Process of Voting

V.S.A. tit. 17, ch. 51, subch. 7

in effect

17 V.S.A. § 2561 Hours of voting; extended hours

2561. Hours of voting; extended hours (a) At all elections using the Australian ballot system, the polls may open no earlier than 5:00 a.m. and shall open no later than 10:00 a.m. as set by the board of civil authority in each town. The polls in all polling places shall close at 7:00 p.m. (b) If at the hour of closing there are any qualified voters at the polling place desiring to vote, who have been unable to do so since appearing there, the polls shall be kept open long enough after the hour of closing to allow those present a reasonable opportunity to vote. A person not present at the hour of closing shall not be entitled to vote, although the polls may not actually be closed when he or she arrives. Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1979, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 75; 2003, No. 59, § 31; 2007, No. 121 (Adj. Sess.), § 10.

17 V.S.A. § 2562 Presiding officer to assign duties to election officials

2562. Presiding officer to assign duties to election officials At each polling place, the presiding officer shall assign specific duties to each election official present. Insofar as practical, he or she shall assign election officials to work in pairs, with each pair containing members from different political parties. Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.

17 V.S.A. § 2563 Admitting voter

2563. Admitting voter Before a person may be admitted to vote, he or she shall announce his or her name and, if requested, his or her place of residence in a clear and audible tone of voice, or present his or her name in writing, or otherwise identify himself or herself by appropriate documentation. The election officials attending the entrance of the polling place shall then verify that the person’s name appears on the checklist for the polling place. (1) If the name does appear, and if no one immediately challenges the person’s right to vote on grounds of identity or having previously voted in the same election, the election officials shall repeat the name of the person and: (A)(i) If the checklist indicates that the person is a first-time voter in the municipality who registered by mail or online, whose driver’s license, nondriver identification number, or last four digits of his or her Social Security number provided by the applicant have not been verified by the Secretary of State, and who has not provided required identification before the opening of the polls, require the person to present any one of the following: a valid photo identification; a copy of a current utility bill; a copy of a current bank statement; or a copy of a government check, paycheck, or any other government document that shows the current name and address of the voter. (ii) If the person is unable to produce the required information, the person shall be afforded the opportunity to complete a new application for addition to the checklist in accordance with section 2144 of this title. (iii) The election officials shall note upon the checklist a first-time voter in the municipality who has registered by mail and who produces the required information, and place a mark next to the voter’s name on the checklist and allow the voter to proceed to the voting booth for the purpose of voting. (B) If the voter is not a first-time voter in the municipality, no identification shall be required. The clerk shall place a check next to the voter’s name on the checklist and allow the voter to proceed to the voting booth for the purpose of voting. (2) If the name does not appear, the person shall be afforded the opportunity to complete an application for addition to the checklist in accordance with section 2144 of this title. Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1981, No. 239 (Adj. Sess.), § 44; 2003, No. 59, § 32; 2015, No. 44, § 13, eff. Jan. 1, 2017; 2017, No. 50, § 37.

17 V.S.A. § 2564 Challenges

2564. Challenges (a)(1)(A) Each organized political party, each candidate on the ballot not representing an organized political party, and each committee supporting or opposing any public question on the ballot shall have the right to have not more than two representatives for each voting district, in a polling place but outside the guardrail, for the purpose of observing the voting process and challenging the right of any person to vote. (B) In no event shall the representatives be permitted to interfere with the orderly conduct of the election, and the presiding officer shall have authority to impose reasonable rules for the preservation of order. (C) However, in all cases the representatives shall have the right to hear or see the name of a person seeking to vote, and they shall have the right to make an immediate challenge to a person’s right to vote. (2) The grounds of challenge of a person whose name appears on the checklist shall be only: (A) that he or she is not, in fact, the person whose name appears on the checklist; or (B) that he or she has previously voted in the same election. (b) If a challenge is issued, the members of the board of civil authority present in the polling place shall immediately convene, informally hear the facts, and decide whether the challenge should be sustained. (1) If the board overrules the challenge, the person shall immediately be admitted within the guardrail and permitted to vote. (2) If the board sustains the challenge, the person shall not be admitted unless, before the polls close, he or she shall obtain a court order directing that he or she be permitted to vote. Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2017, No. 50, § 38; 2025, No. 91 (Adj. Sess.), § 65, eff. Apr. 30, 2026.

17 V.S.A. § 2565 Delivery of ballots

2565. Delivery of ballots Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2548(b) of this title, as each voter passes through the entrance of the guardrail, an election official or officials shall hand him or her one of each kind of ballot. The election officials shall also answer any questions a voter may ask concerning the process of voting. The presiding officer shall keep the election officials in charge of furnishing ballots to voters supplied with a sufficient number of blank ballots, keeping the remainder of the blank ballots safely secured until needed. Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1979, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 76; 2013, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 71; 2021, No. 60, § 18, eff. June 7, 2021.

