Guest editorial: Vermont’s civic future is at risk

As Vermonters, we are fortunate to have a state government that believes voting is a right, not a privilege. One that takes seriously the Constitutional command to carefully protect the right to vote; the right from which all other rights flow.Online voter registration, same day registration, early voting, no-excuse absentee voting, automatic voter registration and now universally mailed ballots are all initiatives expanding registration numbers and access to the ballot box.As Deputy Secretary of State, I’m … (read more)

More than 260,000 Vermonters voted early this year, by returning the absentee ballots they were mailed in late September and early October. With General Election ballots mailed to all voters, and with town and city clerks allowed to begin processing those … (read more)

MONKTON — The Monkton Town Office will be open on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to assist voters who may not have received their election ballots in the mail. According to an announcement sent out by the town Friday afternoon, a large volume o … (read more)

This is an open letter to our elected and candidate state representatives and senators in Addison County regarding an ongoing initiative called “Sign the Pledge: Count Every Vote Vermont.”  The President of the United States has hinted that he may not acc … (read more)

ADDISON COUNTY — All Vermont residents who are registered to vote were sent a ballot by Oct. 1, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have not received one in the mail contact your town clerk. Vermonters may mail in their ballots, return them in a secu … (read more)

ADDISON COUNTY — In a normal election year dozens — sometimes scores — of absentee ballots come into town clerks’ offices around Addison County before the main event, Election Day — when voters stream into the polls to make their voices heard in person. 2 … (read more)

If you are looking for ways to participate in the democratic process before Election Day, consider joining nearly 200 of your friends and neighbors who are writing postcards, making calls, sending texts, and organizing to support the Biden-Harris ticket a … (read more)

By any measure U.S. citizens do not show up to vote in respectable or democratic numbers. Internationally we are listed in the bottom third of developed countries when it comes to voter turnout in national elections. Countries like Belgium, Sweden, Denmar … (read more)

ADDISON COUNTY AND BRANDON — Anger over the precipitous decline in the quality of mail delivery from the U.S. Postal Service showed itself this past Saturday when protests popped up in front of at least three local post offices. Slogans on placards and po … (read more)

On Aug. 18, Donald Trump posthumously pardoned Susan B. Anthony. who voted illegally in 1872, well before the 19th amendment granted some women that right in 1920. I wonder if he would have pardoned her if she were black. For decades, Anthony fought shoul … (read more)

We believe in the importance of doing something in this critical electoral season to get out the vote. Our fragile democracy depends on voter participation, especially of formerly marginalized citizens and those who have not voted in previous elections. O … (read more)

ADDISON COUNTY — A record number of Vermonters voted in Tuesday’s primary, and the majority of them voted early by absentee ballot. As of Wednesday afternoon, with all but one state district recorded, the Secretary of State’s office reported that 159,701 … (read more)

It’s normal to have several candidates vying for the two top offices in the state during every primary. But typically the two major party candidates are well known and the primary serves as a warm-up to the General Election.  For Democrats, this year is a … (read more)

This week’s writer is Ruth Hardy, a state senator representing Addison County, Huntington and Buels Gore. She lives in East Middlebury with her husband and three children. As a citizen, I take voting very seriously. The act of voting for me is celebratory … (read more)

With 12 days still to go until Vermont’s Aug. 11 primary election, more voters have requested absentee ballots for the primary than voted both in person and by mail in the 2016 and 2018 primaries. More than 150,000 voters may end up requesting absentee ba … (read more)