Vermont Statutes Title 16 Sec. 741
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 16 Sec. 741
- District clerk: means the individual elected as clerk of a union school district by the voters of the district pursuant to the provisions of sections 715 (union school district organizational meeting), 735 (unified union school district officers and election), and 753 (union elementary and union high school district officers and election) of this chapter. See
- following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
- School district: means a school district organized as a town school district, city school district, incorporated school district, or union school district, unless clearly inapplicable. See
- seal: shall include an impression of the official seal made upon paper alone or by means of a wafer or wax affixed thereto. See
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
- town: means a city or incorporated village. See
- Unified union school district: means a union school district organized to provide for the education of the district's resident students in all grades, prekindergarten through grade 12. See
- Union school district: means a municipality formed under the provisions of this chapter that is governed by a single publicly elected board and that is responsible for the education of students residing in two or more towns in the grades for which the district is organized by:
§ 741. Counting of Australian ballots
(a) Process.
(1) At least two members of the board of civil authority of each town within a unified union school district, or two election officials appointed by the board of civil authority of that town, shall transport ballots cast in the town in a sealed container to a central location designated by the district clerk. The district clerk shall place the ballots from all locations into a single container.
(2) The boards of civil authority shall not count the ballots for purposes of determining the outcome of the votes cast in that town prior to transporting them but may open the containers and count the total number of ballots cast at that polling location.
(3) The district clerk or designee shall supervise representatives of the boards of civil authority, identified in subdivision (1) of this subsection, to count ballots at the central location pursuant to section 742 (commingling and reporting of votes cast by Australian ballot and from the floor) of this title. The district clerk shall also have the authority to appoint current unified union school district board members who are not on the ballot to aid in the counting of ballots.
(4) The ballots shall be counted as soon as possible, but not later than 24 hours after the time at which the polls closed.
(5) If ballots are to be counted on the day following the election, then the clerk of each town within the unified union school district shall store the ballots in a secure location in the town until they are transported on the following day to the central location designated by the district clerk for counting.
(6) After the ballots have been counted, the district clerk shall seal them in a secure container and store them for at least 90 days in a secure location.
(b) Applicability. The counting of Australian ballots cast by voters in a unified union school district for the election of members of the district board, for the election of district officers, for proposed budgets, and for any other public questions shall proceed pursuant to the provisions of this section, except when:
(1) Vermont statute explicitly permits or requires a different method for a specific type of question presented to the voters;
(2) the ballots have been cast to elect a unified union school district board member where membership on the board is apportioned based on town population pursuant to subdivision 730(a)(1) (unified union school district; Australian ballot; proportional to town population) of this title; or
(3) the articles of agreement as initially approved by the voters on or before July 1, 2019 explicitly provide that the board of civil authority of each town within the unified union school district shall count Australian ballots cast in that town and report that town’s results to the district clerk, who shall calculate total votes cast within the unified union school district and report the result of the vote to the public. (Added 2021, No. 176 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. June 7, 2022.)