Senate Government Operations committee readies consideration of H.78 to permit hybrid Australian-ballot voting at town meetings

Chair Connor, of the Senate Government Operations Committee, told members Jan. 29 that H.78 — the bill often called the Australian ballot bill — is on the House calendar and expected to reach the Senate committee "forthwith," and that the committee would take it up on Friday if the House suspends its rules to pass and transmit the bill.

Tucker Anderson, legislative counsel, said the bill would amend 17 V.S.A. § 2680 to add the words "any or all," allowing municipalities to elect any or all of their officers by Australian ballot rather than forcing an all-or-nothing choice between Australian ballot and floor elections. "[T]he bill . . . would propose to allow municipalities to elect any or all of their officers using the Australian ballot system," Anderson said.

The nut graf: the change is intended to validate hybrid voting practices some Vermont municipalities have already adopted — where some offices are chosen by secret ballot and others are elected from the floor — and to reduce the risk of legal challenge to votes taken under those practices.

Anderson described the bill's two operative sections. Section 1 would amend 17 V.S.A. § 2680(b) to add the "any or all" qualifier and prescribe specific ballot-language options for municipalities choosing to use that subsection. Section 2 contains transitional provisions: subsection (a) would expressly bless elections held at the upcoming 2025 annual meetings if towns rely on the amended language while their meeting warnings were already issued; subsection (b) would retrospectively validate past municipal elections conducted under a hybrid interpretation of the statute so those past results could not be challenged on that basis. Anderson said the transitional language was modeled on a grandfathering provision used in 1981 (Act No. 239) when a similar amendment was made decades ago.

Committee members asked several process and statutory-interpretation questions. One senator asked whether allowing hybrid methods could recreate a prior conflict in the statute that limits use of Australian ballot at the same election where the municipality is voting to adopt Australian ballot; Anderson answered that the hybrid approach would require municipalities to have first voted under subsection (b) to apply the Australian ballot system and that the amendment should not create a new conflict with the other subsections governing public questions.

Chair Connor said the committee has already heard testimony from the Secretary of State's Office and planned to invite Lauren Hibbert or another representative of that office to testify again when the bill reaches the committee. He also said Representative Byron had been asked to provide a floor report if the House sends the bill.

No formal committee vote was taken during the Jan. 29 discussion. Members agreed to proceed on short notice if the House transmits the bill; the committee scheduled consideration for its Friday meeting, contingent on House action.

Ending: The bill remains subject to the House's third-reading action and to later Senate committee procedure. If the House suspends its rules and transmits H.78, the Senate Government Operations Committee plans a record hearing and a vote at its next scheduled meeting.