Alert! More candidates needed for Representative Town Meeting!
If you read the paper, you know that Brattleboro’s Representative Town Meeting is woefully short of candidates for the Town Election next week (Tuesday, March 3).
So we are putting out an appeal to all Town residents to consider running as write-in candidates for any uncontested (currently having NO candidates) seats at Representative Town Meeting.
I stopped off at Annette Cappy’s office today and got the latest count. INCLUDING several people who have already told her they will run as write-ins, the three Districts still lack ANY candidates for the following seats:
1st District (more-or-less Brattleboro west of I-91)
3-year seats — need two (2) more candidates
2-year seats — need six (6) more candidates
1-year seats — need four (4) more candidates
2nd District (more-or-less Brattleboro east of I-91 and south of Flat Street)
3-year seats — need one (1) more candidate
2-year seats — need two (2) more candidates
1-year seats — need one (1) more candidate
3rd District (more-or-less Brattleboro east of I-91, north of Flat Street, and northeast of the West River)
3-year seats — need one (1) more candidate
2-year seats — need zero (0) additional candidates (IF all write-ins are elected)
1-year seats — need zero (0) additional candidates (IF all write-ins are elected)
If you are near one of those borders, double check which district you are in by calling the Town Clerk’s office or going to this map site (see below) and checking the box for ‘election districts’ in the left hand column of choices:
http://www.mapsonline.net/brattleborovt/index.html
If you have any doubt, get a confirmation from the Town Clerk of your eligibility to run in your intended district!
If you decide to run as a write-in for an uncontested seat, in order to win you must receive 10 votes. [If there wind up being more than enough such candidates for a non-balloted seat, the person receiving the most write-in votes will be elected.]
CAVEAT: This cautionary note applies to every District: Some of those people who have already decided to run as write-ins may not get the 10 votes needed to be elected! So in practical terms there may even be more vacancies than the numbers posted above reflect!
The Chairs of each District Caucus have signaled that they are more than ready to assist or advise anyone who wishes to run as a write-in (or thinks they might possibly be interested in, or persuaded to). These Chairs are:
Orion Barber
1st District Caucus Chair
254-8783
gr8books@myfairpoint.net
Marshall Wheelock
2nd District Caucus Chair
257-0486
wheelock@sover.net
Don Webster
3rd District Caucus Chair
257-1434
dwebster802@gmail.com
To get elected as a write-in to an uncontested seat, you need 10 votes and must have notified Town Clerk Annette Cappy prior to the election that you will accept the position if you receive them. You also have to tell Annette beforehand which term you are running for, one year, two years, or three years.
The number of seats with no nominees may change, and some of the write-ins may not receive the 10 votes, so it is still an ‘open field’.
This appeal is also going out through other channels. New faces are more than welcome in Town government!
AS A LAST RESORT, if there are still vacancies following the election, on the morning of Representative Town Meeting, Saturday, March 21, it may be possible for the caucus of the Representatives in your District to appoint you for a year, by a vote of those already voted in. [However, this is a much less desirable way of filling the slate of Representatives, because such ‘stand-in’ positions are only for one year, whereas most RTM members serve three year terms, and this increases the number of candidates it is necessary to find for the following year’s election, leading to the kind of problem we have now where there are not nearly enough people planning to run.]
Please … if you are willing to serve our Town in this way, kindly call or email your District Caucus Chair (see above) and be sure to get in touch with:
Annette Cappy
Town Clerk
802-251-8157
townclerk@brattleboro.org
You MUST, by law, inform Annette before the election next Tuesday of your interest in running as a write-in, your willingness to serve if elected, AND what term you wish to run for (1, 2, or 3 years). You may even be able to inform her on election day … I’m not sure.
Maybe it’s your turn in the batting order! Step up to the plate, folks, and take a turn serving our Town as a voting member of Representative Town Meeting!
Sincerely,
John Wilmerding
2nd District
Representative Town Meeting member since 2011
Finance Committee, Arts Committee, and Connecticut River Transit Board appointee
Follow-Up
Please also see the front-page article in today’s Reformer on this topic. Thanks!
Write-in candidates
It would be nice if someone could post the names and districts of each write-in candidate, so that voters will have that information.
Now that there is a lot of early voting, it is more important than ever to know who these candidates are. In the past a write-in candidate could stand in front of the polling place and let people know that s/he is seeking their vote, but now we need to rely more on advance information.
Declared so far
Here’s the list so far, from the Town Clerk.
“Declared Write-Ins
for TOWN MEETING MEMBERS:
District 1 – 3 years
Nancy Barber
Chris Chapman
Emilie Kornheiser
District 1 – 2 years
Jodi Clark
District 1 – 1 year
Christian Stromberg
District 2 – 3 years
Leon Boyd Jr
District 2 – 2 years
District 2 – 1 year
Jay Cook
District 3 – 3 years
Terry A Carter
District 3 – 2 years
Margaret Strassman
District 3 – 1 year
Richard Evers”
I really wish we’d overturn this new rule about voters being required to get permission from someone they want to vote for as a write in. It’s an unfair burden, and takes away our ability as voters to vote for whomever we want and have it be counted. The only reason to do it this way is to save a small amount of time and effort of making note of the write-ins, as was done regularly up until a short while ago.
No one this year, for example, will be able to see any opposition to our unchallenged Selectboard candidates in the official results. It will appear in the records as if everyone voted just for them. Astute historians might note differences between turnout and total votes received, but important information that could be there is now missing from the record.
