How the August 2026 primary will work

The Primary allows voters to choose who in their preferred party they want to see on the November election ballot.

Vermont does not register voters by political party. This is the only Vermont election where you receive ballots for all participating parties.

How it works at the polls:

• State your name aloud to the ballot clerk.

• If you received a challenge letter, you must fill out and sign an Affadavit of Residence before receiving the ballots. Your name is still on the voter check list, but you must do this step in order to vote…it’s the law. *** see below ***

• (to speed things along, you should reply to the challenge letter prior to the election-that is why you were also sent a self-addressed stamped envelope)

• Receive three ballots: You will get a Democratic, a Progressive, and a Republican ballot.

• Vote in private: You do not have to tell anyone which party you are choosing. In the voting booth, choose one ballot and mark your votes for whomever you want to of that party's candidates. There are also spaces for write-in candidates.

  • Return all three ballots: You must return all three ballots for your votes to count. This is to ensure election security: one voter = one voted ballot.

  • Fold your marked and unmarked ballots in half to ensure your privacy. We do not want to know which party’s ballot you voted on.

  • Hand your two unvoted ballots to the election official to be placed in a secure unvoted ballot box BEFORE placing your voted ballot into the box. Your name will be checked off that you did this.

  • Put your voted ballot into the designated secure ballot box.

  • *** FYI: challenged voters will NOT be sent ballots by the state for November’s election. To vote, you will need to do so in person at the town hall after completing the necessary paperwork.