, as the case may be, unless they have reason to believe the petitions are defective.
If a filing officer believes petitions are defective, the officer should examine the petitions more carefully.
Signatures may be disqualified for illegibility and, upon examination, if the signer's name does not appear on the checklist of the town indicated as the town of residence.
If a candidate files a petition with the requisite number of signatures but falls short of that number upon further examination, a filing officer must state in writing why the petition cannot be accepted and must return it to the candidate within 72 hours.
Supplementary petitions are allowed to be filed until July 25, but we ask that you urge any candidate who needs supplemental petitions to submit them immediately, as ballots need to be printed. 17 V.S.A. §2358(b)
Please notify us immediately if you have a candidate gathering signatures on supplemental petitions.
Filing officers may ask for and receive, promptly and without charge, checklists from the towns in their respective districts.
If you are a clerk who receives such a request, please honor it promptly. 17 V.S.A. § 2358(d).
- CAMPAIGN FINANCE
After the July filing deadline, we will be printing up a campaign finance guide for candidates, mailing copies to each candidate individually, and posting a version on the Internet (www.sec.state.vt.us).
We'll also be forwarding guides to filing officers for those candidates who never can have enough campaign finance guides!
- VOTING MACHINES/BALLOTS
Our ballot order is going out to bid as we write.
If your town is contemplating using a voting machine during this election cycle you should have notified us by now so we'll have ordered sufficient numbers of the appropriate ballots!
- INDEPENDENT JPs (Act No. 95)
For years people have called us wanting to run for justice of the peace without being nominated by a political party, and we've always had to say "no way." Now, in addition to the process of being nominated by a political party, persons interested in serving as a justice of the peace may run as independents.
Prospective candidates must file petitions containing 30 signatures or the signatures of one percent of the legal voters of the municipality, whichever is less.
The petitions must be filed with the town clerk by Thursday, September 19, 1996. A consent form must be filed simultaneously.