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S.98 1
Introduced by Senator Vyhovsky 2
Referred to Committee on 3
Date: 4
Subject: Elections; qualification and registration of voters; automatic voter 5
registration; preregistration for young voters; campaign finance; 6
campaign finance reports and disclosures; delinquent filing; 7
Democracy Certificate Program; employer-provided time off for 8
statewide election days 9
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to automatically 10
register a person to vote when the person applies for participation in Reach 11
Ahead services and require State agencies to report to the General Assembly 12
concerning opportunities to expand automatic voter registration through the 13
application and registration forms used by those State agencies. This bill also 14
proposes to allow any individual 16 years of age or older to preregister to vote 15
for an election, provided that the individual will be 18 years of age or older on 16
or before the day of the election. This bill also proposes to amend the 17
threshold contribution and expenditure amounts that trigger campaign finance 18
reporting under 17 V.S.A. § 2964 and establish penalties for delinquent filing 19
of campaign finance reports and disclosures. This bill also proposes to 20
establish the Democracy Certificate Program to replace the current option of 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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public financing for campaigns. This bill also proposes to require employers to 1
provide four hours of protected leave time to allow employees to vote on 2
statewide election days. 3
An act relating to miscellaneous changes to election law 4
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 5
* * * Automatic Voter Registration * * * 6
Sec. 1. 17 V.S.A. § 2144a is amended to read: 7
§ 2144a. REGISTRATION 8
A person who desires to register to vote may apply in any of the following 9
ways: 10
(1) Simultaneously with his or her the person’s application for, or 11
renewal of,: 12
(A) a motor vehicle driver’s license or nondriver identification 13
card as provided in section 2145a of this chapter; or 14
(B) any services available pursuant to 33 V.S.A. chapter 12. 15
* * * 16
Sec. 2. 33 V.S.A. § 1205 is amended to read: 17
§ 1205. REQUIRED SERVICES TO PARTICIPATING FAMILIES 18
* * * 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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(c) The Commissioner shall ensure that the applications and forms used by 1
the Department for Reach Ahead services, including for the Supplemental 2
Nutrition Assistance Program, automatically register the applicant to vote 3
pursuant to 17 V.S.A. § 2144a. The voter registration provision on any 4
application or form used by the Department for these services shall offer the 5
applicant the option to opt out of registering to vote. 6
Sec. 3. EXECUTIVE BRANCH AGENCIES; REPORT ON VOTER 7
REGISTRATION OPPORTUNITIES 8
(a) On or before November 15, 2025, the following departments and 9
agencies shall submit a written report to the House Committee on Government 10
Operations and Military Affairs and the Senate Committee on Government 11
Operations that lists and describes any of the department’s or agency’s 12
application forms that may be updated to include automatic voter registration: 13
(1) Agency of Human Services; 14
(2) Agency of Education; 15
(3) Department of Labor; 16
(4) Agency of Commerce and Community Development; 17
(5) Department for Children and Families; and 18
(6) Department of Health. 19
(b) Each department and agency shall include in its report a description of 20
how the department’s or agency’s application or registration systems may be 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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integrated with the State’s voter registration system. The report shall also 1
include a proposed timeline for implementing voter registration into the 2
systems. 3
* * * Preregistration for Young Voters * * * 4
Sec. 4. 17 V.S.A. § 2121 is amended to read: 5
§ 2121. ELIGIBILITY OF VOTERS 6
(a) Any person may register to vote in the town of his or her the person’s 7
residence in any election held in a political subdivision of this State in which 8
he or she the person resides who, on election day: 9
(1) is a citizen of the United States; 10
(2) is a resident of the State of Vermont; 11
(3) has taken the voter’s oath; and 12
(4) is 18 years of age or more. 13
(b) Any person meeting the requirements of subdivisions (a)(1)–(3) of this 14
section who will be 18 years of age on or before the date of a general election 15
may register and vote in the primary election immediately preceding that 16
general election. 17
(c) Any person meeting the requirements of subdivisions (a)(1)–(3) of this 18
section who is 16 years of age may register to vote in Vermont, but shall not 19