If there were no ballot issues this year, and one’s votes are limited to people who agree to be voted for by public announcement of their intentions (i.e., what we typically think of as official candidates), there’s little reason for anyone to bother to vote.
This also sets up a system that encourages people not to get petitions signed. It’s much easier to skip that step, then say you are a “write-in” for your district, or go to a caucus.
Write-Ins
“I really wish we’d overturn this new rule about voters being required to get permission from someone they want to vote for as a write in. It’s an unfair burden, and takes away our ability as voters to vote for whomever we want and have it be counted.”
I couldn’t agree more. It’s a discouragement, and here I thought we were trying to get people more involved.
What New Rule?
If you’re running as a write-in, I may have missed something, but I cannot believe for a moment that I’d have to have your permission to vote for you. Running as a write-in candidate means you are running, period, and any qualified voter can vote for you should they so wish.
Perhaps you meant the requirement that write-in candidates notify the Town Clerk if they are running for office on a write-in basis? That’s just so the Town Clerk’s office knows to count the votes for that person. BTW the Clerk also needs to know which term you are running for, one year, two years, or three years. Balloted candidates do have to choose which term to run for, so it seems to me that write-in candidates should also do that.
It's changed
If you want to write in my name for any seat, and want that vote to be counted, you must convince me to register (or hope really hard that I decide to on my own.)
Just a few years ago, you could have written in my name regardless of whether I registered as a candidate, and it would have been counted.
As it stands, there is really no difference between a balloted candidate and a write in – both register and announce intentions. We should admit we don’t have real write-in ability anymore. Only votes for registered persons are counted. It’s just a matter of how one decide’s to register.
I love the Town Clerk’s office, but I think they should tally all names written in. It seems like a core requirement in a democracy, even if it takes a bit of time and effort.
interesting point
I can see this argument as a matter of pure political philosophy. And I agree with John that your right to put any name you want on the write-in line of the ballot is still in effect.
I seem to remember some hint of the discussion on this matter. When people write in illegible names, comic book names, or names of people who do not wish to serve as a town official it is a nearly meaningless chore to list all of these names in the final tally. Sorry about that.
Do state elections list all the names that appear on write-in lines? How about national elections? I think I once voted for porky pig in a pique of anger… never saw it in the final tally.
Yes, it would be satisfying to see in the paper that my vote for someone who never intends to serve was counted and yet somehow reflects my will as a voter… On the other hand, actual people have to keep track of all this.
How about: choose to serve, announce your intentions, talk to people about your desire to be involved, win a local election and show up… even if you have to get to know ‘the wrong people’.
Andy
no good reason
The Town Clerk always discard silly write-ins. That’s not the issue. The issue was that it took a bit of time to record votes.
Up until just a few years ago, you would see real names of real people who lived in town that people voted for. I’m sure seeing their name as someone who received votes caused some to think about running in future years.
I use write ins to write in the name of the person I think would be best for that position – whether they are running or not. That should be my choice, and my vote should be recorded if it isn’t a Porky Pig type name. It was a real vote for a real person. What possible reason is there for denying it?
This year is an excellent example. The record will show no opposition to our select board candidates. None. Every vote counted will go to one of the three official candidates. Historians looking to see if any citizens at all had any other intentions will be left cold.
The list was a few hundred names and probably took a few hours to compile. At election time, when people are doing this sort of work.
I might write you in today, Andy, for a position I think you should be elected to, but one that you might not be running for. You will not see it reflected in any results, won’t know you had a supporter, and my vote will be tossed. Democracy?
Without write-ins, my desire to participate drops exponentially. I feel like I’m being offered a choice of Coke or Pepsi. I might want juice, but it won’t be served.
A few times in the past I've
A few times in the past I’ve written in a candidate without them having to be “registered”.
When the town clerk recently announced that people needed to “register” if they wished to be a write in candidate I was wandering when and how this came about. I would not think the Office of Town Clerk would make a policy such as this simply because it took too much time to count the write ins.
Run if you want to serve
From The Commons’ coverage of the Charter revision process, 1/26/2011:
“…Requiring write-in candidates to declare their candidacies to the Town Clerk before the close of polls was one proposed change that garnered a lot of debate, but got a final “yea.”
Town Clerk Annette Cappy originally asked the commission to consider the change.
In her experience, inconsistencies in name spellings have caused some candidates to lose votes. She hopes that this new requirement would guarantee those who want to run for office a fair shake.
But opponents said the change would restrict voting rights. Selectboard vice chair Dora Boubolis said she was considering circulating a petition to bring the question to a town-wide vote.” (Olga Peters)
write-in votes
As far as I know Brattleboro is the only town that requires a person to register as a write-in candidate in order to have the write-ins for them counted. This was done in the Brattleboro Charter change a few years ago. In a town with a sizeable population there might be a couple hundred write-ins and it is very time consuming to keep track of all of them. So I do understand the position and have some sympathy with it.
And remember, all fictional, illegible, etc names don’t have to be counted under current law. It does make for some judgement calls – where someone named Charles Johnson gets a few votes and so does Chuck Johnson. Here the Town Clerk would have to use judgement to determine if it is really the same person.
At the State level, the committee I chair – Government Operations, has been asked a number of times to change this in the statutes. Once it even got so far as the floor of the Senate where it was defeated. Don’t know how the House would weigh in but the Senate has always felt that it takes away the ability of people to vote for the person they think best suited to a role. Personally while I do understand the time and effort issue, I agree that it does limit the voice of voters.
OK. Now I know why we're
OK. Now I know why we’re called the One and Only Brattleboro 🙂