The team here at VPIRG is excited to send a massive “THANK YOU” to the 115 members of the Vermont House of Representatives who took a stand today to ensure that no Vermonter has to choose between their safety and their right to vote this year.
Late this afternoon, the Vermont House of Representatives gave its final approval (115-29) to S.348, a bill granting full authority to the Secretary of State to mail all registered voters a ballot for this year’s General Election in November. This legislation will make it possible to move forward with a vote-by-mail system in Vermont to make voting safe and secure amid the coronavirus pandemic. Amendments attempting to limit who may return ballots, introduced by Republicans Beck and Scheuermann, were voted down 50-94 and 57-88 respectively.
With regard to the Scheuermann amendment, the Secretary of State testified this morning that he will be issuing a directive prohibiting candidates from collecting ballots.
Earlier legislation passed in March granted joint authority to the Governor and Secretary of State, however, Gov. Scott made clear that he preferred not to be part of the process. Further, Gov. Scott was unwilling to approve a plan to move forward with vote-by-mail until after the August primary. Secretary of State Condos made clear that waiting until August to make the decision was untenable and would therefore fail to offer the greatest protections for voters and poll workers.
The bill will now head toward the Governor’s desk.
“Voting from home is the safest way to hold elections in the midst of this pandemic. Now is not an appropriate time to create unprecedented restrictions or barriers to an individual’s means of exercising their democratic right to vote. I applaud every house member who voted in favor of safe, participatory elections today,” said VPIRG Government Reform Associate Kate Lapp.
“At a time when some of our fellow Americans are forced to wait in line for five hours or more to exercise their right to vote, it’s good to see Vermont moving in the opposite direction. This is a time when we should be dismantling every unnecessary barrier to voting and making the process as safe as possible. This legislation does just that,” added VPIRG Executive Director Paul Burns.
See how your reps voted here and consider sending a note of thanks to the representatives who voted YES on S.348!
Not sure who your rep is? Use our legislator lookup tool to find out!
| Representative | District | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Representative Robin Scheu | Addison-1 | Yea |
| Representative Amy Sheldon | Addison-1 | Yea |
| Representative Peter Conlon | Addison-2 | Yea |
| Representative Matthew Birong Jr. | Addison-3 | Yea |
| Representative Diane Lanpher | Addison-3 | Yea |
| Representative Mari Cordes | Addison-4 | Yea |
| Representative Caleb Elder | Addison-4 | Yea |
| Representative Harvey Smith | Addison-5 | Yea |
| Representative Terry Norris | Addison-Rutland | Absent |
| Representative Nelson Brownell | Bennington-1 | Yea |
| Representative Christopher Bates | Bennington-2-1 | Yea |
| Representative Timothy R. Corcoran II | Bennington-2-1 | Yea |
| Representative Mary A. Morrissey | Bennington-2-2 | Nay |
| Representative James Carroll | Bennington-2-2 | Yea |
| Representative David Durfee | Bennington-3 | Yea |
| Representative Cynthia Browning | Bennington-4 | Yea |
| Representative Kathleen James | Bennington-4 | Yea |
| Representative Linda Joy Sullivan | Bennington-Rutland | Yea |
| Representative Marcia Martel | Caledonia-1 | Nay |
| Representative Joseph "Chip" Troiano | Caledonia-2 | Yea |
