Monday, September 21, 2020
Ingram, who ran unsuccessfully in the August primary for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, announced her decision Monday morning to a group of reporters gathered outside of the Unitarian Church in Burlington. She argued that Milne, a Pomfret businessman best known for nearly defeating then-governor Peter Shumlin in 2014, has the necessary experience to help the state withstand the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Although I have been a lifelong Democrat and I'm still a Democrat, I believe that Mr. Milne is the best person for this important position at this time," Ingram said, urging "all Vermonters" to vote for the Republican nominee.
Tags: Brenda Siegel , Debbie Ingram , Democrat , election , Election 2020 , endorsement , lieutenant governor , Lieutenant Governor's Race , Molly Gray , race , Republican , Scott Milne , Vermont , Web Only , Image
The polls will still be open for residents who want to vote in person or drop off their ballots on Election Day. But Secretary of State Jim Condos said in a statement Monday he hoped that people would vote early to prevent town clerks from being deluged with last-minute absentee ballots.
“Seal, sign, and send!’ Condos said in a press release. “I am encouraging Vermont voters to help ‘flatten the absentee ballot curve’ by voting and returning their ballots as early as they feel comfortable.”
The start of the vote-by-mail process follows an extraordinary partisan tussle that mirrored the national debate over the wisdom of changing election processes during the public health emergency.
Supporters call voting by mail the best way to ensure people can cast a ballot without risking their health or that of poll workers. Critics charge, with little evidence, that such an expansion may increase the risk of voter fraud.
Gov. Phil Scott and Condos could not agree earlier this year on how or when to best roll out such a dramatic overhaul of the state’s system. Scott favored waiting until after the August primary to make a decision, and hoped that by November, people could safely vote in person. Condos insisted the wheels needed to start turning on such a large effort well before the primary. The legislature in June stripped Scott of a role in the decision.
Condos said voters should expect to receive their ballot between this week and early October.
Anyone who doesn’t get one by October 7 should contact their town clerk.
Election officials do not expect as much confusion with mail-in ballots as people experienced during the August primary.
In that contest, voters had three ballots to choose from — one for each major party — and needed to follow several steps to fill in, sign and return ballots.
This time around, voters will receive just one ballot, but Condos nevertheless urged people to pay attention.
“When Vermonters receive their ballots, it’s important that they follow the included instructions, such as placing their ballot in the voted ballot envelope, filling out the certificate on the envelope completely, and making sure to sign that certificate, for their vote to be counted,” he said.
Tags: mail-in voting , Gov. Phil Scott , Jim Condos , COVID-19 , Web Only , Image
Friday, September 18, 2020
In an interview late Friday, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) told Seven Days that a rushed vote to confirm a nominee put forth by President Donald Trump would have lasting consequences for the federal judiciary.
"That would make a mockery of the Supreme Court," said Leahy, the dean of the Senate and most senior member of its Judiciary Committee. "It would totally politicize the Supreme Court. It would say only Republicans can be on the Supreme Court — and that would be so destructive of our whole system of justice."
If the Senate were to hold a confirmation vote just weeks before the November election, Leahy added, "I think it would be decades before the Supreme Court would regain any sense of integrity with the rest of the country."
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
In an 11-page ruling issued on Wednesday afternoon, Judge Geoffrey Crawford wrote that he dismissed the complaint brought by five Vermont voters because they failed to demonstrate how Condos' plan would negatively impact them — a necessary prerequisite for any civil lawsuit.
In particular, Crawford rejected arguments that the universal vote-by-mail plan could deprive the plaintiffs of their individual rights to vote because they may potentially fail to receive a ballot in the mail and not recognize the need to follow up with their town clerk or go vote in person on Election Day.
"These are sophisticated voters who have gone to considerable lengths to obtain counsel skilled in election law and to file a lawsuit in federal court," Crawford wrote of the plaintiffs, who include Victory Town Clerk Tracey Martel, former state representative Robert Frenier and Rep. Brian Smith (R-Derby). "Of all people likely to be confused about how to vote, these plaintiffs may be last on the list."
Tags: Jim Condos , election lawsuit , Republican , mail-in voting , coronavirus , COVID-19 , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, September 9, 2020
The federal complaint was filed last Friday on behalf of five Vermont voters, including Victory Town Clerk Tracey Martel, former state representative Robert Frenier and Rep. Brian Smith (R-Derby). It argues that the state’s outdated voter checklists will result in "many" people getting their hands on ballots who are not supposed to, which in turn will diminish the weight of legal votes.
