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DEI committee urges Jericho to restore 5% petition threshold to boost access
Summary
DEI committee members asked the Select Board to lower the signature threshold for automatic placement of citizen petitions on the Australian ballot from 10% to 5%, saying the higher bar uniquely limits access for underrepresented groups; the board asked staff and VLCT for clarifying language before next steps.
Representatives of Jericho’s DEI committee asked the Select Board on Aug. 6 to lower the town’s petition-signature threshold for automatically placing items on the Australian ballot from 10% of registered voters to 5%, aligning Jericho with most other Vermont towns.
"The reason we would like to push the, as a formal measure...to adopt the 5% the rest of the state uses is simply that more voices are better," said a DEI committee member who presented the request. DEI representatives said their feasibility research and interviews with local leaders found the higher 10% threshold can be prohibitive to community groups that lack established networks for gathering signatures.
Board members debated the legal and practical implications. Select Board member Peter (board representative to petition work) explained that state rules still give the board discretion to decline items that are illegal or beyond town authority, and that some topics remain subject to different thresholds (for example, bonds). The board discussed asking VLCT (Vermont League of Cities and Towns) and legal counsel to clarify which matters are automatically within voters’ purview.
Several board members suggested the next step should be drafting clearer language that defines which items are automatically placed on the ballot and which remain under the Select Board’s discretion, rather than immediately changing percentages. "If we can get a document that clarifies the process and scope, that itself leads to more access," one member said.
The committee’s request will be taken under advisement. Board members asked staff to return a draft that either explains why the 10% language remains or that implements the committee’s 5% recommendation while explicitly preserving the board’s ability to screen matters that are not within the town’s legal authority.