vote in any election in the State unless the person is 18 years of age or under 20
qualifies under subsection (b) of this section. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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* * * Campaign Finance * * * 1
Sec. 5. 17 V.S.A. § 2903 is amended to read: 2
§ 2903. PENALTIES 3
(a) A person who knowingly and intentionally violates a provision of 4
subchapter 2, 3, or 4 of this chapter shall be fined not more than $1,000.00 or 5
imprisoned not more than six months, or both. 6
* * * 7
Sec. 6. 17 V.S.A. § 2964 is amended to read: 8
§ 2964. CAMPAIGN REPORTS; CANDIDATES FOR STATE OFFICE, 9
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, AND COUNTY OFFICE; 10
POLITICAL COMMITTEES; POLITICAL PARTIES 11
(a)(1) Each candidate for State office, the General Assembly, or a two-12
year-term county office who has rolled over any amount of surplus into his or 13
her the candidate’s new campaign or who has made expenditures or accepted 14
contributions of $500.00 or more during the two-year general election cycle 15
and, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, each political 16
committee that has not filed a final report pursuant to subsection 2965(b) of 17
this chapter, and each political party required to register under section 2923 of 18
this chapter shall file with the Secretary of State campaign finance reports as 19
follows: 20
* * * 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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(2) Each candidate for a four-year-term county office who has rolled 1
over any amount of surplus into his or her the candidate’s new campaign or 2
who has made expenditures or accepted contributions of $500.00 or more 3
during the four-year general election cycle shall file with the Secretary of State 4
campaign finance reports as follows: 5
* * * 6
(b)(1) A political committee or a political party that has accepted 7
contributions or made expenditures of $1,000.00 or more during the local 8
election cycle for the purpose of influencing a local election or supporting or 9
opposing one or more candidates in a local election shall file with the Secretary 10
of State campaign finance reports regarding that local election 30 days before, 11
10 days before, and two weeks after the local election. 12
* * * 13
(c) The failure of a candidate, political committee, or political party to file a 14
report under this section shall be deemed an affirmative statement that a report 15
is not required of the candidate, political committee, or political party under 16
this section A candidate, political committee, or political party that is not 17
otherwise required to file a report pursuant to this section shall file with the 18
Secretary of State a report and affirmative statement that the candidate, 19
political committee, or political party has not made expenditures or accepted 20
contributions in the amounts specified in this section. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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Sec. 7. 17 V.S.A. § 2974 is added to read: 1
§ 2974. DELINQUENT FILING; PENALTIES 2
(a) If any registration, report, or disclosure is not filed in the time and 3
manner required by this chapter: 4
(1) The Office of the Secretary of State shall issue a notice of 5
delinquency to the candidate for any registration, report, or disclosure required 6
of a candidate in the time and manner required by this chapter. 7
(2) The candidate shall have five-business-days from the date that the 8
Office of the Secretary of State issues the notice to cure the delinquency. 9
(3) Immediately following the five business day period, the delinquent 10
candidate shall pay a $10.00 penalty for each subsequent day that the 11
registration, report, or disclosure remains delinquent. For an individual 12
delinquent filing, the total amount of penalties imposed pursuant to this section 13
shall not exceed $1,000.00. 14
(4) Notwithstanding subdivision (3) of this subsection, the Secretary of 15
State may reduce or waive any penalty imposed under this section if the 16
candidate demonstrates good cause, as determined by the Secretary of State. 17
(b) The Office of the Secretary of State shall send a notice of delinquency 18
to the email address provided by the candidate in the candidate’s consent of 19
candidate form. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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(c) The Secretary of State may utilize remedies available to a claimant 1
agency under 32 V.S.A. chapter 151, subchapter 12 to collect any unpaid 2
penalty. 3
(d)(1) A candidate who files a report or disclosure with intent to defraud, 4
falsify, conceal, or cover up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact; or, 5
with intent to defraud, make any false, fictitious, or fraudulent claim or 6
