Brattleboro already does Town Meeting Day a little differently than the rest of the state. No actual town meeting is held until the end of March, and voters decide on representatives to attend for their district and participate in floor votes. “That’s where things like the Budget Committee appointments, ratifying certain positions like the town clerk, town treasurer, town attorney, all happen there,” said Hilary Francis, Brattleboro town clerk.Residents on Tuesday will vote for select board members and other town offices along with voting in the presidential primaries and deciding on measures for the unified school district. Meanwhile, community members between 16-18 have slightly different roles. “There is the presidential primary for both the Democratic and the Republican for those,” Francis said. “And this is statewide. Anybody who will be 18 by the November 5 general election can vote in that.”If voters are not going to be 18 years old by Nov. 5, they can only vote for local measures on the Town Meeting Day ballot. “And then there’s the Unified School District, where you have to be 18 years old to vote,” said Francis. “A lot of people have questioned why that is. You would think school issues impact our youth voters more than anything. But because it’s a unified school district and the other towns in the district don’t allow youth voters, we can’t either. So, we have to be consistent amongst all towns.”Vermont allows same-day voter registration, which would allow for more teenagers to register on Tuesday, but as of Monday afternoon, 39 Brattleboro teens under 18 are registered. Poll workers will check in the new voters and will only give the ballots they are eligible to vote in.The change has been a long time coming, requiring a town charter change and statewide approval.“The legislature passed this, the governor vetoed it,” Francis said. “The legislature overrode the veto. It all started with a citizen petition and the voters coming to the polls and saying that this is something that they wanted.”The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the American Legion Post 5.
Brattleboro already does Town Meeting Day a little differently than the rest of the state.
No actual town meeting is held until the end of March, and voters decide on representatives to attend for their district and participate in floor votes.
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“That’s where things like the Budget Committee appointments, ratifying certain positions like the town clerk, town treasurer, town attorney, all happen there,” said Hilary Francis, Brattleboro town clerk.
Residents on Tuesday will vote for select board members and other town offices along with voting in the presidential primaries and deciding on measures for the unified school district.
Meanwhile, community members between 16-18 have slightly different roles.
“There is the presidential primary for both the Democratic and the Republican for those,” Francis said. “And this is statewide. Anybody who will be 18 by the November 5 general election can vote in that.”
If voters are not going to be 18 years old by Nov. 5, they can only vote for local measures on the Town Meeting Day ballot.
“And then there’s the Unified School District, where you have to be 18 years old to vote,” said Francis. “A lot of people have questioned why that is. You would think school issues impact our youth voters more than anything. But because it’s a unified school district and the other towns in the district don’t allow youth voters, we can’t either. So, we have to be consistent amongst all towns.”
Vermont allows same-day voter registration, which would allow for more teenagers to register on Tuesday, but as of Monday afternoon, 39 Brattleboro teens under 18 are registered.
Poll workers will check in the new voters and will only give the ballots they are eligible to vote in.
The change has been a long time coming, requiring a town charter change and statewide approval.
“The legislature passed this, the governor vetoed it,” Francis said. “The legislature overrode the veto. It all started with a citizen petition and the voters coming to the polls and saying that this is something that they wanted.”
The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the American Legion Post 5.