"It just introduces a whole host of problems into a system that was actually perfectly fine to deal with this pandemic in the first instance," David A. Warrington, a Virginia-based attorney who worked with the 2016 Trump campaign, told Seven Days on Wednesday.
The two other plaintiffs' attorneys are Harmeet K. Dhillon, a Republican National Committee member from California, and Deborah Bucknam, a Walden-based attorney and former GOP candidate for Vermont attorney general who is serving as local counsel.
The lawsuit is among at least 170 others nationwide seeking to challenge election procedures amid the coronavirus pandemic and comes just two weeks before Vermont plans to start sending out hundreds of thousands of ballots. Warrington said the attorneys hope to secure a ruling within the next 10 days but said that they would continue with the suit even if ballots hit the mail.
Tags: voting , voter fraud , Jim Condos , remote voting , Deborah Bucknam , Robert Frenier , Brian Smith , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, September 2, 2020
The reports were due on Tuesday and covered a monthlong period from late July to late August.
Republican Gov. Phil Scott, who has engaged in only limited campaigning amid the COVID-19 state of emergency, continued to take in money at a leisurely pace, raising $36,000. That brings his total to $134,800 this election cycle (though he has carried over an additional $106,000 from his previous campaign).
Tags: Phil Scott , David Zuckerman , Molly Gray , Scott Milne , Patrick Winburn , Fundraising , Election , Web Only , Image
The recount in Burlington wrapped up on Tuesday and Superior Court Judge Helen Toor confirmed the final results on Wednesday.
“I think it was worth it,” said Heston, a nonprofit consultant from Richmond in her first run for public office. “Everyone is now confident that the results are real.”
Tags: Sen. Chris Pearson , June Heston , Chittenden County , Senate , recount , Vermont , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
High-profile office seekers, such as Republican Gov. Phil Scott and his challenger, Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, a Progressive/Democrat, aren't budging from the lines that they clinched on the ballot.
Candidates are still being added, though, including those who won long-shot write-in campaigns or replaced last-minute dropouts.
Republican Meg Hansen is one candidate who will appear on the general election ballot for a race other than the one she originally entered. Hansen came in second for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor. Soon afterward, the Manchester Center resident said, she was recruited to run for state Senate.
Republicans in Bennington County didn’t mount a strong primary field, due in part to the dominance of the Democrats in the district, Hansen said. She noted that Sen. Dick Sears (D-Bennington) has represented the district since 1993, and Sen. Brian Campion (D-Bennington) since 2014.
Tags: 2020 primaries , ballot , Election 2020 , general election , Meg Hansen , Web Only , Image
Monday, August 24, 2020
June Heston, a nonprofit consultant from Richmond in her first-ever political race, came just 46 votes shy of securing a Democratic nomination for one of the six Senate seats representing the state’s most populous county.
Incumbent Sen. Chris Pearson (P/D–Chittenden) of Burlington received 11,764 votes to Heston’s 11,719, according to the official tally from the Vermont Secretary of State.
On August 14, Heston filed a motion in Chittenden Superior Court demanding a recount. Statewide and Senate candidates within 2 percent of the total votes cast divided by the number of seats in the district can request a recount. Heston was less than 0.5 percent behind Pearson.
Judge Helen Toor held a conference call with elections officials last Thursday and issued her ruling on the recount Monday morning.
Tags: recount , COVID-19 , Chittenden County , Chris Pearson , June Heston , Senate , Vermont , coronavirus , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, August 18, 2020
"My friends, I say to you — to everyone who supported other candidates in the primary and to those who may have voted for Donald Trump in the last election — the future of our democracy is at stake. The future of our economy is at stake. The future of our planet is at stake," he said. "The price of failure is just too great to imagine."
As the runner-up for the Democratic presidential nomination — for the second election cycle in a row — Sanders had been expected to play a prominent role in the Milwaukee convention. But due to the ongoing threat of the coronavirus pandemic, he and most other speakers delivered their remarks from home. Sanders appeared to have done so from Hen of the Wood's Burlington location, using the restaurant's neatly stacked firewood as a backdrop.
Sanders pulled no punches in his eight-minute remarks. Calling the 2020 election "the most important in the modern history of this country," he repeatedly referred to Trump as an authoritarian — and alluded to the Holocaust's devastating toll on his father's family.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Joe Biden , Donald Trump , Web Only , Image