representation as to a material fact; or, with intent to defraud, make or use any 7
writing or document knowing the same to contain any false, fictitious, or 8
fraudulent claim or entry as to a material fact shall be considered to have made 9
a false claim for the purposes of 13 V.S.A. § 3016. 10
(2) Pursuant to 3 V.S.A. § 1223 and section 2904a of this title, 11
complaints regarding any candidate who fails to properly file a registration, 12
report, or disclosure required under this chapter may be filed with the Office of 13
the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall refer complaints to the 14
Attorney General or to the State’s Attorney of jurisdiction for investigation, as 15
appropriate. 16
Sec. 8. REPEAL 17
17 V.S.A. chapter 61, subchapter 5 (campaign finance; public financing 18
option) is repealed. 19
Sec. 9. 17 V.S.A. chapter 61, subchapter 6 is added to read: 20
Subchapter 6. Public Financing Option 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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§ 2987. DEMOCRACY CERTIFICATE PROGRAM 1
(a) As used in this chapter, a “democracy certificate” means a document 2
sent to voters in this State that signifies that a certain amount of funding, as 3
determined by the General Assembly, is to be transferred from the Secretary of 4
State Fund to the candidate of the voter’s choosing pursuant to the provisions 5
of this subchapter. 6
(b) The democracy certificate program shall only be available for 7
candidates running for State office in a primary election or a general election. 8
The democracy certificate program shall not be available for special elections 9
or uncontested elections. 10
(c) A voter may opt into the democracy certificate program and obtain 11
democracy certificates by application to the Secretary of State if the individual 12
is eligible to vote under section 2121 of this title. 13
§ 2988. DEMOCRACY CERTIFICATE ISSUANCE 14
(a) The Secretary of State shall issue four democracy certificates, each 15
worth $25.00 in candidate financing, to each voter who has opted into the 16
democracy certificate program. The funds shall be disbursed to the assigned 17
candidates as set forth in section 2991 of this chapter. 18
(b)(1) Not later than the first business day in March, the Secretary of State 19
shall issue democracy certificates to each voter who has opted into the 20
democracy certificate program for the primary elections. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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(2) Not later than the first business day in September, the Secretary of 1
State shall issue democracy certificates to each voter who has opted into the 2
democracy certificate program for the general elections. 3
(3) The Secretary of State shall either issue the democracy certificates 4
by mail or electronically through a secure Secretary of State online system. 5
The Secretary of State may prescribe ways in which voters may choose their 6
delivery preference. 7
§ 2989. DEMOCRACY CERTIFICATE ASSIGNMENT AND RECEIPT 8
(a) Democracy certificates are only assignable or transferable as stated in 9
this section. 10
(b) A voter who has opted into the democracy certificate program may 11
assign a democracy certificate by indicating the candidate of the voter’s choice 12
and signing the democracy certificate. A voter may only assign a democracy 13
certificate to a qualified candidate for the democracy certificate program in a 14
primary election or a general election for a State office. 15
(c) Town clerks shall receive, verify, and process all physical democracy 16
certificates mailed by the Secretary of State and submitted to the town clerks 17
by the voters of their respective towns. The Secretary of State shall receive, 18
verify, and process all democracy certificates submitted electronically through 19
a secure Secretary of State online system, if any. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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(d) No democracy certificate shall be assigned after the last business day in 1
August for primary State office elections or the last business day in November 2
for general State office elections. 3
(e) No democracy certificate may be assigned to any candidate filing for 4
participation who then fails to qualify or becomes unqualified for the position 5
sought or for the democracy certificate program. 6
(f) A candidate participating in the democracy certificate program may 7
seek the assignment of voters’ democracy certificates personally or through a 8
representative. 9
(g) A voter’s valid assignment of a democracy certificate to a candidate is 10
irrevocable. 11
(h) Assignment or transfer of a democracy certificate for cash or any other 12
consideration is prohibited. Offering to purchase, buy, or sell a democracy 13
