Vermont Statutes Title 17 Sec. 2592
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 17 Sec. 2592
- Candidate: means an individual who has taken any affirmative action to become a candidate for public office. See
- Election: means the procedure whereby the voters of this State, or any of its political subdivisions, select persons to fill public offices or act on public questions. See
- filed: means deposited in the regularly maintained office of the official with whom the filing is to be made. See
- following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
- General election: means the election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, in even-numbered years. See
- Person: means any individual, business entity, labor organization, public interest group, or other organization, incorporated or unincorporated. See
- Political party: is a ny group of individuals that has organized and filed its certificate of organization with the Secretary of State, pursuant to chapter 45 of this title. See
- Primary: means any election that precedes a general or special election, for the purpose of permitting political parties to nominate, from among all of the candidates for any office, only that number of candidates equal to the number of persons to be elected to that office at the succeeding general or special election. See
- Recess: A temporary interruption of the legislative business.
- Representative district clerk: means , in each representative district, the clerk of that town or part of a town having the largest population in the district. See
- Secretary: means the Secretary of State. See
- Senatorial district clerk: means the county clerk for those towns within a senatorial district aggregating the largest population. See
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See
- Town: includes "city. See
- Town clerk: means a town officer elected pursuant to section 2646 of this title or otherwise elected or appointed by law and performing those duties prescribed by 24 Vt. See
§ 2592. Canvassing committees; canvass of votes in general or special elections
(a) For all State and national offices and statewide public questions, the Secretary of State and the chair of the State committee of each major political party (or designee) shall constitute a canvassing committee to receive and tally returns and issue certificates.
(b) For all county offices and countywide public questions, the county clerk and the chair of the county committee of each major political party (or designee) shall constitute a canvassing committee to receive and tally returns and issue certificates.
(c) For State Senator, the senatorial district clerk and the chair of the county committee of each major political party (or designee) in the county for which the senatorial district clerk is clerk shall constitute a canvassing committee to receive and tally returns and issue certificates.
(d) For State Representative, the representative district clerk and one other election official from the district shall serve as a canvassing committee to receive and, if necessary, tally returns and issue certificates.
(e) In the case of the canvassing committees in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, if there is no party organization or party chair in the county, the State committee chair may designate a person to serve on the appropriate canvassing committee.
(f) In the case of primary elections, the canvass of votes shall be made as provided in subchapter 1 of chapter 49 of this title.
(g) In the case of general or special elections, each canvassing committee shall meet at 10:00 a.m. one week after the day of the election and proceed to canvass the votes as provided in subsections (h) through (m) of this section. The canvassing committee may recess from time to time until it has completed its work.
(h)(1) The canvassing committee shall declare the person receiving the largest number of votes for each office to be elected, and it shall issue a certificate of election, signed by a majority of the canvassing committee, in substantially the following form:
State of Vermont )
) s.s.
……………. County )
At ………………………… , on the ………… day of ………………… 20 ………. , a canvassing committee appointed by law completed a canvass of the returns cast at a general election held on the ……………. day of ………………………… , 20 …….. for the office of ………………… . The committee hereby certifies that …………………………………… of ……………….. was duly elected to the office by the voters present and voting.
…………………………………..
…………………………………..
(2) The committee shall send or deliver the certificate to the candidate elected. In the case of representatives to the General Assembly, the committee shall also send or deliver a copy of each certificate to the Secretary of State.
(i) In the case of justices of the peace, the town clerk shall send or deliver a certificate signed by the town clerk and one other election official to each candidate elected. The Secretary of State shall provide certificate forms for this purpose. The town clerk shall also file with the Secretary of State a list of the names and addresses of justices of the peace and shall notify the Secretary of State of any changes in the list as filed.
(j) The certificate shall be a sufficient credential of such person’s election, unless superseded by a court order as provided by subchapter 9 of this chapter.
(k)(1) In the case of the State offices, the canvassing committee shall prepare a certificate of election but shall not sign it.
(2) The prepared certificate shall be presented to the official canvassing committee appointed by the General Assembly, pursuant to Chapter II, § 47 of the Constitution of the State of Vermont, for their use if they desire.
(l)(1) In the case of a tie vote, the canvassing committee shall forthwith petition the appropriate Superior Court for a recount pursuant to section 2602 of this title.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection, either of the candidates that is involved in a tie may notify the appropriate Superior Court that he or she is withdrawing, in which case the court shall certify the other candidate as the winner.
(m) Each canvassing committee shall file a report of its findings with the Secretary of State, who shall preserve the reports as permanent records. (Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1979, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 88; 2003, No. 59, § 40; 2017, No. 50, § 46.)