BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – History could be made in Burlington this Town Meeting Day as voters are poised to elect the city’s first woman mayor. Between the mayor’s race, many City Council races and two ballot measures that will likely impact voters’ wallets, residents have many important decisions to make.
Burlington will likely make history on Tuesday by electing the first woman mayor of the Queen City.
In the hours before Town Meeting Day, candidates were making their final pitches to the voters over the phone and at honk-and-waves.
“We have such a big choice here in Burlington in what comes next… So, I’m really hopeful. That’s why I chose to run for mayor about what is possible here in Burlington and most importantly how to bring the community back to itself,” said Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, Progressive for Burlington mayor.
“I want to bring stability and public safety to Burlington for everyone. And I want to do that with both accountability and compassion,” said Joan Shannon, Democrat for Burlington mayor.
This race will be the first where all candidate races will be decided by ranked-choice voting, where voters have the option of ranking the candidates in the order of preference.
This Town Meeting Day will also be the first where legal residents who are not citizens can vote in local races.
Also on the docket– a school budget vote which will raise taxes by hundreds thanks to a school bond paying for the new high school.
There’s also a vote on a tax increase that the city says will help pay for public safety.
It’s too late to drop your ballot in the mail or a dropbox around the city. So you’ll need to bring it directly to the polls or City Hall. Also, if you want to vote in the presidential primary, you need to do that at your polling place on Tuesday, as well.
If you vote in person on Tuesday, be sure to check your polling location because your ward may have changed in redistricting.
Numbers are actually down this year for early voting. Last year, about 7,000 of the 10,700 votes cast came in early. This year, fewer than 6,000 people voted early. So it may mean a lot of voters are unsure about these key issues in Burlington.
Click here for more on voting in Burlington.
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