It’s political party organization time in Vermont, because Title 17 Vermont Statutes requires parties to organize in September of odd numbered years. For example, 17 V.S.A. Section 2302 (a) The chair of the State committee of a party shall set a date for members of the party to meet in caucus in their respective towns. The date shall be between September 10 and September 30, inclusive, in each odd-numbered year. (b) At least 14 days before the date set for the caucuses…
Woah, slow down, isn’t that around August 27th? Yikes, him… well, Cris Ericson is still thinking of trying to start a new minor political party in Vermont and time is flying by, so here goes, here is her new video. This is by far the most boring video she has ever made because she is reading a bunch of the Vermont statutes pertaining to starting a new party. No apologies for how boring this is, but seriously, this is what you have to do if you want to officially organize a political party.
Cris Ericson’s bright idea this year is that the new minor political party should be called the SNOWBALL party and we will toss out ideas like snowballs, and if the general public likes them, they can help us roll them into snowmen.
Only a few people watched my video, so here is the short version you can read, please!
Hello I’m Cris Ericson. I’m starting a new minor political party
under Vermont law. Parties must organize in September.
I need 4 Vermont voters in each of 10 Vermont towns right
away. The first person willing in each town becomes the
town chair. I will set a date for town caucuses and each
town chair will put a notice in their town clerk’s office and in
one other public place in their town like a grocery store
bulletin board, or online local website. The Town caucuses
are open to the public if they are registered to vote in that
town and they are not members of any other
political party. Each Town chair will make a list of people who
attend their public caucus and send me their name, address,
telephone number, and email. Each caucus will elect a town
committee consisting of a co-chair,
treasurer, secretary and a member for the state committee.
The Town chair will send me a list of elected town committee
members and their town’s state committee member.
Then I will call a meeting for the state committee members
and we will elect a co-chair, secretary and treasurer.
If we collect donations from
political action committees and non-profits these members
will decide how to spend the funds to promote our platform
and candidates. The party secretary and I will file the paperwork
to request the Vermont Secretary of State to certify us as an
organized minor political party. After we receive official
certification we will hold a convention by zoom meeting in
January 2028 to create our official platform. All listed members
of the Town caucuses, town committees and state committee
members may submit short videos or emails to explain the political
issues they want on our platform. The state committee
lists the issues everyone agrees on and that becomes the platform.
Any one who is a listed member of a town caucus, town
committee meeting or state committee meeting
may submit an email or video saying
they want to be a political candidate in 2026.
Political issues not on the platform can still be addressed by
the candidates as their own ideas, as well as a statement that
they agree to our platform issues, too.
After everyone has had a chance to express themselves,
we vote on who our candidates will be.
Minor party candidates do not have to collect petition signatures,
we submit their names to the Vermont secretary of state and
they will go on the 2026 election ballot.
If we have a candidate for U.S. Congress House of Representatives 2026
then we must follow federal election laws at http://www.fec.gov
and they have a long list of hundreds, if not thousands, of
political action committees who hand out thousands of dollars
in donations to party committees who are willing to play ball with them.
It’s a matter of encouraging and training our state committee
party members to pick up
the phone and ask for donations.
EMAIL Cris Ericson crisericson9@gmail.com