17 V.S.A. § 2566 Marking ballots

2566. Marking ballots Except as provided in subdivision 2548(b)(2) of this title, on receiving his or her ballots, the voter shall forthwith, and without leaving the polling place or going outside the guardrail, proceed to one of the booths not occupied by any other person and vote by filling in the appropriate square or oval opposite the name of the candidate of his or her choice for each office, or by writing in the name of the candidate of his or her choice in the blank space provided and filling in the square or oval to the right of that blank space. Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2015, No. 30, § 15, eff. May 26, 2015; 2017, No. 50, § 39; 2021, No. 60, § 19, eff. June 7, 2021.

17 V.S.A. § 2568 Removing ballots from polling place; replacement and unused ballots

2568. Removing ballots from polling place; replacement and unused ballots (a) Removing ballots from polling place. A person shall not take or remove a ballot from the polling place before the close of the polls. (b) Replacement ballots. (1) If a voter desires a replacement ballot, he or she may obtain another, not exceeding three in all, upon each time returning to an election official the previous ballot he or she was provided. (2) If a ballot is returned to an election official by a voter desiring a replacement ballot, the ballot returned by the voter shall be immediately delivered to the presiding officer or his or her designee, who shall tear it in half and place it in an envelope containing all ballots returned by the voters that is clearly marked “Do Not Count—Replaced Ballots.” At the close of the polls, this envelope shall be sealed and delivered to the clerk pursuant to section 2590 of this chapter. (c) Unused ballots. Ballots originally delivered to the presiding officer that remain undistributed to the voters shall be preserved and returned to the town clerks, and following the election, they may be destroyed or distributed by the town clerk for educational purposes or for any other purpose the town clerk deems appropriate. Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2017, No. 50, § 40; 2019, No. 67, § 15.

17 V.S.A. § 2569 Assistance to voter

2569. Assistance to voter (a) A voter who declares to the presiding officer that he or she needs assistance to mark the ballot shall be assisted in the marking or registering of the ballot by a person of the voter’s choice or two election officials of different party affiliations. (b) A person who gives assistance to a voter in the marking of his or her ballot shall not in any way divulge any information regarding the choice of the voter or the manner in which the voter’s ballot was cast. Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1985, No. 196 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1989, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 2003, No. 59, § 34; 2015, No. 30, § 16, eff. May 26, 2015.

17 V.S.A. § 2570 Depositing ballots

2570. Depositing ballots (a) In primary elections, the voter shall first hand any unvoted primary ballots to the appropriate election official, who shall deposit those ballots in a receptacle marked for unvoted primary ballots. The voter shall then deposit the voted ballot in the ballot box or vote tabulator, unless the voter requires assistance in depositing the ballot. (b) In all other elections, the voter shall, without displaying the marks thereon and under the supervision of an election official, deposit each ballot into the proper ballot box or in the vote tabulator. (c) Except as provided in section 2569 of this title, no election official or other person shall look at the contents of any ballot. Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1979, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 77; 2015, No. 30, § 17, eff. May 26, 2015; 2017, No. 50, § 41.

17 V.S.A. § 2571 Checking voter’s name upon leaving

2571. Checking voter’s name upon leaving In towns that have exit checklists, before a voter’s ballots are deposited, he or she shall again announce his or her name to the election officials attending the second certified copy of the checklist. A mark shall then be placed next to his or her name upon the checklist, ballots shall be deposited and he or she shall proceed immediately outside the guardrail by the exit and shall not again enter within the guardrail unless he or she is an election official. Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1979, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 78; 2001, No. 5, § 8.

17 V.S.A. § 2572 Viewing of the checklist

2572. Viewing of the checklist (a) A representative of each political party, a candidate on the ballot not represented by a political party, and a representative of each committee supporting or opposing any public question on the ballot shall each have the right to view, no more than two times each, a copy of the checklist upon which the election officials are marking those persons who have voted. (b) This viewing shall occur only at times during the election that are convenient for the election officials and is required to be permitted only in instances where the board of civil authority have received a request in writing from the representative or candidate at least 12 hours before the opening of the polls. (c) This section shall only apply at polling places that have checklists of eligible voters numbering 500 or less. Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.

17 V.S.A. § 2573 No counting before polls close

2573. No counting before polls close In towns that do not use vote tabulators, the ballot boxes shall not be opened nor the ballots counted before the closing of the polls. In towns using vote tabulators, the tabulator counts shall not be viewed or printed before the closing of the polls. Added 1979, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 79; amended 2003, No. 59, § 35; 2013, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 31.

Source: Vermont General Assembly (legislature.vermont.gov)URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/17/051Fetched: 10/21/2026