The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 17 : Elections

Chapter 051 : Conduct of Elections

Subchapter 006 : EARLY OR ABSENTEE VOTERS

• § 2543a. Provision of secure ballot drop boxes

  (a) A board of civil authority may vote to install one or more secure outdoor ballot drop boxes (drop boxes) for the return of voted ballots.

  (b) Drop boxes shall be located on municipal property. If a town has only one drop box, it shall be located on the property of the municipal clerk’s office.

  (c) Drop boxes shall allow for the return of ballots by voters at any time of day and must be available for the return of ballots not later than 43 days before the election.

  (d) Drop boxes shall be installed and maintained in accordance with guidance issued by the Secretary of State’s office. At a minimum, drop boxes shall:

  (1) be affixed to a foundation or other immovable object such that they cannot be removed without being tampered with;

  (2) be under 24-hour video surveillance or in the alternative be within sight of the municipal building;

  (3) be constructed in such a manner that it is impossible to remove the ballots without the ballot box being tampered with; and

  (4) be able to be closed such that ballots may not be deposited once the deadline for deposit has passed.

  (e)(1) Ballots may be deposited in the drop boxes until the close of business on the day before the election. At the close of business, the drop box shall be closed and instructions affixed to the drop box instructing the voter to return the voter’s voted ballot to the polling place on the day of the election.

  (2) Notwithstanding subdivision (1) of this subsection, a board of civil authority may vote to allow ballots to be deposited in the drop boxes until not later than the closing of the polls on election day.

  (f) The Secretary of State’s office shall provide drop boxes to a town or city upon request following a vote of the board of civil authority. The maximum number of drop boxes that the Secretary of State’s office shall provide in any town or city shall be as follows:

  (1) up to 5,000 registered voters, one;

  (2) between 5,000 and 10,000 registered voters, two;

  (3) between 10,000 and 15,000 registered voters, three;

  (4) between 15,000 and 20,000 registered voters, four; and

  (5) over 20,000 registered voters, five.

  (6) A town or city may have a number of secure drop boxes equal to the number of representative districts in that town or city, with one drop box located in each district, if that number is greater than the number allowed based on that town or city’s number of registered voters in subdivisions (1)-(5) of this subsection. If there is not suitable municipal property for the location of a secure drop box in the area covered by a certain district in the town or city, an alternative location may be used with the approval of the Secretary of State’s office. (Added 2021, No. 60, § 11, eff. June 7, 2021.)