Town Meeting Day Information on Voting
Town Meeting Day
What: School meeting and voting
Where: Washington school auditorium
When: Tuesday, March 4, 2025: the school meeting begins at 10 a.m. and the school ballot votes can be cast from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Information can be found through the Central Vermont Supervisory Union at 1-802-433-5818.
What: Voting for town officers
Where: Washington school auditorium
When: Tuesday, March 4, 2025, 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.
How: Pre-set paper ballot
Voting by paper ballot (Australian ballot)-this year’s ballot contains only open town offices.
Voters may request an absentee Australian ballot beginning on Wednesday, February 12. Call the town clerk at 1-802-883-2218, or email washingtontownclerk@gmail.com.
Voters may request that 2 Justices of the Peace bring a paper ballot to them prior to the end of the voting period. The JPs will wait and return the sealed ballot to the polling place. Voters must give sufficient notice in order for this to occur in a timely manner as voting ends promptly at 7 pm. If there are not 2 JPs available, 2 election personnel will be assigned.
What: Voting on warned articles
Where: Washington school auditorium
When: Tuesday, March 4, 2025, beginning at 2 p.m.
How: from the floor
Voting by floor vote means you must be at the school in person to vote on the articles that were warned by the Selectboard. There is no pre-set ballot on warned articles; therefore, there is no way for anyone to vote on any floor articles by an absentee ballot.
According to the Secretary of State’s office: “Unlike Australian Ballot where questions to be voted on are pre-set, there is no means of knowing what the actual vote would be ahead of time…Therefore, it would be impossible to vote without being present. The debate changes the vote even when issues may not appear to have changed… by definition of being a decision- making body, …budgets are manipulated and altered, etc.”
Any town resident with identification may register to vote prior to March 4 at https://vote.gov/register/vermont, or at the town clerk’s office, or at the school on that day.
