Vermont secretary of state outlines multi‑million dollar IT overhaul, warns of smaller federal cybersecurity grants

MONTPELIER — Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanses told the Senate Committee on Institutions on Feb. 17 that her office has had to replace four major IT systems and add a fifth, a process she said has been the office’s biggest operational lift since she took office in 2023.

Hanses and Deputy Secretary Lauren Hibbert described the systems, their functions and the costs of implementation and upkeep. Hibbert said the business services system went live in December 2024 with an implementation cost of about $3,000,000, roughly $350,000 in annual maintenance and an estimated $300,000 in change requests. The campaign finance system went live in January 2025 with about $360,000 in implementation costs, $20,000 in annual maintenance and roughly $150,000–$200,000 in anticipated change requests. Hanses described the elections management system — which supports town clerks, assistants and office staff and integrates voter data from ERIC, the DMV and vital records — as the largest project, with implementation she gave as about…