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Voting: A Primer
To be eligible to vote in Vermont, you must be at least 18 years old and a resident of Vermont. When you first move to Middlesex, you must fill out a voter registration form and mail or deliver it to the Town Clerk. If you have never registered to vote in Vermont before, you must also take the Voter’s Oath (formerly known as the “Freeman’s Oath”), which must be administered by a notary public. The Town Clerk is a notary, so you can complete the entire process by stopping in at Town Hall during regular business hours.
Many people register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license or a car registration (a program dubbed “Motor Voter”). If you register to vote at the Department of Motor Vehicles or any other State agency, double-check with the Town Clerk at least two weeks before the next election to make sure your registration form was received.
Shortly before each election, the town Board of Civil Authority meets to update the voter checklist, the official roster of registered voters. Voters who are added will be notified by mail. If you have registered but do not receive confirmation before voting day that your name has been added, contact the Town Clerk.
Middlesex citizens vote on Town Meeting Day (first Tuesday in March) and on Election Day (first Tuesday in November). They also vote in party primaries (second Tuesday in September), the Presidential Preference Primary (every four years on Town Meeting Day), and in special elections warned to decide a particular question, such as whether to borrow money for a specific purpose, or update the Town Plan.
Voting usually takes place at the Town Hall in Middlesex Village. There is an elevator at the rear of the building. Middlesex uses paper ballots; if a visually impaired voter needs a Braille ballot or some other accommodation, he or she should arrange this with the Town Clerk at least two weeks prior to the election.
The polls are usually open from 7 a.m. to 7 pm on Election Day in November (10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Town Meeting Day in March). On Town Meeting Day, Middlesex voters not only may vote at the polls for town officers, Rumney and U-32 budgets, and other items via Australian (printed paper) ballot, but also attend the evening Town Meeting to discuss and vote on other issues warned on the agenda. See A Voter’s Guide to Town Meeting Procedures.
When you enter Town Hall to vote, you will be asked to give your name to a poll worker and will be given paper ballots for state and local races. You then step into a voting booth and vote in private. After you mark your ballots, fold them, and exit the booth, you will be asked for your name one more time before you deposit the ballots in the ballot box. Even though the poll workers may know you, they are required to ask for your name and to make certain it is on the voter checklist.
The ballots are hand-counted by the members of the Board of Civil Authority and volunteers shortly after the polls close, and the results of the election are usually available within two to three hours. Maintaining a cadre of volunteer poll workers is essential to the integrity of elections. If you are interested in volunteering to help with the tasks that keep democracy strong in Middlesex, contact the Town Clerk.
Many voters take advantage of Vermont’s early voting option. Formerly known as the “absentee ballot,” early voting is available to any voter who requests a ballot prior to voting day. You do not need to be out of town or ill to vote early! Contact the Town Clerk’s office (802-223-5915) if you are interested in voting early. You can either vote early at the Town Clerk’s office or have the ballot mailed to you.
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