POWNAL — An apparent error in the distribution of ballots during the primary election has several Pownal residents calling for an investigation into the matter, with some advocating that a revote be scheduled.
In a post on the Pownal Front Porch Forum and a letter to the Bennington Banner, Marlena Pellon said that residents “had their right to voter privacy violated by being forced to select a primary ballot at the check in table instead of being provided all 3 ballots and privately completing a ballot of choice.”
She added that “[Vermont] voting laws are very clear that residents do not need to declare their party affiliation during a primary.”
Will Senning, director of Elections and Campaign Finance with the Secretary of State’s Office, said Friday that he was aware of the complaint, and if the details are accurate, correct voting procedures were not followed.
“In the August primary,” he said in an email, “the poll workers are meant to hand all three ballots to every voter; voter takes all three to the booth, chooses in private which one to vote, puts the voted ballot in the ballot box or tabulator and the unvoted ballots in the unvoted ballot box.”
Asked whether the error might be grounds to call for a revote, Senning said, “No, not at this time, in my mind. This is an administrative complaint to the Secretary of State.”
That process, he said, could involve an administrative hearing with the town clerk, the complainant and possibly others. The result, if the complaint is verified, might be required training sessions for the clerk or others and possible monitoring of the next Pownal primary election by a state elections staff member.
Pellon went on to state in her letter, “When pressed as to why residents were not being given all 3 ballots to privately complete in the voting booth, residents were met with inconsistent, inaccurate responses from local officials, some running candidates and poll workers. Residents should not feel obligated to select a particular (party) ballot because onlookers would be aware of which ballot they selected, therefore voting in a way to avoid conflict instead of how they truly wanted to vote.”
In her initial post on the community forum, Pellon also said, “In lieu of this error I feel there should be a town meeting immediately scheduled where residents can voice concerns and determine if they feel this oversight warrants further action (such as filing for a new election) or let results stand as is and forgive our town leaders lack of experience and knowledge of Vermont state voting laws.”
A subsequent Pownal forum post seconded the idea of calling for a revote, while others agreed with Pellon’s concern about having to reveal someone’s ballot choice. Another questioned whether Town Clerk Julie Webber, who was overseeing her first primary election Tuesday, had been given incorrect or misleading information from other town officials.
Senning said that the elected town clerk is solely responsible for overseeing elections and how poll workers hand out ballots. He said that information is made available from the Secretary of State’s Office.
He added that he had talked to both Pellon and Webber, and at this point he is awaiting a written complaint from Pellon.
Webber said Friday, “I’ll wait to see what happens. If I made a mistake, I will learn to do it right. I will wait to see the process and go through that process.”
She said she did provide the absentee voters with ballots from each of the three parties in the primary, two of which were to be returned separately to be discarded.
But at the polls on Tuesday, Webber said, she and the poll workers handing out ballots were concentrating on informing residents that they could only fill out one party ballot in a primary — whether Democratic, Republican or Progressive. In that way, voters were selecting a single party ballot as they entered.
“The (poll workers) made it clear; you could only vote for one (party),” Webber said.
No complaints about the procedure were made directly to her at the polls, the clerk said.
Senning said voters in a primary should receive all party ballots, fill out one and then properly discard the others at the polling place.
Webber was elected in March to replace longtime Clerk Karen Burrington, who did not seek another term.
Senning said complaints about that type of error are rare, but his office does receive such complaints during the presidential primary in March every four years. In that primary, he said, poll workers are required to ask which ballot a voter wants.
The Select Board Chairman Nelson Brownell said Friday the board had no say in conducting local elections.
“I think Julie is trying to do the best she can and will learn over time,” he said of the procedural error.
He also wondered how many other town election officials around Vermont have made that same error over the years.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Complaint filed over Pownal voting procedures; some seek revote.