[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6304789,"mediaKeyId","2453713-7f5e7b396fee11a7d468f1a5dc7d5238","parentId",2453713,"title","Committee hears testimony on fusion/hybrid candidates and ‘two bites of the apple’ practice","audioSeconds",2183,"startMs",171000,"endMs",2354000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2453713-7f5e7b396fee11a7d468f1a5dc7d5238&start=171&end=2354","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2453713-7f5e7b396fee11a7d468f1a5dc7d5238/thumbnail_171000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6304789/Vermont/Committee-hears-testimony-on-fusionhybrid-candidates-and-two-bites-of-the-apple-practice","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6304789-cbb664976b85be63b464c7f748b3438f/orig.mp4?Expires=1777533435&Signature=IqhtagtjEx5HFYr6Yf4pVNVZ9-Sze7AW8wOMSGmyvAaSZGT-e-JsvPxJb7SGL8eHKffl1youGOsUR9HRWh6t1HqV0OVKbQG0DkpntBXBz2VQBLAyEUuzwYUDtZDtyhIXMCo37pua-gX~UikMIpSpgxypZI--yBATcTcZGYFHOgaU6fgFucHrCQWp4vspR8yYnhfiRPkoSINSo6fX7i5YauF5UMTD6l0xA0eJvVH-aHPQqMmNyrjM6ZoF1vYsEJ6x3SmyxhinGkgJGS0hX8aSNymIXd~VyyYAFx1COXNpX2KxQmuYonOguo1fJECJ6Of120IEhmMsKqoDSNh8rS9Bkg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-02-28T18:05:12Z","article","Representative Kate Logan, a state lawmaker, and other witnesses told the Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee that fusion and hybrid candidacies raise logistical and political questions for Vermont elections.

Logan said fusion voting — candidates appearing on a general‑election ballot with more than one party’s endorsement — and related rules are meant to give voters broader representation within a majoritarian, district‑based system. “Fusion voting is another one of these policies, and allows candidates to affiliate with more than one party by earning more than one party’s nomination,” Representative Kate Logan said. She told the committee that 39 fusion candidates appeared on the 2024 ballot and described fusion as a way for voters to express hybrid political identities.

The issue also touches on what supporters call flexibility and critics call an opportunity for strategic filing. A separate concern, often called the “two bites of the apple” problem in testimony, is the practice that lets a candidate who loses a major‑party primary run in the general election under another party’s nomination. Representative Logan described the feature this way: “Two bites of the apple allows a candidate to seek a major party nomination in a party primary, but if they lose, allows them to go on to the general election with another party’s nomination or as an independent.”

A Burlington lawmaker who said she had been appointed, then had to run in both a Democratic primary and the general election under a progressive nomination described the workload and voter confusion the pattern produced. The Burlington appointee said the progressive nominee she faced had been nominated by caucus after losing the Democratic primary and filed to run in the general election within the statutory deadline. “I literally had to do twice the work and raise twice the amount of money, against the same person,” the representative said, recounting that voters were confused and campaign costs nearly doubled.

Members asked practical questions about party processes, whether progressives resource primary campaigns, and how primary ballots are presented to voters. Representative Hooper’s separate bill H.117 — described by witnesses as a narrower fusion filing bill — was mentioned repeatedly; committee members said they were considering whether to incorporate H.117 language into the larger elections bill under discussion.

Committee members and witnesses raised several policy tradeoffs: supporters said fusion preserves political identity and lets smaller parties participate without “spoiling” outcomes; critics said the practice can confuse voters, encourage tactical behavior and create unequal resource patterns across parties during primaries. The Burlington representative urged limiting repeat access to the ballot after a primary loss, calling the “two bites” practice “not something that is afforded really any other candidate.”

No formal committee action was recorded in the transcript on fusion provisions during the session excerpt; witnesses and members said they expected further drafting and additional testimony before the committee moved the bill forward.

The committee paused the fusion discussion to hear testimony on ranked‑choice voting and other sections of the elections bill.

