Voters to decide on Australian ballots

For most of the past 236 years, Charlotte residents gathered in person on Town Meeting Day to make decisions. It’s an increasingly rare example of direct democracy.

At this year’s town meeting, two articles propose changing that. If approved, future votes on the town budget and public questions would happen by Australian ballot instead.

Sadly, the Australian ballot is not brought to the polls via kangaroo. It’s a secret, paper ballot, where the voter’s identity is anonymous. 

The ballot proved particularly useful during the pandemic. While in lockdown, the Vermont Legislature passed a bill to temporarily allow mail-in ballots for every article on the town warning. This allowed residents to cast their votes safely.

The Legislature allowed this method of voting to continue through 2024. Now that this option has ended, the town of Charlotte has returned to in-person voting, at least for now. 

Supporters of the Australian ballot say it is especially important for controversial issues, where voters may want to keep their opinions private.

Additionally, the Australian ballot lets residents vote throughout the day. This is useful for families, individuals with demanding jobs, those with disabilities, etc. Essentially, it allows for people to vote without having to attend the lengthy town meeting.

On the other hand, town meetings are a long-standing tradition. According to the Charlotte Historical Society, the first Charlotte Town Meeting was called in 1789 to decide where to build the town hall. This decision took six decades and many more town meetings to select a place to build.

An important piece of town meeting and in-person voting is the ability for any attendee to propose amendments to articles or bring up other public issues. These amendments and issues are voted on right there and then, allowing for citizens to enact real change. 

Supporters of town meeting say it makes voters feel involved in democracy. By voting strictly by Australian ballot, a sense of connection may be lost between voters and the town government.

So what happens next? In order to make voting by Australian ballot permanent, there must be a floor vote at town meeting, according to Charlotte town clerk Mary Mead.

“If those articles were to pass, the town would no longer have an in-person town meeting because we would be voting every article on the town warning by Australian Ballot,” Mead said. 

Any changes would take effect next year.

Charlotte Town Meeting with in-person voting will take place Saturday, March 1, at 9 a.m. in the Charlotte Central School Multi-Purpose room. The Australian ballot voting will take place on Tuesday, March 4, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. at the Charlotte Town Hall.

For more information, visit the Charlotte Town Office website.