certificate is prohibited. No person shall give or gift a democracy certificate to 14
another individual, except by assigning it to a candidate as provided in this 15
section. In all cases, a democracy certificate assignment shall be deemed 16
invalid or revocable if the assignment was the result of threats, coercion, or 17
physical duress. 18
§ 2990. CANDIDATE QUALIFICATION 19
(a) Only a candidate who is qualified to participate in the democracy 20
certificate program may receive an assignment of a democracy certificate and 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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disbursement of public finance funds. A candidate is qualified to participate in 1
the democracy certificate program if the candidate meets all the requirements 2
of this subchapter and any related rules adopted by the Secretary of State. The 3
Secretary of State shall determine, in the Secretary’s sole discretion, any 4
questions regarding whether a candidate has met the requirements of this 5
subchapter and shall confirm publicly and with the candidate if the candidate 6
does qualify for the democracy certificate program. 7
(b) Only an individual eligible for and seeking an elected State office 8
position shall be eligible to file for democracy certificate program 9
participation. 10
(c) The democracy certificate program shall not be available for special 11
elections. 12
(d) A candidate for State office who intends to seek public finance funds 13
from the Secretary of State Services Fund shall file a Vermont campaign 14
finance affidavit on or before the date on which primary petitions or general 15
election petitions must be filed, regardless of whether the candidate seeks to 16
enter a party primary, is an independent candidate, or seeks to enter the general 17
election. 18
(e) The Secretary of State shall prepare a Vermont campaign finance 19
affidavit form, informational materials on procedures and financial 20
requirements, and notification of the penalties for violation of this subchapter. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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(f)(1) The Vermont campaign finance affidavit shall set forth the conditions 1
of receiving grants under this subchapter and provide space for the candidate to 2
agree that the candidate will abide by such conditions and all expenditure and 3
contribution limitations, reporting requirements, and other provisions of this 4
subchapter. 5
(2) The affidavit shall also state the candidate’s name; legal residence; 6
business or occupation; address of business or occupation; party affiliation, if 7
any; the office sought; and whether the candidate intends to enter a party 8
primary or the general election. 9
(3) The affidavit shall also contain a list of all contributions and other 10
sources of campaign funds received by the candidate to date. 11
(4) The Secretary of State may require further affirmation of 12
information submitted by the candidate on the affidavit, as deemed necessary 13
by the Secretary of State for the administration of this subchapter. 14
(5) The affidavit shall be sworn and subscribed to by the candidate. 15
(g) A candidate shall be disqualified from the democracy certificate 16
program by publicly withdrawing or otherwise abandoning the race, failing to 17
advance to the general election, or in the event that the Secretary of State, the 18
Attorney General, or a State’s Attorney determines that the candidate has 19
violated any election laws or democracy certificate program requirements, 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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such as violation of campaign fund limitation or contribution limit laws, or 1
fraudulent or attempted fraudulent assignment of democracy certificates. 2
(h) A candidate participating in the democracy certificate program shall: 3
(1) participate in at least three debates or similar public events for 4
primary and general elections each; 5
(2) not knowingly solicit money for or on behalf of any political action 6
committee, political party, or any organization that will make an independent 7
expenditure for or against any candidate for State office within the same 8
election cycle; and 9
(3) not solicit or accept total contributions from any individual or entity 10
in excess of $2,000.00 during one election cycle, but excluding the value of 11
democracy certificates assigned to such candidate. 12
(i) The Secretary of State shall publish and maintain a list of democracy 13
certificate program participants to be readily accessible by the public and on 14
the Secretary of State’s website. 15
§ 2991. DISBURSEMENT OF PUBLIC FINANCE FUNDS 16
(a) After receiving a democracy certificate pursuant to section 2987 of this 17
title, the Secretary of State shall disburse the value of the certificate proceeds 18