Short term follow‑up items mentioned during discussion included clarifying filing deadlines and party nomination processes and determining whether to merge standalone H.117 language into the committee’s larger elections draft. Public‑facing materials or guidance for voters on how party ballots and nominations work were proposed as part of any legislative fix or clarification.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Government Operations-2025-02-28-1:00PM","oneSentenceSummary","Representative Kate Logan and witnesses told the Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee that fusion and hybrid candidacies raise logistical and political questions for Vermont elections.","taxTitle","Government Operations & Military Affairs, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Committees, Legislative , Vermont","taxId",30955,"location","Vermont","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6304784,"Experts and state elections officials back RCV for 2028 presidential primary; clerks seek time for implementation",47,3453000,3500000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2453713-7f5e7b396fee11a7d468f1a5dc7d5238&start=3453&end=3500","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2453713-7f5e7b396fee11a7d468f1a5dc7d5238/thumbnail_3453000.jpg","/articles/6304784/Vermont/Experts-and-state-elections-officials-back-RCV-for-2028-presidential-primary-clerks-seek-time-for-implementation","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6304784-31df9f4e2a8fcbb8f6f6a4917065eeae/orig.mp4?Expires=1777533435&Signature=f3cjZkG8cXL8TtH8bKDiK8XZStDRAZX5A~ZCi8pZ8np1wLFTqaiNZ2ba72Bz1ofzrinHKEnkSJy4nymvfIyuyroOKA0oxRA5kr0dPhIQfPaA47AJtXpXR43MisTdqRaD4GqPMD1lqmDcKO086~Uf3RgYBopn1lx6zn1DsR2ZxjvkOU5hauKNdsk1E6KYNXWBSm8P7q~OBzBvXnN1M-GxElqLn50ZreGZ0sMgg6F3EZC2YfDQN7nlVVHwrGWl61yiX47e0ywXimxqMb09czvSxJ2-qoixdHTEhJowha5lbzDF3xz7ub0lUCCwV9MPz4Gv6t1-49IOMs2oSmeNqUXqHQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A former county clerk who administered ranked‑choice elections and the Vermont deputy secretary of state told the Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee that ranked‑choice voting (RCV) can be run on existing tabulation systems and recommended a multiyear implementation lead time if lawmakers adopt the reform for presidential primaries.

“After conducting municipal elections in Utah using ranked choice, we also surveyed voters that had participated and ... had overwhelming support for the use of ranked choice,” testified Daniels, a former county clerk and auditor from Utah County who described his office’s experience implementing RCV in municipal and party nominating contests. He said the county used existing ballot‑printing and optical‑scan equipment, then ran an open‑source tabulation utility (RCTab) to perform the instant runoff calculation.

Lauren Hubert, deputy secretary of state, said the office supports RCV for the presidential primary only and prefers enactment in 2025 to allow clerks and voters sufficient preparation time for a 2028 implementation. “Ranked choice voting is something that the secretary of state supports for the presidential primary ... and we support it being implemented for the 2028 election,” Hubert said.

John Chan, elections director, said the secretary of state’s office has spoken with vendors and reviewed national experiences; he told the committee the state’s current tabulator vendor can support ranked‑choice tabulation and that the next generation of certified tabulators will be “even more seamless” for RCV.

Witnesses said practical implementation has three components: ballot design, equipment and voter education. Daniels described tests his office performed — sample ballots with students and assisted living residents — and said the ballot format was intuitive. He recommended candidate training, tutorial videos and piggybacking RCV messaging on existing election mailings to reduce costs. Daniels said the municipalities that adopted RCV spent modest sums on outreach (postcards and videos) and that creating the content was inexpensive; distribution was the primary expense.

Committee members pressed officials on specific operational concerns, including hand‑count towns. The deputy secretary of state said Maine and other jurisdictions with hand counts have implemented RCV and that Vermont’s roughly 100 hand‑count towns are a consideration for the state plan. On the question of exhausted ballots (ballots that list only some preferences and therefore stop counting when listed candidates are eliminated), Daniels said exhausted ballots typically appear at single‑digit percentages and had not decisively changed outcomes in his experience; exhausted‑ballot rates vary by contest type and turnout.

The secretary of state’s office opposed an automatic sunset language in the bill that would repeal RCV on a fixed date; officials recommended instead a required implementation report after the 2028 primary so lawmakers could assess results before deciding whether to expand or alter the method.

No formal vote or final legislative action occurred in the transcript excerpt; committee members scheduled follow‑up sessions and said they planned more technical and operational briefings.","A former Utah County clerk and the deputy secretary of state told the Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee that ranked‑choice voting (RCV) is administratively feasible for a 2028 presidential primary, but state elections officials urged passage in 2025 to give clerks and voters time to prepare.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee hears testimony on fusion/hybrid candidates and ‘two bites of the apple’ practice

Experts and state elections officials back RCV for 2028 presidential primary; clerks seek time for implementation