As he signed a bill allowing alternatives to in-person participation for this year’s town meeting votes Friday, Vermont Governor Phil Scott called on the state legislature to authorize automatic vote-by-mail for all elections.
Scott, a Republican, says allowing an Australian ballot vote makes sense since large gatherings during the pandemic may discourage participation in town meeting day March 1.
But he says the legislature has “missed another opportunity to expand voter access further” by defeating a measure to deliver ballots by mail for school budget votes, local elections and primaries.
Scott is asking the legislature to work with the Secretary of State to establish a timeline and process for universal mailing of ballots to registered voters for all elections, and says he is willing to find funding for the effort.