More than 43% of Vermonters who received mail-in ballots had already cast their votes in the 2024 general election by Monday morning, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
For the rest of us, that ballot sitting on the counter or on the windowsill can still be put to use on Tuesday. You can vote at home and bring the sealed and signed inner envelope to drop off at the polls on Election Day. Alternatively, you can bring the blank ballot with you and vote in person at your polling location. (You can find your polling place here.)
If you never received a ballot in the mail, or have misplaced it since, you can pick up a fresh ballot at your polling place. If you are a registered voter, you will be required to fill out and sign a “No Ballot Cast” form attesting that you have not already voted.
If you aren’t a registered voter yet, or your registration is lapsed or attached to a previous address, you can still register or update your registration at the polls on Election Day. You should go to the polling station where you currently live and should be able to cast a ballot.
Monday Nov. 4 is the last day of early voting, and that is only true if your town or city clerk has open hours or if there is an official ballot box available in your district. The Secretary of State’s Office recommends that you not put your ballot in an official ballot box after the close of business on Monday. Call your municipal clerk or visit your town or city’s website to confirm those hours, as many clerk’s offices have shortened them to prepare for Election Day.
A 2021 law requires a ballot be mailed to all registered Vermont voters every two years for the general election. The same is not required for the presidential and state primaries or local elections and ballot measures.
A mid-pandemic decision to allow mail-in voting in November 2020 drove record turnout, so the Legislature made it permanent the following year. After 2020 and 2022, this year’s general election is the third in state history to be conducted in this manner. Vermont is one of just eight states, plus the District of Columbia, with what is often called “universal mail-in voting,” according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
Erin Petenko contributed reporting to this story.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Still have your Vermont ballot? Bring it to the polls on election day. Lost it? No worries!.