Registered voters to get ballots by mail; system challenged

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Registered Vermont voters will start automatically receiving a ballot in the mail for the November election next week.

They may return it by mail or drop it off at their town clerk's office early, or bring it to the polls on Election Day, Secretary of State Jim Condos said.

Meanwhile, a federal judge is expected to rule Wednesday on a challenge to the vote-by-mail system filed by five Vermonters, including a town clerk and a former Republican representative to the Vermont House.

The current plan is for ballots to be mailed starting on Sept. 21 and any voter who does not receive one by Oct. 1 should contact their town clerk, Condos said this week.

“Voting by mail is simple, safe and secure,” he said in a written statement. “Our office has taken the proactive steps to mail a ballot to all active, registered voters so that we can preserve the voting rights of all eligible Vermonters during a pandemic, while protecting the public health by reducing high traffic in-person voting on Election Day.”

Polling places will be operating under social distancing and sanitization guidance, he said. Voters who plan to mail in ballots are encouraged to do so at least 10 days before the Nov. 3 election to ensure they are received in time.

“The more time you leave to ensure your voted ballot is delivered in time, the better,” he said. “How you vote and return your ballot is up to you, but we are asking Vermonters to help lower the absentee ballot curve by returning their ballots as early as they feel comfortable doing so."

The lawsuit seeking to block the system argues that a ballot cast improperly — whether on purpose or otherwise — would violate the Constitutional rights of Vermonters by “diluting” their votes.

“We’re focused on harm to the individual,” David Warrington, the attorney representing the people challenging the system said during a Monday hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Geoffrey Crawford. “That is a harm that is concrete. That is addressable by courts.”

Philip Back, the attorney representing the Secretary of State's office said the concept of vote dilution did not apply to the discussion about mail-in ballots.

He said the Secretary of State’s office was not depriving anyone of their right to vote, and those challenging the system seemed to be arguing that their rights would be violated in any system that was not perfect.

“Having two ballots isn’t a problem,” Back said. “It’s the voting twice that’s a problem, and we have systems in place to prevent that.”