The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 17 : Elections

Chapter 051 : Conduct of Elections

Subchapter 006 : Early or Absentee Voters

• § 2538. Delivery of ballots by justices of the peace

  (a)(1) In the case of persons who are early or absentee voters due to illness, injury, or disability, ballots shall be delivered in the following manner, unless the early or absentee voter has requested pursuant to section 2539 of this subchapter that the early voter absentee ballots be mailed or electronically delivered.

  (2) Not later than three days prior to the election, the board of civil authority or, upon request of the board, the town clerk, shall designate in pairs justices of the peace in numbers sufficient to deliver early voter absentee ballots to the applicants for early voter absentee ballots who have stated in their applications that they are unable to vote in person at the polling place due to illness, injury, or disability. A pair shall not consist of two justices from the same political party.

  (3) If there shall not be available a sufficient number of justices to make up the required number of pairs, a member of each remaining pair shall be designated by the board, to be selected from lists of registered voters submitted by the chairs of the town committees of political parties, and from among registered voters who in written application to the board state that they are not affiliated with any political party.

  (4) A candidate or spouse, parent, or child of a candidate shall not be eligible to perform the duties prescribed by this section unless the candidate involved is not disqualified by section 2456 of this chapter from serving as an election official.

  (5) The compensation of justices and voters designated under this subsection shall be fixed by the board of civil authority and shall be paid by the town.

  (6) The justices may, but shall not be required to, deliver ballots outside the town.

  (b)(1) The town clerk shall divide the list of applicants who have an illness, injury, or disability into approximately as many equal parts as there are pairs of justices so designated, having regard to the several parts of the town in which the applicants may be found.

  (2) As soon as early voter absentee ballots are available, the clerk shall deliver to each pair of justices one part of the list, together with early voter absentee ballots and envelopes for each applicant.

  (3) When justices receive ballots and envelopes prior to election day, they shall receive only the ballots and envelopes they are assigned to deliver on that day.

  (c)(1) Each pair of justices on the days they are assigned to deliver the ballots and envelopes shall call upon each of the early or absentee voters whose name appears on the part of the list furnished to them and shall deliver early voter absentee ballots and envelopes to each early or absentee voter.

  (2) The early or absentee voter shall then proceed to mark the ballots alone or in the presence of the justices, but without exhibiting them to the justices or to any other person, except that when the early or absentee voter is blind or physically unable to mark his or her ballots, they may be marked by one of the justices in full view of the other. (Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1979, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 68; 1995, No. 95 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 1997, No. 17, § 1; 2001, No. 6, § 12(a), (b), eff. April 10, 2001; 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 83; 2013, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 37; 2019, No. 67, § 14.)