| Representative Scott Beck | Caledonia-3 | Nay |
| Representative R. Scott Campbell | Caledonia-3 | Yea |
| Representative Martha Feltus | Caledonia-4 | Yea |
| Representative Patrick Seymour | Caledonia-4 | Yea |
| Representative Catherine Toll | Caledonia-Washington | Yea |
| Representative Marcia Gardner | Chittenden-1 | Yea |
| Representative Christopher Mattos | Chittenden-10 | Nay |
| Representative John Palasik | Chittenden-10 | Nay |
| Representative Terence Macaig | Chittenden-2 | Yea |
| Representative James McCullough | Chittenden-2 | Yea |
| Representative Trevor Squirrell | Chittenden-3 | Yea |
| Representative George W. Till | Chittenden-3 | Yea |
| Representative Michael Yantachka | Chittenden-4-1 | Yea |
| Representative William J. Lippert Jr. | Chittenden-4-2 | Yea |
| Representative Kathryn Webb | Chittenden-5-1 | Yea |
| Representative Jessica Brumsted | Chittenden-5-2 | Yea |
| Representative Robert Hooper | Chittenden-6-1 | Yea |
| Representative Carol Ode | Chittenden-6-1 | Yea |
| Representative Jean O'Sullivan | Chittenden-6-2 | Yea |
| Representative Jill Krowinski | Chittenden-6-3 | Yea |
| Representative Curt McCormack | Chittenden-6-3 | Yea |
| Representative Brian Cina | Chittenden-6-4 | Yea |
| Representative Selene Colburn | Chittenden-6-4 | Yea |
| Representative Johannah Donovan | Chittenden-6-5 | Yea |
| Representative Mary Sullivan | Chittenden-6-5 | Yea |
| Representative Barbara Rachelson | Chittenden-6-6 | Yea |
| Representative Harold "Hal" Colston | Chittenden-6-7 | Yea |
| Representative Diana Gonzalez | Chittenden-6-7 | Yea |
| Representative Martin LaLonde | Chittenden-7-1 | Yea |
| Representative Ann Pugh | Chittenden-7-2 | Yea |
| Representative John Killacky | Chittenden-7-3 | Yea |
| Representative Maida Townsend | Chittenden-7-4 | Yea |
| Representative Linda K. Myers | Chittenden-8-1 | Yea |
| Representative Marybeth Redmond | Chittenden-8-1 | Yea |
| Representative Dylan Giambatista | Chittenden-8-2 | Yea |
| Representative Lori Houghton | Chittenden-8-2 | Yea |
| Representative Robert Bancroft | Chittenden-8-3 | Nay |
| Representative Seth Chase | Chittenden-9-1 | Yea |
| Representative Curt Taylor | Chittenden-9-1 | Yea |
| Representative Patrick Brennan | Chittenden-9-2 | Nay |
| Representative Sarah "Sarita" Austin | Chittenden-9-2 | Yea |
| Representative Constance Quimby | Essex-Caledonia | Nay |
| Representative Paul Lefebvre | Essex-Caledonia-Orleans | Yea |
| Representative Carl Rosenquist | Franklin-1 | Nay |
| Representative Barbara Murphy | Franklin-2 | Yea |
| Representative Casey Toof | Franklin-3-1 | Nay |
| Representative Michael McCarthy | Franklin-3-1 | Yea |
| Representative Eileen Dickinson | Franklin-3-2 | Nay |
| Representative Marianna Gamache | Franklin-4 | Nay |
| Representative Brian K. Savage | Franklin-4 | Nay |
| Representative Lisa Hango | Franklin-5 | Nay |
| Representative Charen Fegard | Franklin-5 | Yea |
| Representative James Gregoire | Franklin-6 | Yea |
| Representative Felisha Leffler | Franklin-7 | Nay |
| Representative Leland Morgan | Grand Isle-Chittenden | Nay |
| Representative Mitzi Johnson | Grand Isle-Chittenden | Not Voting |
| Representative Heidi E. Scheuermann | Lamoille-1 | Yea |
| Representative Matthew Hill | Lamoille-2 | Yea |
| Representative Daniel Noyes | Lamoille-2 | Yea |
| Representative Lucy Rogers | Lamoille-3 | Yea |
| Representative Avram Patt | Lamoille-Washington | Yea |
| Representative David Yacovone | Lamoille-Washington | Yea |
| Representative Rodney Graham | Orange-1 | Absent |
| Representative Carl Demrow | Orange-1 | Yea |
| Representative Sarah Copeland Hanzas | Orange-2 | Yea |
