PROCESS FOR GETTING A QUESTION BEFORE THE VOTERS:

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January 26 when town warnings need to be finalized and signed by the select board. Before this date the petition needs to be presented to the select board for their approval for inclusion in the warning. In consideration of the very busy schedule that select boards have with preparing the budget the sooner the petition can be submitted the better or even just alerting them that it will be coming and providing them a copy of the text is helpful for their planning. Getting to select boards by first week in January should be the goal

The petition must contain signatures of 5% of the voters requesting placement of articles on the warning for the Annual Meeting and must be received by the Selectboard or the School Board at least 40 days prior to Town Meeting. 17 V.S.A.§2642(a).”
Time is short. Bring a copy on a clipboard to events and meetings. Get as many signatures as possible. (You can get the actual number of signatures needed by law by calling your Town Clerk.)

Here are the steps a citizen can take:

Make sure the date that your petition gatherers use on the petitions is the date it will be voted on by town residents (almost always the day of the town meeting).

1. Contact municipal clerks to get dates in individual towns to submit the petition in time for signers to be verified on the ballot;
2. Contact select boards, supervisors, mayors, councils to get their dates and process for approval of items to be warned for voting at town meeting and to
give them a heads up about the issue;
3. Collect signatures—the more the better;
4. Submit petitions on time;
5. Have folks show up at town meeting to support the measure
 Even with the required signatures on a petition the select board can choose to not include an article if it doesn’t directly pertain to town business.
Here’s a summary of the procedure. Of course, items can be introduced from the floor w/o any sort of petition process or warning periods. But if the plan is to do this by Australian ballot, this info should be passed around: http://www.vermont-elections.org/elections1/tmarticlepetition.htm

1 thought on “PROCESS FOR GETTING A QUESTION BEFORE THE VOTERS:”

  1. Tonight, after much discussion and passionate comments from many petition gatherers and supporters, the South Burlington City Council voted 3 to 1 to place our Resolution on the March 6th Town Meeting Ballot.

    This means that all of South Burlington’s 12,200+/- registered voters will have the opportunity to think about, discuss and vote on the Resolution.

    With this vote, our City Council has reversed, at least in this instance, a long precedent of never allowing a vote on something that is not narrowly focused on city affairs. South Burlington thus joins the following other towns that either have a resolution on the ballot/warning or have exceeded the 5% signature-collection goal: Bolton, Brattleboro, Burlington, Calais, Charlotte, Craftsbury, Fayston, Gainsville, Greensboro, Hinesburg, Marlboro, Marshfield, Monkton, Montgomery, Montpelier, Moretown, Norwich, Richmond, Ripton, Rutland city and town, Shrewsbury, Waitsfield, Warren, Williamstown and Williston

    In just 3 weeks, almost 1000 petition signatures were gathered by more than 43 South Burlington residents, easily exceeding the 610 needed to constitute at least 5% of the City’s registered voters, to request city councilors place the matter on the ballot.

    Many thanks to everyone who supported this effort, gathered signatures and appeared at tonight’s City Council meeting.

    Cheers Everyone!

    Rick

    Rick Hubbard
    12 Woodbine Street (in Mayfair Park)
    South Burlington, VT 05403
    E-mail: rick@rickhubbard.org
    Cell: 999-3905

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