Commentary

Universal mailed ballots, dropboxes among departing Secretary of State’s top achievements

by Secretary of State Jim Condos

For more than 35 years, it has been my great honor to serve the People of Vermont as a public servant as: Secretary of State (12 years), State Senator (8 years), and South Burlington City Councilor (18 years).


During this time, I have always worked hard to serve Vermont’s citizens in a professional and respectful manner – striving to make our government more efficient, accessible, and transparent.

Jim Condos

In addition to my elected positions, my decades of business experience allowed me to understand and evaluate policies and proposed legislation with a wide lens, examining how they would translate in reality and how it may affect Vermonters.

I believe the work of government should always be to improve the health, safety, and lives of all citizens while maintaining transparency and the public’s right to know.

After each election, I took an oath to uphold the Constitutions of our nation and our state, and I have worked every day to abide by those governing principles.

It has always been critically important to me that the Secretary of State’s Office operate in a non-partisan manner, and I know we have strived to conduct our work that way in service to all Vermonters.

As Vermont’s Secretary of State, I was honored to have served as:

· National Association of Secretaries of State President;

· U.S. Election Assistance Commission Board of Advisors Member;

· Council of State Governments Executive Board Member; and

· Overseas Voting Initiative for Military & Overseas citizens National Co-Chair.

I was privileged to testify before Congress on voting and election cybersecurity and bring Vermont’s approaches to the national stage. During my time as Secretary of State, Vermont’s models for elections, professional regulation, business registration, and archives & records management were nationally acclaimed as among the best in the country and an example for other states to follow.

I especially want to publicly acknowledge and thank all of my dedicated, hard-working team at the Secretary of State’s Office and especially my Deputy Secretary Chris Winters. Together, we were able to improve the operations of the office and the services we provide to Vermonters.

I am especially proud of how my team here at the Secretary of State’s Office responded during the global pandemic, keeping critical services up and running in this time of need. Despite the many challenges we:

· Led VT through a record shattering election during COVID-19 by implementing safe voting options so that Vermonters did not need to choose between their health and their right to vote;

· Led through pro-voter policies that resulted in record shattering voter turnout, for both early and total voting, in the 2022 Midterm and 2020 Presidential elections;

· Led the agency through a rapid response to implement temporary COVID-19 policy that expanded temporary licensing pathways so that VT medical facilities had additional options to meet the emergency capacity needs with qualified nurses and nursing professions during the pandemic; and

· Proposed temporary open government laws during COVID that increased remote options for municipal officials so that they could continue to work for their communities without sacrificing the public’s right to know, attend and participate.

In my 12 years as Secretary, we have accomplished many goals as the office transitioned from paper-driven processes to more efficient and accurate digital environments using online applications, and a well-respected and redesigned website that are accessible 24/7.

Our office protects the health and safety of the public through regulation and investigation of over 50 professions and 80,000+ licensees; we assist Vermont’s business sector in registering to do business in Vermont; and we protect Vermont’s important historical documents while working with State agencies to improve records management and public accessibility to documents.

The position of Secretary of State is critically important in the protection of citizens’ voting rights and upholding our democracy. We have ensured accessible, free, fair, and secure election processes while protecting and expanding Vermonters constitutional right to vote through:

· Same Day Registration,

· Automatic Voter Registration,

· Online Voter Registration,

· ADA Accessible Voting,

· Enhanced cyber security,

· Universal Vote-by-Mail,

· Ballot Drop Boxes, and

· Ballot Curing.

I also want to thank Vermont’s City and Town Clerks for their efforts working with our office to perform the very core of our democracy – elections.

I want to thank my family, friends, and colleagues for their support including those who encouraged and supported me in my career.

Most importantly, I want to thank all Vermonters for your support, and the privilege of allowing me to serve you during my more than 35 years of elected public service. While I have enjoyed this job every day, I am looking forward to a new chapter at the conclusion of my current term. It has been the honor of my lifetime, and I am grateful to have been provided the opportunity to help protect, defend, and enhance our democracy.

Thank you, stay safe, be well, and please, do your part to keep our State a welcoming and respectful place for all Vermonters.

Categories: Commentary

12 replies »

  1. Condos has made voter fraud legal and permanent. Democrat, progreSSive supermajorities are eternal now in Vermont. Enjoy the tyranny Vermonters.

  2. He forgot to mention the meeting with the representative of the Chinese Communist Party February 2019 in the Vermont State House. Was that an honor as well Jim?

  3. This brings to mind what a wise old Jewish friend once told me, after I regaled him with my attaboy accomplishments. He said,” Don’t pat yourself on the back too hard, you might hurt your arm.” . Keep an eye on Condos next moves,it will say a lot.

  4. cannot support universal mail balloting. too many ways for someone beside the named voter to have cast ballot for that individual. not in favor of having voting last for so many weeks either. for military overseas i get it but should be short time frame for those in state. much can happen over a few weeks

  5. After the Bush/Gore hanging chad fiasco, Jimmie Carter and James Baker co-chaired a commission to look for ways to improve election integrity. They strongly stated that mail in balloting was a problem and invited election fraud. But, Condos knew better.

  6. We, the citizens, are not proud of you at all. You’ve opened up our elections to fraud.

    • Very true. Quite easy to manipulate elections this year than previously. explain why Franklin County voted for a soon to be convict to run its sheriffs office. Its corrupt.

  7. Guess he’s really happy about the $650,000 in ZuckerBucks that made those Green Drop Boxes and mail in ballots happen!! Glad he is proud of funding fraud. Not to mention none of those ballots were printed in Vermont. Much like our crappy drivers licenses. More money for Jersey!!

  8. Mailed-in ballots throughout VT – what a sham! The Democrats were the ones that created this farce, as this allows them to manipulate the votes (and the voters!), through drop-boxes and weeks-on-end of voting. Their excuse began with the “COVID epidemic” and when they realized how well this worked for them – PRESTO! They decided to use mail-in ballots permanently.
    If they are unable to win by the rules that have been in place for decades – they simply change the rules to benefit themselves.
    Is it any wonder that the conservative lawmakers in this state are going the way of the dinosaur?
    Our beautiful, once “proud, conservative state” is unaffordable to native Vermonters. The working class is gradually leaving and our governor is bribing out-of-staters to move in.
    Crime is running rampant here, particularly in the Burlington area.
    The few common-sense leaders/politicians that are left in this state are (for the most part) from the northeast kingdom.