Electoral reform in Vermont

Electoral reform in Vermont has been an issue for decades. Changes in electoral practices have altered how election results represent the intent of Vermont voters and influenced debates in other states.

Burlington, Vermont voters adopted Instant-runoff voting (IRV, one form of ranked voting) in 2005, and used it voting in two elections in 2006 and 2009. They repealed IRV in 2010.

In 2007, IRV legislation was headed for the Vermont Senate floor.[1]

Vermont has one Congressional district, so gerrymandering is not a consideration in Vermont federal races.

Vermont and Maine are the only states to allow prison inmates to vote.[2]

In 2007, H.0373 was introduced by David Zuckerman, Anne Donahue, and others in an effort to make Vermont a party to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, but it died in the Government Operations committee.[3]

  1. ^ IRV bill headed to Senate floor, Terri Hallenbeck, Burlington Free Press, April 13th 2007.
  2. ^ Overview and Summary Losing the Vote: The Impact of Felony Disenfranchisement Laws in the United States, Human Rights Watch.
  3. ^ H.0373, The Vermont Legislative Bill Tracking System.