§ 759. Counting and reporting results of vote by Australian ballot
(a) Process if commingled. If the voters have approved the commingling of votes cast by Australian ballot for
any or all categories of public questions, including elections and budget votes, or
if Vermont law requires commingling, then the following process applies to those votes
except to the extent that Vermont law explicitly requires a different process for
a specific type of public question.
(1) At least two members of the board of civil authority of each town within a union elementary
or union high school district, or two election officials appointed by the board of
civil authority of that town, shall transport ballots cast in the member district
in a sealed container to a central location designated by the clerk of the union elementary
or union high school district.
(2) The boards of civil authority shall not count the ballots for purposes of determining
the outcome of the votes cast in the member district prior to transporting them but
may open the containers and count the total number of ballots cast at that polling
location.
(3) The union elementary or union high school district clerk or designee shall supervise
representatives of the boards of civil authority to count ballots at the central location.
The union elementary or union high school district clerk shall also have the authority
to appoint current union elementary or union high school district board members who
are not on the ballot to aid in the counting of ballots
(4) The ballots shall be counted as soon as possible, but not later than 24 hours after
the time at which the polls closed.
(5) If ballots are to be counted on the day following the election, then the clerk of
each member district shall store the ballots in a secure location until they are transported
on the following day to the central location designated by the union district clerk
for counting.
(6) Ballots from all member districts shall be combined into a single group before counting
and shall not be counted according to the member district or town in which a voter
resides.
(7) After the ballots have been counted, the union district clerk shall seal them in a
secure container and store them for at least 90 days at a secure location.
(8) The union district clerk shall report the commingled results of votes cast within
the union elementary or union high school district to the public.
(b) Process if not commingled. If the voters have not approved the commingling of votes cast by Australian ballot
for budgets, elections, or any other category of public question, and if Vermont law
does not require commingling, then the following process applies to those votes except
to the extent that Vermont law explicitly requires a different process for a specific
type of public question.
(1) The board of civil authority of each town within the union elementary or union high
school district shall count Australian ballots cast in the member district and report
the results to the clerk of the union district.
(2) The clerk of the union district shall calculate total votes cast within the union
district for any vote that requires approval by the electorate of the entire union
elementary or union high school district, rather than approval by the voters in one
member district or by the voters in each member district separately.
(3) The union district shall report to the public the results of total votes cast; provided,
however, that both the union district clerk and the clerk of each member school district
shall report the results of ballots cast to elect a union school district board member
where membership on the board is apportioned based on town population pursuant to
subdivision 748(a)(1) of this chapter. (Added 2021, No. 176 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. June 7, 2022.)