“All that’s left to conclude is that some legislators (and the governor) feel the need to lord this one over local communities just because it makes them feel squirmy. And, honestly I get it. Change can do that to you.”
These factors point to a legislative district map in 2022 that could look very different from the ones Vermonters have used, not just since 2012, but for many decades past.
As much as Republicans support the concept of local control, we cannot allow local municipalities to violate the constitution. We take our oaths of office seriously.
By creating different classes of voters, in different towns, you are potentially creating a vastly unequal playing field. For example, is it proper to allow different groups of voters to weigh in on statewide school spending issues?
Representatives of citizen-led voter integrity groups in five states met on Zoom to discuss how they are conducting statewide election audits in their respective states. States include Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Wisconsin.
Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed S.15 making universal vote-by-mail permanent for Vermont’s elections going forward, and the reaction on social media has been swift and largely supportive, despite the bill’s lack of security safeguards.
“I believe making sure voting is easy and accessible, and increasing voter participation is important,” Scott said in a statement Monday. He also asked the legislature to expand the bill’s provisions to primary and local elections and school budget votes in order to facilitate higher voter turnout.
With the enactment of S.15, Vermont is now one of the most voter friendly states in the country, while maintaining strong safeguards ensuring the security and integrity of our elections and the results they produce.
Harri Hursti and Philip Stark, two auditors of the startling election irregularity in the town of Windham, were called upon to analyze a similar machine glitch in the state of Georgia, but which favored Republican candidates. The chances of the glitch were called “one in a million.”
The voters of Montpelier invited these immigrants to enjoy full membership in their community, regardless of what stage they were at in the national citizenship process. The governor slammed the door shut on them. And indeed on all the voters in both Montpelier and Winooski.
Texans opting to vote by mail will have to request an absentee ballot application and provide either their driver’s license number or the last four digits of their social security number. They will have to send that information again once they mail their ballot in order to affirm its validity.
I am not accusing Hursti of anything wrong or nefarious. But it is important to remember that it is the memory cards that make it easy to hack the machines to produce “fraudulent tape,” but “only on Tuesday evening,” so this is a big deal that warrants answers.