only if: 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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(1) disbursement of public finance funds shall not make a qualified 1
candidate exceed the maximum campaign fund limitation pursuant to 2
section 2941 of this chapter; 3
(2) public finance funds are available; 4
(3) the Town Clerk verifies that a voter has returned the physical 5
democracy certificate with the assigned serial number through a secure 6
democracy certificate drop box; and 7
(4) the Secretary of State has verified that a voter has electronically 8
returned the democracy certificate with the assigned serial number through a 9
secure Secretary of State online system. 10
(b) The Secretary shall not disburse the payment of public finance funds if 11
any of the following circumstances apply: 12
(1) the voter is no longer registered within this State; 13
(2) the candidate is deceased, is disqualified from the democracy 14
certificate program, has dropped out, or has failed to use the democracy 15
certificate; 16
(3) the candidate does not qualify or has violated the qualification 17
requirements of the democracy certificate program; 18
(4) after the first business day in the month of September, a candidate in 19
a primary election for State office does not advance to the general election; or 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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(5) after the first business day of the month of December, a candidate in 1
a general election for State office does not win the general election. 2
(c)(1) The Secretary of State shall make disbursements from the Secretary 3
of State Services Fund to candidates who have qualified for public finance 4
funds under this subchapter. 5
(2) To cover any public finance funds to democracy certificate program 6
participants under this subchapter, the Secretary of State shall report to the 7
Commissioner of Finance and Management, who shall anticipate receipts to 8
the Services Fund and issue warrants to pay for those funds. The 9
Commissioner shall report any such anticipated receipts and warrants issued 10
under this subdivision to the Joint Fiscal Committee on or before December 1 11
of the year in which the warrants were issued. 12
(d) A candidate participating in the democracy certificate program may be 13
assigned democracy certificates for the general election before the primary 14
election takes place and may allocate democracy certificates to the general 15
election without such certificates counting against the maximum campaign 16
fund limitation for the primary election. 17
(e) Public finance funds disbursed in a primary election period but not 18
expended by the candidate in the primary election period may be expended by 19
the candidate in the general election period if the candidate has won the 20
candidate’s primary election. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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(f) The Secretary of State shall disburse public finance funds to qualifying 1
candidates within 10 business days after verifying any validly assigned 2
democracy certificates. 3
(g) The monetary amounts contained in this subchapter shall be adjusted 4
for inflation pursuant to the Consumer Price Index as provided in section 2905 5
of this chapter. 6
§ 2992. CAMPAIGN FUND LIMITATIONS 7
(a) Candidates qualified to participate in the democracy certificate program 8
shall not exceed the following maximum campaign fund limitations for State 9
office: 10
(1) $1,000,000.00 in cumulative campaign funds for a candidate for 11
Governor; and 12
(2) $500,000.00 in cumulative campaign funds for a candidate for 13
Lieutenant Governor, State Treasurer, State Auditor, Attorney General, or 14
Secretary of State. 15
(b) A candidate participating in the democracy certificate program shall 16
report to the Secretary of State when the maximum campaign fund limitation 17
for a candidate described in subsection (a) of this section is met or surpassed. 18
(c) The affidavit shall also contain a list of all the candidate’s contributions 19
to date together with the name and town of residence of the contributor and the 20
date each contribution was made. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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§ 2993. ACCOUNTABILITY 1
(a) The Secretary of State shall publish the democracy certificate program 2
information so that the public may track assignments of democracy certificates 3
and disbursements of public finance funds. 4
(b) If a voter believes the voter’s democracy certificate was lost, stolen, or 5
fraudulently or improperly assigned, the Secretary of State may provide relief 6
as the Secretary of State deems appropriate, including democracy certificate 7
replacement, cancellation of assignment, or requiring reimbursement from a 8
candidate to the Secretary of State Fund of any prior disbursed democracy 9
