On Tuesday, Vermonters will head to the polls to participate in a primary election that will feature far fewer contested races statewide than in the last election cycle, but many highly interesting races further down the ballot.
You have questions and we have the answers in VTDigger’s area code guide.
Here is just a selection: Can I vote in the primary elections on Election Day even if I am not registered?
Yes. All U.S. residents who are 18 years or older on November 5 are eligible to vote in the primary election. You must be registered to vote, but you can also register at your local polling place. (Find your polling place.) If you registered online in the last few days, you may still need to fill out an additional paper registration form. Unlike in some other states, voters in Vermont can draw a ballot of their choice. Party registration is not required.
Who is running in my district? (What is my district anyway?) All you need to do is know the county you live in, and you can find them, along with your candidates’ answers to our questions and details of their latest campaign finance reports.
To be honest, there won’t be much of a contest for some offices until the general election in November. Only two statewide elections have contested primaries, and neither the state Democratic nor Republican parties have fielded more than one candidate for the U.S. Senate or U.S. House of Representatives. Both Democrats – Representative Becca Balint and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders – are incumbents.
But there are some hotly contested races at the local level, including a challenge to Rep. Emilie Kornheiser (D-Brattleboro), chair of one of the House’s two budget committees.
Incumbents also face primaries in five Senate districts we have described: Addison County, Chittenden-Central, Chittenden-Southeast, Windsor County and Grand Isle County, with the incumbent in the latter district having been in office for less than three months.
In three other districts, the races are wide open after two resignations and one death. The primaries will determine the dynamics of the general election in the Northeast Kingdom districts of Caledonia and Orleans counties. In Bennington County, several Democratic candidates are vying for a run against Democratic Senator Dick Sears, who died suddenly in June but remains on the ballot.
The race for second place is the tightest nationally. Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman, a progressive/Democrat, faces a challenge in the Democratic primary from Thomas Renner, the deputy mayor of Winooski. The Republican nominee for the post could be John Rodgers, a former Democratic state senator, or frequent statewide candidate Gregory Thayer, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump.
Finally, Tuesday’s vote will determine the Democratic gubernatorial candidate who will have the unenviable task of running against popular incumbent Republican Governor Phil Scott in November. Will it be “out-and-out Democrat” Esther Charlestin or “fusion candidate” Peter Duval?
Check back tomorrow evening for the election results.
