Elections in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

are authorized under Chapter II of the Vermont State Constitution, articles 43–49, which establishes elections for the state level officers, cabinet, and legislature. Articles 50–53 establish the election of county-level officers. Elections are regulated under state statute, Title 17. The office of the

Vermont Secretary of State The secretary of state of Vermont is one of five cabinet-level constitutional officers in the U.S. state of Vermont which are elected every two years. The secretary of state is fourth (behind the lieutenant governor, speaker of the House of Repre ...

has an Elections Division that oversees the execution of elections under state law. According to a ranking by the Electoral Integrity Project in 2018, Vermont ranked first among U.S. states in terms of electoral integrity. It scored 83 out of 100, its highest score being in the electoral procedures and results section (93) and lowest in the voter registration section (70). In a 2020 study, Vermont was ranked as the 9th easiest state for citizens to vote in.

Administration

The

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

holds its state

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

s on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November (better known as

Election Day Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections ar ...

) in even-numbered years. As a result of this, general elections in Vermont systematically coincide with the biennial

Elections in the United States Elections in the United States are held for Official, government officials at the Federal government of the United States, federal, State governments of the United States, state, and Local government in the United States, local levels. At the ...

. Vermont has 150 seats in its House of Representatives, and 30 seats in its Senate. An apparent election loser, behind by 2% or less of the total votes cast, may request a recount. Immediately after an election, the poll officers in each town or city tally the ballots and municipal clerks report totals to the

and the respective county clerk. County clerks would be involved in official recounts under the jurisdiction of the Superior Court. Individuals may hold two or more sub-county-level offices concurrently should they win election to such. Countywide, legislature and higher officeholders may hold no more than one concurrent municipal-level office.

Election cycle

During November general elections in Vermont, elections are held for the positions of

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, secretary of state,

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

auditor of accounts The Vermont State Auditor of Accounts is one of six constitutional officers in Vermont, elected statewide every two years. The Office provides an independent and objective assessment of Vermont's governmental operations. The current Auditor is ...

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

state's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

, assistant judge,

probate judge A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as Orphans' Courts o ...

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

high bailiff The High Bailiff ( gv, Ard-Vaylee) is a legal position held within the Isle of Man. The High Bailiff is the head stipendiary magistrate. The current High Bailiff is Her Worship Jayne Hughes, who took office on 11 March 2019. The High Bailiff a ...

and

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, as well as occasional ballot questions and referendums. Officials elected to these offices are elected for a term of two or four years. Parties internally reorganize every two years by holding state, county, and town committee elections during odd-numbered off-years.

State level

Vermont's governor, lieutenant governor, and other statewide executive officials are elected at-large. Two or three state senators are elected per county . One or two state representatives are elected per district.

County level

Countywide officials, including state's attorneys, judges, and sheriffs, are elected at-large per county every four years, and 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, or 15 county-level justices are elected per town, determined by population, or 15 per city.

Municipal level

Mayors, deputy or assistant mayors, city councilors, ward clerks, and inspectors of elections are elected on 2- or 3-year cycles by city, of which Vermont has 8. For towns and villages, municipal-level officials, including town clerks, town managers, moderators, selectboard members, town auditors, listers, grand jurors, constables, bailiffs, and trustees, are elected separately during

town meeting Town meeting is a form of local government in which most or all of the members of a community are eligible to legislate policy and budgets for local government. It is a town- or city-level meeting in which decisions are made, in contrast with ...

s on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March.

Criteria for election

Vermont's Constitution requires that a gubernatorial or other statewide candidate achieve a majority of the popular vote (i.e. more than 50%) in order to be elected. If a candidate does not receive a majority of the vote, the General Assembly (state legislature) chooses from the three candidates who received the most votes. This has happened twenty times in Vermont history. Twice in the 18th century, fourteen times in the 19th century, three times in the 20th century, and once in the 21st century.

Primaries

Both the Vermont secretary of state and the chairperson of the state committee of each major party certifies primary elections under Vermont Statutes, Title 17, Chapter 51, article 2592. Currently ^, the Democratic, Progressive, Liberty Union, and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

parties are qualified to hold primary elections in the state.

History

Voting patterns

Electorally, Republicans predominated for most of the state's history until the 1960s, even when the rest of the country was voting Democratic. Democrats started to become competitive in the 1970s, and have predominated at the polls since the 1990s. As a result, Vermont has sometimes voted contrarian in national elections. In 1832, Vermont was the only state voting for a presidential candidate from the

Anti-Masonic Party The Anti-Masonic Party was the earliest third party in the United States. Formally a single-issue party, it strongly opposed Freemasonry, but later aspired to become a major party by expanding its platform to take positions on other issues. After ...

