During the last presidential election in 2020, voter turnout in The Valley ranged from 75.6 to 83.3%, thanks in part to the fact that state government provided mail-in ballots to every voter during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Voter turnout was so impressive, thanks to the availability of ballots for all and voter registration policies that work, that the Legislature codified the practice of providing mail-in ballots going forward. That happened in 2021.
Vermont’s progressive election laws had already earned the state a ranking in the Center for Public Integrity’s top 10 in the United States for voter turnout. In 2020, the first year Vermont tried mailing ballots to all voters, MIT ranked Vermont first in the nation in its Elections Performance Index which measures several factors, including average wait time to cast a ballot on election day (2.3 minutes in Vermont compared to 11.6 nationally).
In 2021 when the Vermont Legislature was working on the bill to making mailing ballots permanent, then Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint (now Vermont’s sole U.S. Congress member) said: "When we make voting more accessible, more people vote.” And that’s true.
It is incredibly easy to vote with the ballots that arrive by mail. You can fill it out in advance and mail it back in the pre-addressed postage paid envelope. You can fill it out and drop it off at your town clerk’s office, or you can hand deliver it on Election Day and chat with election workers and friends and neighbors while voting.
As we count down the days until this year’s November 5 general election, let’s not waste the work that has gone into getting those ballots in our hands. In 2020 voter turnout in Vermont was 73.27% and as mentioned above, local turnout ranged from low of 75.6% to a high of 83.3%. National turnout in 2020 was 66%.
Let’s cast those ballots and make every vote count, ensuring that our voices are heard regardless of which officials we are electing. There’s a lot riding on this election at the state level and at the national level.
Don’t delay, vote today! (Or on November 5.)
