With less than one week to go before Election Day, city leaders across the state of Vermont are weighing in on safety ahead of your trip to the polls on November 5.People who have not sent in their ballot early, will vote in-person on Tuesday.”We have never had issues before. They vote right in our office” said Betty Ritter, the town clerk in Cabot.In addition to the usual concerns like making sure everyone gets their ballots on time, this year’s election has her team going through active shooter training and arming them with Narcan.”It is overwhelming to know how strict we have to be in order to make sure this election is secure” said Ritter.This is in response to election security threats across the country. People close to home are doing their part to make sure voters can safely cast their ballots on Tuesday.”It is very sad that we have to think about this” said Brandon’s town clerk, Susan Gage.Gage, like all the town clerks in the state, was given a Narcan spray after suspicious packages found their way to election officials across the country.”People have been mailed things with white substances in it, which turned out to be fentanyl, so they made sure we had all this Narcan available” said Gage.NBC5 spoke with Vermont’s Secretary of State, Sarah Copeland Hanzas on these safety measures. She says these precautions are in place to make sure everyone is on the same page before people start heading to their polling sites.”It is really such a low chance that something will happen but just given the heightened anxiety, I felt it was really important to give that piece of mind to folks who are out there and working on our elections” said Copeland Hanzas.The Secretary of State says she is grateful for the 247 local town and city clerks who are taking these trainings seriously and for following the new protocols to make sure everyone’s voice is heard on Election Day.
With less than one week to go before Election Day, city leaders across the state of Vermont are weighing in on safety ahead of your trip to the polls on November 5.
People who have not sent in their ballot early, will vote in-person on Tuesday.
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“We have never had issues before. They vote right in our office” said Betty Ritter, the town clerk in Cabot.
In addition to the usual concerns like making sure everyone gets their ballots on time, this year’s election has her team going through active shooter training and arming them with Narcan.
“It is overwhelming to know how strict we have to be in order to make sure this election is secure” said Ritter.
This is in response to election security threats across the country. People close to home are doing their part to make sure voters can safely cast their ballots on Tuesday.
“It is very sad that we have to think about this” said Brandon’s town clerk, Susan Gage.
Gage, like all the town clerks in the state, was given a Narcan spray after suspicious packages found their way to election officials across the country.
“People have been mailed things with white substances in it, which turned out to be fentanyl, so they made sure we had all this Narcan available” said Gage.
NBC5 spoke with Vermont’s Secretary of State, Sarah Copeland Hanzas on these safety measures. She says these precautions are in place to make sure everyone is on the same page before people start heading to their polling sites.
“It is really such a low chance that something will happen but just given the heightened anxiety, I felt it was really important to give that piece of mind to folks who are out there and working on our elections” said Copeland Hanzas.
The Secretary of State says she is grateful for the 247 local town and city clerks who are taking these trainings seriously and for following the new protocols to make sure everyone’s voice is heard on Election Day.
