Voting & Elections

Residents can register to vote online at the Vermont Secretary of State website or in person at the Barnard town office during open hours. 

Absentee ballots are available for any election or issue that is decided by the voting residents of the town by a warned balloted vote. Votes that are taken “from the floor” at Town Meeting cannot be voted by absentee ballot.

To receive an Absentee Ballot in Barnard, access the Online Voter Registration Tool listed above or submit a Request for Early Absentee Voter Ballot form to the town clerk.

The voter checklist is a public record. Any person can request a copy by submitting an affidavit to the town clerk.

Town Meeting Day is when all legal voters of a town have an opportunity to gather, voice opinions and concerns, vote on town and school budgets, and elect town officials. Vermont law dictates that Town Meeting must be held on the first Tuesday in March (or any of the three preceding days if voters so decide.) There are a number of items required by Vermont state statute that a town must vote on at Town Meeting, including: electing municipal officers, approving the budget, authorizing long-term capital borrowing, collecting taxes, and deciding whether or not the town will operate on a fiscal or a calendar year. In order to vote on an issue at Town Meeting, the articles must be properly “warned” prior to the meeting. In Barnard, these warnings are typically posted at the Town Office, the Post Office, the Barnard General Store, and the East Barnard Community Hall. A town can choose to vote on some issues by Australian ballot (pre-printed, paper ballots), rather than from the floor of Town Meeting. Each year, the town shall elect a moderator, whose job it is to “decide questions of order and shall make public declaration of votes taken, except in elections using the Australian ballot system.” For many years, Paul Doton has served as Town Moderator. At town meeting, the moderator follows the Roberts Rules of Order, a formal procedure that is required by state law. At Barnard Town Meeting, while electing town officers you will hear reference to the “Magic Motion.” When there is a single candidate for an office, voters can ask the Town Clerk, through the “Magic Motion,” to cast a single ballot for the candidate. This saves time at the meeting. To learn more about how Town Meeting works in Vermont, and here in Barnard, see the Citizen’s Guide to Town Meeting.

The Presidential Primary Election occurs every four years. There is no party registration in Vermont, and all registered voters can vote in Presidential primary elections, but only on one party’s ballot.

Primary Elections for offices are held on the second Tuesday in August in each even numbered year for the nomination of candidates of major political parties for all offices to be voted for at the succeeding general election.