certificate program funds. 10
§ 2994. ADMINISTRATION 11
(a) Administration by Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall 12
implement and administer the democracy certificate program, public finance 13
funds, and the provisions of this subchapter, including adopting rules and 14
creating forms, information packets, procedures, and enforcement mechanisms 15
as necessary. 16
(b) Publication of materials. Prior to distributing democracy certificates, 17
the Secretary of State shall inform the public about the democracy certificate 18
program. The Secretary of State shall publish appropriate guidebooks for 19
candidates and democracy certificates recipients, and all forms, instructions, 20
brochures, and documents necessary for the program, which shall include 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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making key documents accessible to those with visual or other disabilities, and 1
translations into languages other than English spoken by Vermont residents. 2
(c) Democracy Certificate Program Fund Limits. On or before January 1 3
of each State office election year, the Secretary of State shall set and publish 4
the Democracy Certificate Program Fund Limit for that year for democracy 5
certificate disbursements. In setting the Democracy Certificate Program Fund 6
Limit, the Secretary of State shall work to reasonably project and ensure that 7
adequate funds are available for that election year consistent with this 8
subchapter and its goals and purposes. 9
(d) Funding amount. During any State office election year, as soon as the 10
Secretary of State receives or reasonably believes the Secretary of State shall 11
receive assigned democracy certificates in excess of available public finance 12
funds, then funds shall be deemed unavailable, and the Secretary of State shall 13
publicly announce the same and, notwithstanding any provision of this 14
subchapter to the contrary, set a new date by which assigned democracy 15
certificates must be submitted. After the new date, the Secretary of State, 16
considering democracy certificates are received and there are available funds, 17
shall allocate the remaining available public finance funds to each assigned 18
candidate among all participating candidates for all State offices proportionate 19
to the number of assigned democracy certificates for which public finance 20
funds have not yet been disbursed. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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§ 2995. VIOLATIONS 1
(a) A person who knowingly and intentionally violates any provision of 2
this subchapter is subject to the penalties listed in section 2903 of this chapter. 3
(b) A person violates this subchapter if the person knowingly and 4
intentionally purchases, buys, sells, pays, or receives consideration for any 5
democracy certificate or attempts to do so. Further, a person shall be in 6
violation of this subchapter if the person attempts to sell or dispense a stolen 7
democracy certificate registered to another voter. 8
(c) A person violates this subchapter if the person knowingly and 9
intentionally receives, possesses, conceals, or destroys any democracy 10
certificate assigned by a voter. 11
(d) A person violates this subchapter if the person knowingly and 12
intentionally does the following: 13
(1) falsely makes or draws a complete or incomplete democracy 14
certificate that purports to be authentic but is not authentic, either because the 15
ostensible maker is fictitious or because, if real, the person did not authorize 16
the making or drawing or signing of the democracy certificate; 17
(2) falsely completes a democracy certificate assignment by adding or 18
inserting matter, including a forged signature, without the authority of the 19
person entitled to assign the democracy certificate; or 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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(3) falsely alters a democracy certificate, without authorization by the 1
holder or recipient of the democracy certificate entitled to grant it, by means of 2
erasure, obliteration, deletion, insertion of new matter, transposition of matter, 3
or in any other manner. 4
(e) A candidate who violates any provision of this section may be 5
disqualified from participating in the democracy certificate program for that 6
election cycle, in the sole discretion of the Secretary of State. 7
§ 2996. REPORTING 8
Annually, on or before January 15, the Secretary of State shall report to the 9
House Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs and the 10
Senate Committee on Government Operations with the Secretary of State’s 11
recommendations for maximum campaign limits, contribution limitations, 12
prior and projected democracy certificate program funding needs to ensure 13
