With great sadness, we note the passing of Donald Ross, who was one of the original Nader’s Raiders, and who led the organizing efforts in Vermont more than 50 years ago to establish the group that became VPIRG. In fact, Donald was considered to be the “father” of the Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) because …
When you were a kid I bet someone told you that, “When you make a mess, you help clean it up.” And my guess is – since you are a VPIRG member – that you’ve been doing your best to live by that standard. It’s not always easy, but it’s the responsible and fair thing …
Advocacy groups, civic organizations, and businesses hailed a brand-new law, signed by Gov. Phil Scott today, requiring ballots to be mailed to all active Vermont voters in general elections moving forward. The policy that was put in place as a one-time emergency measure in 2020 during the early days of the pandemic. Mail-in voting contributed …
At VPIRG, this time of year usually means ramping up our annual summer door-to-door canvass to renew and recruit thousands of VPIRG members and build support for one of our priority campaigns. Unfortunately, if you looked around Vermont today, you wouldn’t see any VPIRG canvassers on bikes, heading up long driveways, knocking on doors and …
The Vermont Senate concurred in a voice vote today with House changes to S.15, legislation that will require ballots to be mailed to all Vermont voters in general elections moving forward. The policy that was put in place as a one-time emergency measure in 2020 during the early days of the pandemic. The bill will …
VT Legislature Sends “Vote by Mail” Legislation to Governor Read More »
119-30 vote indicates the bill will become law this year The Vermont House gave its strong support today to legislation that will require ballots to be mailed to all Vermont voters in general elections moving forward. This policy was put in place as a one-time emergency measure in 2020 during the early days of the …
Vermont’s House of Representatives passed an important piece of legislation on Friday that updates the state’s container redemption program known commonly as the Bottle Bill. The legislation, H.175, expands the Bottle Bill program to include wine and non-carbonated drinks like water, iced tea, sports drinks, and juice. Under the current Bottle Bill system, Vermonters pay …
Our democracy is under attack right now in states across the country. In fact, more than 250 anti-voter bills have been introduced in at least 43 states. The new Georgia law (which, among other things, makes it a crime to give food and water to a voter standing in line at the polls) is so …
Let’s Make Vermont the Most Voter-Friendly State in the Nation Read More »
On March 24, the Vermont Senate gave its final approval by a vote of 22-8 to legislation (S.51) that would make important changes to state campaign finance law. Most significantly under S.51, only individuals, political committees, and political parties would be allowed make political contributions to candidates. The bill would increase transparency in campaign finance as well, by requiring political committees (a.k.a. PACs) to include the name …
H.175 is the best opportunity we’ve had in decades to modernize Vermont’s popular Bottle Bill. Recently, hundreds of our VPIRG members responded to our call to action and sent an email to their representatives in the Legislature. This added a burst of momentum to our campaign and apparently scared the bejesus out of the corporate opponents of the Bottle Bill. …