| Representative Charles Conquest | Orange-Caledonia | Yea |
| Representative Philip Jay Hooper | Orange-Washington-Addison | Yea |
| Representative Peter Reed | Orange-Washington-Addison | Yea |
| Representative Lynn Batchelor | Orleans-1 | Nay |
| Representative Brian Smith | Orleans-1 | Nay |
| Representative Michael Marcotte | Orleans-2 | Yea |
| Representative Woodman Page | Orleans-2 | Yea |
| Representative Vicki Strong | Orleans-Caledonia | Nay |
| Representative Samuel Young | Orleans-Caledonia | Yea |
| Representative Mark Higley | Orleans-Lamoille | Nay |
| Representative Patricia McCoy | Rutland-1 | Nay |
| Representative Thomas Burditt | Rutland-2 | Nay |
| Representative David Potter | Rutland-2 | Nay |
| Representative Robert Helm | Rutland-3 | Absent |
| Representative William Canfield | Rutland-3 | Nay |
| Representative Thomas Terenzini | Rutland-4 | Yea |
| Representative Peter J. Fagan | Rutland-5-1 | Nay |
| Representative Lawrence Cupoli | Rutland-5-2 | Nay |
| Representative Mary E. Howard | Rutland-5-3 | Yea |
| Representative William Notte | Rutland-5-4 | Yea |
| Representative Stephanie Jerome | Rutland-6 | Yea |
| Representative Charles "Butch" Shaw | Rutland-6 | Yea |
| Representative Robin Chesnut-Tangerman | Rutland-Bennington | Yea |
| Representative James Harrison | Rutland-Windsor-1 | Nay |
| Representative Logan Nicoll | Rutland-Windsor-2 | Yea |
| Representative Anne B. Donahue | Washington-1 | Nay |
| Representative Kenneth Goslant | Washington-1 | Nay |
| Representative Robert LaClair | Washington-2 | Yea |
| Representative Francis McFaun | Washington-2 | Yea |
| Representative Peter Anthony | Washington-3 | Yea |
| Representative Tommy Walz | Washington-3 | Yea |
| Representative Mary S. Hooper | Washington-4 | Yea |
| Representative Warren F. Kitzmiller | Washington-4 | Yea |
| Representative Kimberly Jessup | Washington-5 | Yea |
| Representative Janet Ancel | Washington-6 | Yea |
| Representative Katherine "Kari" Dolan | Washington-7 | Yea |
| Representative Maxine Grad | Washington-7 | Yea |
| Representative Thomas Stevens | Washington-Chittenden | Yea |
| Representative Theresa Wood | Washington-Chittenden | Yea |
| Representative Sara Coffey | Windham-1 | Yea |
| Representative Emilie Kornheiser | Windham-2-1 | Yea |
| Representative Mollie S. Burke | Windham-2-2 | Yea |
| Representative Tristan Toleno | Windham-2-3 | Yea |
| Representative Carolyn W. Partridge | Windham-3 | Yea |
| Representative Kelley Tully | Windham-3 | Yea |
| Representative Nader Hashim | Windham-4 | Yea |
| Representative Michael Mrowicki | Windham-4 | Yea |
| Representative Emily Long | Windham-5 | Yea |
| Representative John Gannon | Windham-6 | Yea |
| Representative Laura Sibilia | Windham-Bennington | Yea |
| Representative Kelly Pajala | Windham-Bennington-Windsor | Yea |
| Representative John L. Bartholomew | Windsor-1 | Yea |
| Representative Zachariah Ralph | Windsor-1 | Yea |
| Representative Annmarie Christensen | Windsor-2 | Absent |
| Representative Thomas Bock | Windsor-3-1 | Yea |
| Representative Alice M. Emmons | Windsor-3-2 | Absent |
| Representative Kristi Morris | Windsor-3-2 | Yea |
| Representative Randall Szott | Windsor-4-1 | Yea |
| Representative Kevin "Coach" Christie | Windsor-4-2 | Yea |
| Representative Rebecca White | Windsor-4-2 | Yea |
| Representative Charles Kimbell | Windsor-5 | Yea |
| Representative John O'Brien | Windsor-Orange-1 | Yea |
| Representative Timothy Briglin | Windsor-Orange-2 | Yea |
| Representative James Masland | Windsor-Orange-2 | Yea |
| Representative Sandy Haas | Windsor-Rutland | Yea |