On March 1, Vermont held its annual Vermont Town Meeting Day. Town Meeting Day is when all the residents of Vermont can participate in direct democracy and vote on town issues. It is a tradition held here before the state was even officially ratified.
Vermont Town Meeting Day is recognized as a holiday, so by law employees and students have the right to be absent in order to attend the meetings. However, only eligible voters can talk during the meetings. To be eligible, you must be a registered Vermont state voter. However, if you are from another town in Vermont and attending college in Lyndon, that does not disqualify you from voting in the Lyndon town meeting.
To vote on the issues discussed in the meetings, you don’t have to be present. Vermonters can also participate through an Australian ballot. This is a ballot sent in after the meeting to a local polling place. Voters can also vote early by absentee ballot. Lyndon uses the Vermont secretary of state’s Vermont Elections System website to send in absentee ballots and register for voting.
Issues to be discussed in town meetings are all announced prior to the meeting in a warning. Most towns voted on local issues like infrastructure improvements, spending, or electing local politicians. However, not all votes are on local politics; some discussed issues reflect the national and global political climate.
During this Town Meeting Day, voters across the state voted on issues like the retail sale of cannabis, covid restrictions, immigration enforcement, and critical race theory being taught in schools. Here in Lyndon, voters discussed proposals for spending tax money on different infrastructure projects and allotting support money for organizations like Catamount Arts, Lyndon Outing Club, and the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium. Townsfolk also voted in favor of a merger between the town of Lyndon and the village of Lyndonville.
Graphic by Carter Lee Toro