BRATTLEBORO — Soon it will be Tuesday, March 2: Prepare to vote in the Town Meeting Day and Windham Southeast School District elections.
• First, register to vote or make sure you are registered.
You can do that online by using the online voter registration page at olvr.vermont.gov and request your ballots at My Voter Page, mvp.vermont.gov.
If you encounter problems logging in, please contact your town clerk. For the Brattleboro Town Clerk, phone 802-251-8157 or email townclerk@brattleboro.org.
Strongly consider voting by absentee ballot to potentially reduce exposure to COVID-19. Every step we take as a community will help us all in the long run, and voting absentee is a safe, secure, and effective way to cast your vote.
• Do research.
In Brattleboro, there are three (3) Selectboard seats to be filled.
A Commons article gives details. [“Goodnow, Quipp will run for re-election to Selectboard: Starr declines to seek another term; six new candidates enter the race,” News, Jan. 27]. Look for interviews with all the candidates in upcoming issues. Check iBrattleboro.com for candidates' answers to questions posed by the site administrators.
At a Feb. 2 Selectboard meeting, Gary Stroud announced he was withdrawing his candidacy for medical reasons; it is too late to remove his name from the ballot, and he is therefore encouraging voters not to vote for him.
• The Brattleboro ballot will also ask voters to consider these important questions:
-Whether the voters will allow the regulated retail sale of cannabis;
-Whether the town may adopt future charter changes by majority vote of town voters if those changes were authorized by another municipality;
-Whether the town would withdraw from the Windham Southeast School District;
-Whether the voters would approve the other towns in the WSESD to withdraw.
The Commons article also quoted Town Manager Peter Elwell stating that the proposed Charter change “will allow us to adopt the provisions of other charters that the state has already approved [...] It means we can't break new ground without legislative approval, but we could adopt existing provisions.”
A recent article addressed the two last questions concerning the school district: “Towns embrace exit path from merged school districts: Disillusion over Act 46 could lead to dissolution of school districts as towns throughout the state - including multiple towns in the county - set elections to undo the young boards mandated by the State Board of Education” [News, Jan. 27].
The Windham Southeast School District Board meets remotely at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021 via Zoom to discuss the FY '22 budget. BCTV broadcasts these meetings and they are available to stream at brattleborotv.org.
Finally, follow the instructions in your ballot package. Return your ballots by mail or use the drop box in the Municipal Building parking lot. There will be no in-person early voting in Brattleboro.
In-person voting on Tuesday, March 2 will be held at the American Legion, 32 Linden St, Brattleboro, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Masks will be required to vote indoors, and voters will need to leave ample time due to social-distancing requirements.