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Form a Business

Presidential Primary

V.S.A. tit. 17, ch. 57, subch. 1
in effect

17 V.S.A. § 2701 Presidential primary; time of holding; form of ballot

2701. Presidential primary; time of holding; form of ballot In presidential election years, a presidential primary for each major political party shall be held in all municipalities on the first Tuesday in March. The Secretary of State shall prepare and distribute for use at the primary an official ballot for each party for which one or more candidates qualify for the placing of their names on the ballot under section 2702 of this title. Ballots shall be printed on index stock and configured to be readable by vote tabulators. Added 1979, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 6, 1980; amended 1995, No. 38, § 2; 2013, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 33.

17 V.S.A. § 2702 Nominating petition

2702. Nominating petition (a) The name of any person shall be printed upon the primary ballot as a candidate for nomination by any major political party if petitions signed by at least 1,000 voters in accordance with sections 2353, 2354, and 2358 of this title are filed with the Secretary of State, together with the written consent of the person to the printing of the person’s name on the ballot. (b) Petitions shall be filed not later than 5:00 p.m. on the 15th day of December preceding the primary election. (c) The petition shall be in a form prescribed by the Secretary of State. (d) A person’s name shall not be listed as a candidate on the primary ballot of more than one party in the same election. (e) Each petition shall be accompanied by a filing fee of $2,000.00 to be paid to the Secretary of State. However, if the petition of a candidate is accompanied by the affidavit of the candidate, which shall be available for public inspection, that the candidate and the candidate’s campaign committee are without sufficient funds to pay the filing fee, the Secretary of State shall waive all but $300.00 of the payment of the filing fee by that candidate. (f)(1) In order to have votes listed for a write-in candidate under section 2587 of this title, not later than 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the election, a write-in candidate for nomination shall complete a form of the Secretary of State’s design affirming that the candidate wants to have received votes for that office in every major political party’s primary results listed under subdivision 2587(e)(3) of this title. The candidate shall file the form with either all town clerks within the candidate’s applicable district or the Secretary of State’s office in an electronic manner approved by the Secretary. The Secretary of State shall notify the appropriate town clerks of any filings made in accordance with this subsection as soon as practicable. (2) Notwithstanding subdivision (1) of this subsection, a write-in candidate is not required to file if: (A) the candidate has already filed a consent to the printing of the candidate’s name on the ballot for a major political party, as provided in section 2361, 2385, or 2402 of this title; or (B) no candidate is printed on the ballot, or if a candidate whose name is printed on the ballot dies or is otherwise disqualified prior to 7:00 p.m. on the election day. Added 1979, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 6, 1980; amended 1995, No. 38, § 3; 2011, No. 66, § 16, eff. June 1, 2011; 2013, No. 1, § 82; 2017, No. 50, § 62; 2025, No. 70, § 12, eff. June 25, 2025.

17 V.S.A. § 2703 Examining petitions; supplementary petitions

2703. Examining petitions; supplementary petitions The Secretary of State shall examine the petitions and ascertain whether they conform to the provisions of this chapter, and sections 2353, 2354, and 2358 of this title. If found not to conform, the Secretary shall state in writing why a particular petition cannot be accepted, and within two business days from receipt, the Secretary shall return it to the candidate in whose behalf it was filed. Supplementary petitions may be filed not later than 10 days after the deadline for filing petitions. However, supplementary petitions shall not be accepted if petitions with the signatures of at least 1,000 persons were not filed by the deadline for filing petitions set forth in section 2702 of this chapter. Added 1979, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 6, 1980; amended 2015, No. 30, § 29, eff. May 26, 2015; 2025, No. 70, § 28, eff. June 25, 2025; 2025, No. 91 (Adj. Sess.), § 96, eff. Apr. 30, 2026.

17 V.S.A. § 2704 Ballots

2704. Ballots A person voting at the primary shall be required to ask for the ballot of the party in which the voter wishes to vote and an election official shall record the voter’s choice of ballot by marking the entrance checklist with a letter code, as designated by the Secretary of State, to indicate the voter’s party choice. The names of all candidates on the ballot shall be listed in alphabetical order. Each voter may vote for one candidate for the presidential nomination of one party, either by placing a mark opposite the printed name of a candidate as in other primaries, or by writing in the name of the candidate of the voter’s choice. Added 1979, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 6, 1980; amended 1995, No. 38, § 4; 2003, No. 59, § 43.

17 V.S.A. § 2705 Checklist

2705. Checklist The checklist for the primary shall be the checklist to be used at the annual town meeting, except that the names of residents of unorganized towns and gores shall be added to the checklist in the manner provided in section 2123 of this title and it shall be stated next to their names that they are eligible to vote in the presidential primary but not on town meeting items. Towns that do not hold an annual meeting on the first Tuesday or the Monday evening before the first Tuesday in March shall update their checklist before the election as required by chapter 43 of this title. Added 1979, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 6, 1980; 1995, No. 38, § 5.

17 V.S.A. § 2706 Provisions applicable

2706. Provisions applicable The appropriate provisions of this title shall apply to presidential primaries, unless clearly inconsistent herewith. Added 1979, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 6, 1980; amended 1995, No. 38, § 6.
Source: Vermont General Assembly (legislature.vermont.gov)URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/17/057Fetched: 10/21/2026

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