. It was only one of two states to vote for

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

in 1912, and Vermont and

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

were the only states to vote against

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

in all four of his successful presidential campaigns. In 1955, voters elected Consuelo N. Bailey to be lieutenant governor, the first woman to be elected to that position in the country. Prior to 1915, Vermont held its general election in September. Because it was one of the earliest elections in the nation, it was carefully followed. National politicians campaigned in the state in the summer to influence the turnout, including

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

and

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

. While the vote was assured for the Republican party at that time, the size of victory was thought by some, before polls, to predict how the national elections might go. Republicans dominated Vermont elections from the party's founding in 1854 until the mid-1970s. From 1856 to 1988, Vermont voted Republican in every presidential election with only one exception in 1964. Vermont consecutively had Republican governors for over a century until Democrat Phillip Hoff was elected in 1962. Prior to the 1960s, rural interests dominated the legislature. As in the early 1960s, many progressive Vermont Republicans and newcomers from New York state helped bolster the state's small Democratic Party. However, since 1962, no successive governor has been from the same party as their predecessor. By 1970, the population of those aged between 18 and 34 increased by half, owing to in-migration. Many of those were

hippies A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

or had a more liberal outlook than existing residents. The state grew from 444,732 in 1970 to 511,456 in 1980, the largest increase since the Civil War. 59% of this growth was from out of state. In 1980, Vermont gave independent candidate John B. Anderson 15% of its vote, thereby tipping the state to Republican

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

. Since 1992, Vermont had supported a Democrat for president in every election, and by double-digit margins all but once (in 2000). Republicans have not seriously contested the state since then, and Vermont is now reckoned as part of the "Blue Wall." Vermont gave John Kerry his fourth-largest margin of victory in 2004, behind the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, and

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. He won the state's popular vote by 20 percentage points over incumbent

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

, taking 58.9% of the vote. Essex County in the state's northeastern section was the only county to vote for Bush. Vermont still remains the only state that President Bush has not visited. On the other hand, Republican governor Douglas won all counties but Windham in the 2006 election. Vermonters have been ticket-splitters. Underlining how Republican Vermont once was, Donald Trump and George W. Bush are the only Republicans to win the White House without carrying Vermont. The 2020 election, was the first time the state was the most Democratic in the nation.

Recent Elections

Vermont's 2006 state general election was held on November 7, 2006. The state's last state primary election was held on September 12, 2006. In 2008, the Democrats, in charge of the House, appointed Richard Westman, a Republican, to chair the Transportation Committee. When he resigned in 2009 to accept a post elsewhere, the leadership appointed another Republican, Patrick M. Brennan to that chair. In 2008, an

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

poll found that Vermonters self-described themselves as "liberal" (32%) more often than any other state in the union, behind only the

. In 2009, the state had a

Cook Partisan Voting Index The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated Cook PVI, CPVI, or PVI, is a measurement of how strongly a United States congressional district or U.S. state leans toward the Democratic or Republican Party, compared to the nation as a whole, based ...

of D+13, tying with Hawaii to be the most Democratic state in the country, exceeded only by the District of Columbia. In January 2010 nine Vermonters announced they were planning to run for several state offices: governor, lieutenant governor and seven seats in the state Senate on a Vermont secession platform. The candidates did not organize a formal political party organization but are running as individuals under the "Vermont Independence Party" label.

Political parties in Vermont

Political party affiliation was not a factor in Vermont politics from 1778 to 1797. Starting in 1798, leading politicians were members of the

Democratic-Republican Party The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

until about 1830. Thereafter,

National Republican Party The National Republican Party, also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party or simply Republicans, was a political party in the United States that evolved from a conservative-leaning faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that supported John Qu ...

, and Whig Party politicians held sway until 1855. Starting in 1854, the state voted solidly Republican until 1962. Starting in 1963, the governor's office alternated between the Democratic and Republican parties with each election. In 1987, the Democratic Party captured both chambers of the legislature. Since 1987, Vermont House and Senate have each been Democratic for all but two of the eleven terms between then and 2013. For many years, Vermont was a stronghold of the Republican Party. In the late 1980s, the

Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to: Active parties * Progressive Party, Brazil * Progressive Party (Chile) * Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus * Dominica Progressive Party * Progressive Party (Iceland) * Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...

was formed, and began electing candidates to local and statewide offices. Some candidates ran for office with the nomination of both the Progressive and Democratic Parties, although this was sometimes avoided for fear of the Progressives getting simply absorbed into the larger Democratic Party. With the exception of the more conservative and rural

Northeast Kingdom The Northeast Kingdom (also, locally, "The Kingdom" and abbreviated NEK) is the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Vermont, approximately comprising Essex County, Vermont, Essex, Orleans County, Vermont, Orleans and Caledonia County, Vermont, ...

