Vermonters urged to mail in ballots ASAP

Sarah Copeland Hanzas

Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas encouraged voters who are planning to mail their voted ballots back to their town/city clerk to do so as soon as possible. “Mailing your ballot back to your clerk’s office is a convenient, easy way to cast your vote, but it’s crucial that you mail it in time for your clerk to receive it by 7 pm on Election Day,” Copeland Hanzas explained. “If you’re voting this way, make sure you get your ballot in the mail today!”

And once you’ve mailed in your ballot, you can check online to see if it was received and even fix errors on it.

All active registered voters in Vermont were mailed a ballot for the Nov. 5 General Election, a practice known as “Universal Vote by Mail” that is conducted in eight states and Washington, D.C.

There are several ways to vote. Vermont voters can:

• Mail their ballot back to their clerk’s office.
• Bring their ballot to their clerk’s office in person during open hours.
• Drop their ballot into an official ballot drop box any time before Election Day.
• Bring their ballot to their polling place on Nov. 5. If a voter shows up to vote without the ballot that was mailed to them, they can sign an affidavit of “No Ballot Cast” and will immediately be given a new ballot.

“If you are planning to cast your ballot ahead of November 5^th and aren’t able to get it in the mail today, I strongly recommend that you hand-deliver it to your clerk’s office, or drop it in an official ballot drop box,” Copeland Hanzas said. “We want to ensure that your vote is counted and your voice is heard – the postal system takes time, and Election Day is coming up fast!”

Secretary Copeland Hanzas reminded voters that if they do choose to mail their ballot back to the clerk’s office, they can check to see whether it has been received on their My Voter Page account by entering their name, date of birth, town and driver’s license number or the last four digits of their SSN. If there were any errors with the ballot, such as forgetting to sign the envelope, a clickable “Cure Ballot” button allows the voter to fix the issue online and ensure their vote is counted.