Australian Ballot Year Yielded Mixed Message in W.R. Valley
Town meeting is changing. Across the state, Australian ballots are becoming increasingly popular while trends lean away from voting on the floor and losing the traditional in-person town meeting. This year, a pandemic-forced Australian ballot effort saw mixed results in the White River Valley.
A study conducted by the Center for Research on Vermont averaged 50 Vermont towns and found that overall voter turnout increased from 18% in 2019 to 26% in 2021. Meanwhile, meeting attendance plummeted 56% this year from 2019, with online forums proving much less popular than traditional in-person gatherings.
According to the Vermont Secretary of State, 7.54% of registered voters cast ballots in person at town meeting in 2019, while 19.67% voted using Australian ballot. Last year, 7.63% of voters voted in-meeting while a striking 36.87% voted by Australian ballot.
Richard Watts, director of the Center of Research on Vermont, explained that issues once decided on the floor are increasingly put onto Australian ballot, such as school budget votes and selectboard elections. While this trend started in larger towns, it’s extending throughout the state, and was accelerated this year due to the pandemic.
More Votes
In the White River Valley, voter turnout this year was conflicting; some towns had very high turnout while others were well below average. Across the board, informational meetings had very low attendance.
Strafford’s voting turnout doubled from its usual average this year, but only 55 people logged into the informational meeting.
According to selectboard chair Toni Pippy, the issues this year were no more pressing than in years prior. She pointed to the efforts of Town Clerk Lisa Bragg as the reason turnout was as high as it was, with 485 people casting ballots.
Strafford’s Australian ballot success has left the town wondering how to incorporate the system into future town meetings, according to Pippy.
“The most important thing is that people are participating and that’s what we’re finding, we do have people who care,” said Pippy, highlighting folks who work in New Hampshire and can’t take off Town Meeting Day. “The opportunity to see what would happen if we did go to
Australian ballot was good. It was like a preview.”
Royalton’s virtual meeting had only 35 people in attendance; 254 people voted by Australian ballot. This year’s ballot had no divisive articles, which likely contributed to the low turnout.
But Randolph’s voter turnout rate dropped 10 percentage points this year from last, down to 27% of registered voters and 926 total votes. The articles were run-of-the-mill except for a disputed vote authorizing cannabis sales, which passed. Randolph has voted almost exclusively via Australian ballot for several years.
Randolph’s Town Clerk Emery Mattheis, new to the position, described participation as the biggest issue. No one from the public attended Randolph’s informational session.
“I think people really missed the in-person meeting, as a place to gather, share opinions and have a voice,” he said.
Rochester saw a 50% increase in voter turnout from their average. The standout article here was a law requiring Rochester to inform it’s residents of any proposed cell tower installations.
Rochester’s town clerk, Julie Smith, has lived in town since 1992, and had seen town meeting as a consistent and lively community gathering. “This year broke that bond,” she said, “hopefully in the future we can go back to the way that tradition was, and more people will be involved.”