Rutland County Rutland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,572, making it the second-most populous county in Vermont. Its county seat and most populous municipality is the city of Rutland. H ...

, and

Bennington County Bennington County is a county in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,347. The shire towns (county seats) are jointly Bennington ("The Southshire") and Manchester ("The Northshire"), and the largest municipal ...

, the Progressive and Democratic Parties have become the two dominant political forces, with the Republican Party being relegated to third ever since its loss in popularity in the state since the 1980s onward. The success of the party led to it becoming the most successful

third party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a Veh ...

in any US state, and secured Vermont as a multi-party political environment. Other contemporary parties operating in Vermont include the

Liberty Union Party The Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party, known as the Liberty Union Party (LUP) until 2021, is a political party active in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is a self-proclaimed "non-violent socialist party". The LUP was founded in 1970 by former ...

(1970),

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

(1972), and Green Mountain Party (2015).

Political parties

Vermont law requires political parties to reorganize in every odd-numbered year by electing members at town caucuses and then sending representatives to county committees, which send representatives to the state committee meeting. Statute exempts minor parties from holding county meetings. The Vermont Secretary of State maintains a list of designated major and minor parties. Major political parties in Vermont * Democratic * Progressive *

Minor political parties in Vermont * Liberty Union *

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

*Green Mountain Party The

Vermont Progressive Party The Vermont Progressive Party, formerly the Progressive Coalition, is a progressive political party in the United States founded in 1999 and active only in the state of Vermont. As of 2019, the party has two members in the Vermont Senate and sev ...

is a progressive, liberal, populist, left-wing political party that currently holds 6 seats in the Vermont legislature ^. Since 1990, it has run candidates for numerous state and local elections. Progressives

Peter Clavelle Peter A. Clavelle (born May 10, 1949) is an American politician who served as the 38th and 40th mayor of Burlington, Vermont, and was the first member of a third party to hold the office since James Edmund Burke in 1935. Bernie Sanders also won ...

and

Bob Kiss Bob Kiss (born April 1, 1947) is a Vermont politician and former 39th Mayor of Burlington, Vermont. Kiss was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from January 2001 until he stepped down to assume office as mayor of Burlington, follo ...

were mayors of the largest city,

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

from 1989–1993, 1995–2006, and 2006–2012, respectively. It formed as a coalition closely associated with then Burlington mayor

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

in the late 1980s and has had official recognition as a major

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

by the state government since 1999. As of 2013, the

Vermont Libertarian Party The Libertarian Party of Vermont is the Vermont affiliate of the Libertarian Party. The state chair is Olga Mardach-Duclerc. The Libertarian Party is the 5th largest in Vermont after the Democratic, Republican, Progressive, and Liberty Unio ...

had two elected municipal officials. In 2010 the

, a long-time Vermont

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within a ...

party, fielded nine candidates in statewide elections.

Federal officials

Vermont is one of only three states represented by a member of the United States Congress who does not currently associate with a political party:

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

describes himself as a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

and progressive, but caucuses with the Democrats in the selection of the Senate leadership. He was a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from 1991 to 2007 when he was elected to the U.S. Senate. Sanders often votes with the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, but maintains his status as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

in Congress.Bernie Sanders on the Issues
Retrieved November 10, 2014. He is the only member of the

Congressional Progressive Caucus The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the most Left-wing politics, left-leaning faction of the ...

in the Senate and was its first chair from 1991 to 1999. He is heavily supported during campaigns in his home state by the

and the

, though Sanders declines both parties' official nomination.

Peter Welch Peter Francis Welch (born May 2, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician who is a United States senator-elect from Vermont, and the current U.S. representative for since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been a major figure in ...

is the state's Democratic senator since 2023.

Becca Balint Rebecca A. "Becca" Balint (born May 4, 1968) is an American politician who is a member of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont's at-large congressional district as a member of the Democratic Party. She served as a member of th ...

has represented Vermont in the House since 2023, replacing Peter Welch.

References

Notes

External reference

Elections Division
at the

official website
Vermont Election Information and Resources
* * * * (State affiliate of the U.S.

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

) * {{ElectionsByUSState Government of Vermont Political events in Vermont