State begins sending out general election ballots to all Vt. voters

MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) - Coming soon to a mailbox near you- your 2024 general election ballot. Every registered voter in Vermont will soon receive theirs as election officials began the mailing process on Monday.

This is the third time the state is sending out ballots for the general election. Vermonters should get their ballot sometime in the next two weeks.

But four years since mail-in voting was introduced, some are still calling for consistency in how we vote.

What began as a way to curb coronavirus at the polls in 2020 has created what some now call election season, with ballots in hand 45 days before Election Day.

Fresh off last week's successful fourth school budget vote in Barre, City Clerk Cheryl Metivier has been fielding calls from voters requesting absentee ballots. She tells them the state is sending them one regardless.

"Not a lot of people are aware that the state of Vermont did it [last cycle] or are doing it again this year," Metivier said.

Monday marks the first day the Secretary of State's Office sends out ballots to all registered voters.

"With 300 different ballot types across the state, it is a bit of a challenge. The team has been doing a lot of proofing," said Sarah Copeland Hanzas, D-Vt. Secretary of State.

In years past, some voters received multiple ballots or ballots for people who no longer lived at the address, as they remained on the voter checklist.

Top election officials say if you receive a ballot that's not yours, return it to your city or town clerk.

"It's helpful to have those ballots handed back to the clerks so they can update that voter's mailing information," Copeland Hanzas said.

Mail-out ballots, in part, have boosted voter turnout. This has some, including Gov. Phil Scott, calling for consistency. He says mail-out ballots should be applied to all elections, including the primaries, which this year had a 15% turnout rate.

"I think we have to do whatever we can to increase participation. I believe mail-out ballots are important in doing so," said Scott, R-Vermont.

Back in Barre, Metivier says although voters are becoming more comfortable with vote by mail, some still vote in person for peace of mind.

"They just like to see that their ballot is being run through the tabulator, just for their self-assurance," Metivier said.

Your city or town clerk has to have your ballot in hand by 7 p.m. on Nov. 5.

A big snag this year, though, is thousands still don't have a post office in Montpelier, resulting in some mail delays.

There's no timeline yet on when the Capital City will get a new post office after last year's floods, but Copeland Hanzas says you can still deliver your ballot to the city or town clerk's office or to the local drop box at your Town or City Hall.