proper accumulation, distribution of funds during nonelection and election 14
years, and any recommendations for legislative action. 15
§ 2997. DESIGN OF DEMOCRACY CERTIFICATE 16
(a) The Secretary of State shall design the democracy certificates. 17
(b) The Secretary of State shall print the following either on the face of the 18
physical democracy certificates or in digital form if democracy certificates are 19
to be electronically submitted via a secure Secretary of State online system: 20
“Democracy Certificates of __________” 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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(print your name) 1
I, ___________, solemnly swear or affirm that I am a resident of the town 2
(city) of _________, State of Vermont, and that I am a legal voter in this town 3
(city). 4
_________________________________________ 5
(your signature) 6
(c) The Secretary of State shall include an identification number for each 7
issued democracy certificate. 8
(d) The Secretary of State shall print in which election or elections the 9
democracy certificate may be assigned to candidates. 10
(e) The Secretary of State shall prepare and furnish democracy certificate 11
forms and any supporting documentation for the democracy certificate 12
program. 13
Sec. 10. 17 V.S.A. § 2998 is added to read: 14
§ 2998. RULEMAKING 15
The Secretary of State shall adopt rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 for 16
the administration and implementation of the democracy certificate program, 17
including: 18
(1) issuance of democracy certificates to voters who opt into the 19
democracy voucher program and disbursements to qualified candidates; and 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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(2) the receipt of duplicate democracy certificates and procedures for 1
mitigating instances of loss, theft, destruction, or forgery of democracy 2
certificates. 3
* * * Employer-Provided Time off for Statewide Election Days * * * 4
Sec. 11. 21 V.S.A. chapter 5, subchapter 13 is added to read: 5
Subchapter 13. Rights of Voters 6
§ 571. VOTERS 7
(a) Time off. Each employer in this State shall permit any employee, upon 8
24 hours advanced notice to the employee, to take up to four hours off from 9
employment to vote in person in any local, municipal, district, county, State, or 10
federal primary, general, or special election for which such employee is 11
qualified; provided, however, the employer need not grant time off for voting 12
if the hours of work of an employee commence at least two hours after the 13
opening of the polls or end at least two hours prior to the closing of the polls. 14
(b) Scheduled time. An employer may specify the scheduled working 15
hours during which the employee may take time off to vote described in 16
subsection (a) of this section. 17
(c) Discipline and benefits. An employer shall not discharge, penalize or 18
otherwise discipline, or deprive the employee of any right, privilege, or benefit 19
in a manner that discriminates between the employee and other employees not 20
voting, because of the employee’s voting in accordance with this section. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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(d) Replacements. An employer shall not require an employee to find a 1
replacement for time off taken to vote as described in subsection (a) of this 2
section. 3
(e) Compensation. 4
(1) An employer shall not require an employee who is absent from work 5
in accordance with this section to use earned or accrued leave times described 6
in this chapter. 7
(2) An employer shall not be required to pay an employee who is absent 8
from work in accordance with this section for the time absent unless the 9
employer and the employee mutually agree that either: 10
(A) the employee will work an equivalent number of hours as the 11
number of hours for which the employee is absent during the same pay period; 12
or 13
(B) the employee will trade hours with a second employee so that the 14
second employee works during the hours for which the employee is absent and 15
the employee works an equivalent number of hours in place of the second 16
employee during the same pay period. 17
(f) Posted notice. An employer shall post notice of the provisions of this 18
section in a form provided by the Commissioner in a place conspicuous to 19
employees at the employer’s place of business. An employer shall also notify 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.98
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an employee of the provisions of this section at the time of the employee’s 1
hiring. 2
(g) Penalty. An employer who violates a provision of this section shall be 3
fined not more than $200.00. 4
* * * Effective Date * * * 5
Sec. 12. EFFECTIVE DATE 6
This act shall take effect on July 1, 2025. 7