Committee reviews bill to clarify Australian ballot use for some municipal officers, waives challenges for 2025 elections

The House Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee on Jan. 21, 2025 heard testimony on draft committee bill 25-0668, which would amend 17 BSA §2680(b) to clarify that municipalities may elect “any or all” municipal officers by the Australian ballot and would bar challenges to certain prior and 2025 elections.

The bill, presented by legislative counsel Tucker Anderson, would add statutory language allowing a municipality to put one of two questions on its annual meeting warning: either asking whether to elect a specific office by Australian ballot or asking whether to elect all municipal officers by Australian ballot. Anderson said the change is intended to address ambiguity in the current subsection that has been read by some as an “all-or-nothing” rule.

The clarification matters because, as Lauren Kibert, deputy secretary of state, told the committee, many towns use a mixed methodology — some officers elected by Australian ballot and others by floor procedures — and roughly “48 percent of towns use mixed methodology voting,” she said. “So we fully support at the Secretary of State’s office, this clarification of the law,” Kibert said, adding that the bill’s wording mirrors existing language used elsewhere in the statute for budget and public questions.

The bill also contains a session-law provision designed to prevent legal challenges tied to the change. Section 2 would (a) state that the act does not render invalid any municipal officer elected at a 2025 annual meeting and (b) retroactively protect prior municipal votes in which a municipality elected some — but not all — officers by Australian ballot. Anderson said the language is modeled on a 1981 session law used in prior statutory amendments.

Representatives and municipal groups at the hearing expressed support. Josh Hanford, director of intergovernmental relations at the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, said the league “is in complete agreement” with the solution. Samantha Sheehan, municipal policy and advocacy specialist with the league, and Tim Arsenault, Vernon town clerk and co-chair of the Vermont Municipal Clerk Treasurer’s Association legislative committee, also told the committee the language is a straightforward fix that will relieve town clerks concerned about compliance.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about scope. Representative Burlington asked whether the change affects non-annual elections or midterm vacancy fillings; Anderson said he was “not certain” and that his office’s focus was on annual meetings and the election of officers. Representative Nolan asked whether every municipality should place question 1 or 2 on the 2025 annual meeting ballot; Anderson replied that those are the questions municipalities would use in the future when voting to adopt the Australian ballot system for officers.

No formal committee vote on the bill appears in the transcript. The chair said the committee intends to move quickly once the bill is formally filed and that the bill is expected to take effect on passage, per its Section 3. The committee and witnesses repeatedly characterized the change as protective of longstanding local practices and aimed at avoiding disruption to town meeting day procedures.

The committee heard that Hyde Park officials originally flagged the issue; subsequent review and a public records request showed many towns were in similar situations. Witnesses told the committee they had shared the draft language with municipal legal teams, which signaled support.

Next steps recorded in testimony and remarks: committee staff expected the bill to be introduced with a session number and indicated the committee would “carve out a couple of minutes” at a future meeting to confirm the language and vote it out to the Senate for further action.