By Guy Page
It’s just a one-town sample, but the Town of Bennington’s March 5 Town Meeting returns wasn’t good news for advocates of non-citizen and teenage voting.
In recent years, Burlington, Winooski and Montpelier changed their charters to allow non-citizen voting in local elections. The Legislature decisively approved the charter changes, even overriding a veto by Gov. Phil Scott. The Vermont Supreme Court upheld a Republican challenge to the laws.
Bennington is college town, represented by Democrats only in both Senate and House. The eponymous county seat of politically blue Bennington County last November voted just as enthusiastically against Pres. Trump and for Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Becca Balint as the rest of the state.
But on March 5, Town Meeting voters rejected non-citizen voting by 75 votes and youth voting by almost 2-1.
It’s not like Bennington voters were in an ornery ‘vote no on everything’ mood. They passed the town budget by more than 2-1. A land use charter change and even a short-term rental tax passed by almost 2-1. Bennington voters walked into Town Meeting in an agreeable mood.
Except about the two proposed charter changes.
Article 2, non citizen voting, failed 1034-1109. Voters were asked to amend the town charter as follows:
Requirements for Legal Resident Voters Who Are Not Citizens.
(a) A legal resident who is not a citizen of the United States shall be a legal voter at a local Town of Bennington election if the individual meets the following qualifications: is a legal resident of the United States, is not less than 18 years of age, has taken the Voter’s Oath, resides in the Town of Bennington as residency is defined in 17 V.S.A. § 2122, and has registered to vote with the Board of Registration of Voters no later than the deadline established by Vermont law for that election or meeting.
(b) For purposes of this section, a legal resident of the United States means any non-citizen who resides in the United States on a permanent or indefinite basis in compliance with federal immigration laws. (c) This section does not change a non-citizen’s ability to vote in any state or federal election. (d) A legal resident voter who is not a citizen may cast a ballot only for local officers and local public questions specific to the Town of Bennington.
Article 3, youth voting, failed 724-1418. It read: Shall the Charter of the Town of Bennington be amended….as follows:
Youth Voters
a) Youth Voters shall be legal voters in local Town of Bennington elections.
(b) For purposes of this section, Youth Voter means a person who is 16. to 18 years of age and is otherwise qualified to vote in Town elections pursuant to 17 V.S.A. chapter 43, subchapter 1, and under the provisions of this Charter.
(c) This section does not change a Youth Voter’s ability to vote in any state or federal election.
(d) A Youth Voter may cast a ballot only for local officers and local public questions specific to the Town of Bennington.
VDC is unaware of any other 2025 proposed charter changes expanding voter rights to non-adults or non-citizens. It’s possible the threat of a gubernatorial veto that would be upheld, this time, dissuaded organizers in other towns.
Brattleboro is the only other Vermont town allowing youth voters. In 2024, 20 of the 47 registered 16-17 years olds voted at Town Meeting on March 5.
2024 turnout for non-citizen voters Montpelier (13 of 18 registered), Burlington (62 of 102), and Winooski (11 of 61) was reported by Vermont Public.