“Where Are the Women?” is a new book just published by EVIE KIEHLE, a BUHS senior. She looks at the lack of women in American Politics and has written a guide to the ways we can change this. Evie also talks about growing up in Brattleboro, and the people and activities that influence her.
Absentee ballots for the Presidential Primary, Brattleboro Annual Town Meeting and Windham Southeast School District School Board vote to be held March 5 are now available by request. Absentee ballots for this election must be requested.
Anyone wishing to vote absentee may apply for an absentee ballot until 5 p.m. on Monday, March 4, although we recommend doing so as soon as possible to account for mail delivery time. All voted ballots must be received by the Clerk before the polls close on Election Day, March 5, to be counted.
Below is information that might be helpful to know for March 1st local elections. The Windham Southeast School District vote will be held in addition to the Annual Town Meeting Day elections.
The polling places for all three districts in Brattleboro is the American Legion, 32 Linden St., from 7:00 am until 7:00 pm.
Due to COVID-19, CDC approved masks will be required (and provided if needed) to enter the American Legion for voting, and hand sanitizer or gloves will also be provided. If you are unable to wear a mask and did not vote absentee, there will be a space outdoors for you to vote. Due to social distancing and reduced capacity indoors, please be prepared for potential wait times.
Due to COVID safety there will be no in person Windham Southeast School District Annual Meeting this year. You can vote on the school budget and for school board members by requesting a school ballot from your Town Clerk and voting absentee or by voting in person at each of the polling locations in Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford, and Putney on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2021. Due to COVID-19 and social distancing, voters are strongly encouraged to vote through absentee ballot.
A Virtual Public Information Meeting on the proposed FY ’22 School District Budget is scheduled for Tuesday, February 23 via Zoom at 6pm. The link to the Information Meeting agenda and how to call in, as well as budget documents can be found on the school district’s website listed below: https://www.wsesu.org/wsesd-budget-vote.html
Town Meeting and Windham Southeast School Elections ~ March 2
Make plans to Vote Absentee
As I continue to ponder Representative Town Meeting system used by Brattleboro, I find myself coming to the same conclusion: it either needs to be reformed, or it needs to go.
The biggest problem is representation. While voters can elect “representatives” to participate in Representative Town Meeting, there is almost no representation going on. Unlike selectboard candidates, reps rarely state to voters what they stand for. Reps rarely hold district meetings to discuss issues. Voting records of reps aren’t tallied or made public. And almost all the information reps take to Representative Town Meeting is given to them by town officials, not constituents.
Voters, despite picking names on district ballots, often don’t know who represents them, how to reach them, or how those reps have voted. Writing in names of people better known to a voter has been eliminated, unless that person is deemed “official” through registering as a candidate. Sometimes reps get slots through the caucus process, under the radar of most district voters.
There is almost no accountability in this system.
Thursday, January 14 Last day (5:00 P. M.) to file petition requesting that an article be placed on the Warning for Annual Town and Town School District Meeting (47 days preceding election). Approx. 469 (5%) signatures of registered Brattleboro voters required. 17 VSA 2642
Thursday, January 21 First day to post Warning for Annual Town and Town School District (not more than 40 days preceding election) 17 VSA 2641 (a)
2020 Progressive Party Candidate Cris Ericson wants YOU to go VOTE your heart & mind in Vermont!
Dont let anyone discourage you from voting! Don’t let anyone or any news story tell you the election has already been decided!
In order to encourage you to GO, Go, Go VOTE! she whistles a few American tunes for you!
Vermont citizens can stay informed about the upcoming local and statewide races in Vermont with Brattleboro Community TV’s half-hour interview program “Meet the Candidates 2020”. So far, host Marty Cohn has interviewed Rep. Peter Welch, Christopher Helali, Peter Becker, Lt. Governor David Zuckerman, Emily Peyton, Erynn Hazlett Whitney, Molly Gray, Ralph Corbo, Pamala Smith, Sen. Jeanette White, Rep. Emilie Kornheiser, Richard Morton, and Michelle Bos-Lun. Scheduled for the next two weeks: Auditor Doug Hoffer, Sen. Becca Balint, Marcus Parish, John Lyddy, Rep. Laura Sibilia, Rep. Mollie Burke, and Rep. Mike Mrowicki.
Good morning,
Below is information that might be helpful to know for the November 3rd General Election.
Due to the pandemic, there is no in-person early voting in Brattleboro. However, all active registered voters were automatically mailed a ballot. Please make sure to follow the instructions included with your ballot, including SIGNING THE CERTIFICATE ENVELOPE and making sure your ballot is INSIDE that envelope. Please use a BLACK PEN OR PENCIL to mark your ballot. DO NOT USE A MARKER as it can bleed through to the back of your ballot and require you to need a replaced ballot. If you have not received your ballot, or if you have any questions about your ballot, please call the Town Clerk’s office at 251-8157.
Many Americans harbor a mix of fear and superstition when it comes to talking about a world where Donald Trump is no longer president. Our worst fears were realized when he was elected in 2016 and it just didn’t seem possible that such a flawed human being could win an election. But it happened, and too many of us are living in fear of the possibility of another four years of misery.
It might be best for us to move past the fear and superstition and start to talk publicly about what a world without Trump would look like. Instead of listening to the back and forth accusations between Trump and Biden and having to swim in the cesspool that political debate is mired in, we can make an effort to change the discussion.
When a criminal is acquitted of crimes, not because of innocence but because the legal system failed to do its job, it means that bad behavior has been rewarded. The U.S. Senate impeachment process (fake trial) has been a display of some of the most rotten aspects of a political and legal system in an advanced state of decay.
The criminal-in-chief will now feel emboldened to run roughshod over the rights of anyone who does not agree with him. He has been given carte blanche license to not have to follow any American laws because he knows that the Senate and his supporters have his back.
Question #2 & #3: Voter Beware!
If you think that voting yes on the proposed amendments on November 19th means voters would have a fair say in school closures… think again!
Read questions #2 and #3 carefully. I like the idea of giving the voters a say. Right now, the board would have authority to close classrooms or schools. The voters have no say. But, if these amendments pass, the majority does not decide.
If you believe that you as a tax payer deserve a voice in how much you pay in taxes, I urge you to vote NO on questions 2 and 3 on November 19th’s ballot. (This vote is in Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford and Putney.)
Questions 2 and 3 require a town to give approval for grade changes or school closure. This sounds great… but the proposed amendments would give ONE town veto power over all the other voters. All of us pay the taxes.
I am taking the time to clarify one thing about the choice voters face for the three-year seat on the Brattleboro Town School Board on Tuesday, March 5.
This vote is NOT a referendum on Act 46. The group that I have worked with – in Brattleboro,
across our county and the state – has consistently fought for provisions in the Act 46 law itself
known as “Section 9: Alternative Governance.” This section was put in the law because of
concerns in the legislature that there would be some form of off-ramp for communities that would
not be well served by the so-called “preferred merger” with a mega-board.
On the March 5th Brattleboro town elections ballot, there will be a proposed town charter amendment.
The amendment would lower, to 16, the legal age for
— Voting on town issues and candidates,
— Being elected to and serving on school boards,
— Being elected to and serving in Representative Town Meeting.
