Last week VPIRG and a coalition of allies sent the following letter to Governor Phil Scott and Secretary of State Jim Condos calling on them to immediately institute a vote-by-mail system in Vermont. The letter was accompanied by a petition signed by just over 1,180 Vermonters in support of this policy. This comes at a …
VPIRG and Allies Send Vote-By-Mail Petition to Governor; SOS Read More »
No one should have to choose between staying safe and exercising their right to vote. But we’re heading toward an election in the middle of a pandemic. Early voting for Vermont’s August primary begins in late June. And there is no way of knowing what the COVID-19 threat will be for the rest of 2020. …
The Vermont Senate voted today to adopt a number of temporary emergency reforms to facilitate the functions of government and democracy during the COVID-19 pandemic. These include changes to Vermont’s open meetings law and to elections, which could include a vote by mail process. The legislation (H.681) was negotiated during a series of teleconference meetings …
VPIRG Supports Measures to Keep Government Working; Elections Safe Read More »
The state’s leading government reform group is calling on legislators to establish a Code of Ethics in state law and make it enforceable by an independent Ethics Commission. Earlier this year, the Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) criticized the lack of authority given the current Ethics Commission, and the Commission’s efforts to conceal some …
Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of a major new initiative. This month we are forming VPIRG Votes – a political campaign arm for our organization. Later this year, for the first time ever, we plan to support public interest champions running for the Vermont State House, Senate and statewide office. This is a …
Just yesterday, in a big win for Vermont’s democracy, the state Senate officially voted to prohibit corporations from making direct contributions to political candidates in the state. This bill, S.47, introduced by Senators Pearson and Pollina, will be key to getting big money out of our political system – and it’s now up to our …
VT State Senate Votes to Ban Corporate Campaign Contributions Read More »
The results of this year’s midterm elections are in and there were many big wins for the health of Vermont’s families, environment and democracy in the mix — from the election of outspoken public interest champions to the passage of progressive local ballot measures. Leading up to the election, we were proud to have recruited …
80+ No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge signers win in VT election Read More »
Conventional wisdom suggested that 2018 would be another year of very low voter participation in Vermont. After all, we didn’t have hot races for the US Senate or House, and in the last non-presidential election year – 2014 – Vermont experienced its worst voter turnout in more than 50 years. Boy did conventional wisdom get …
Town Clerks all around Vermont have been excited to report that there has been a surge of early voting in the state, with over 17,000 Vermonters already having voted. With the upcoming Midterm elections on November 6th, Vermonters are submitting their ballots in a variety of ways — including voting by mail and early voting …
For the past few weekends, canvassers have been traveling all around Vermont engaging in conversations with Vermonters about the importance of voting. With election season here, VPIRG knows that it’s more important than ever to get folks thinking about how and when they’re going to vote. This is why VPIRG’s canvassers aren’t only having conversations …
