by Barbara Leech

Created on: January 29, 2009   Last Updated: February 03, 2009

One of the most controversial issues that Vermont voters may soon face is the move from the old Town Meeting format of voting to secret ballots and polling booths.

New England is the only area of the country that ever used Town Meeting format in which vote. Communities had charters that set the rules of how and when the meeting would be held for voters. For many states this worked well until voter's schedules and the demands of modern society began to create a decline in attendance at Town Meeting which typically can last several hours.

With this form of voting, citizens gather for two sessions of Town Meeting. At the first, held in February, they can amend the budget and warrant articles by voting from the floor. Voters sit in an open forum, stand up and publically speak for or against an issue and hold up a voting card to cast their vote yes or no.

The second session held the second Tuesday in March, is where citizens vote on the budget and elect their local officials in the ballot booth.

Town Meeting worked well in the majority of the states, including Vermont, that have used this forum since the 1700s, but with the changing times came an increase in the schedule demands of the average voter. Concerns about privacy about how one might vote on controversial issues also began a topic of debate. Many New England communities have modernized voting methods to allow more voters to cast their vote in private polling booths that are open approximately 12 hours on voting day. This also meets the demand for more voting privacy, with voters feeling free to vote their conscience without the repercussion from others in the community who disagree.

According to the N.H. Coalition of Taxpayers, the ballot form of town governance created by SB 2 allows for greater citizen participation. Proponents of the SB 2 style of government contend that many people do not have the time or opportunity to attend town meetings and that SB 2 allows residents more time to learn about the issues and then to vote on them by secret ballot at a scheduled election.

Ballot voting still allows those who want to debate in a public forum to do so at the deliberative session. They then cast their vote by private ballot the following month. Their voting choices remain secret and because it is not held in an open forum it is believed many more people feel comfortable with voting.

Opponents in Vermont contend that voting in favor of the SB 2, which has been around in New England since the early 1990s, will eliminate informative discussion, lively debate and voting on issues from the floor, a process deeply rooted in New England states' government. In other words, some believe that people were better educated on the issues when they all turned out for Town Meeting and debated it until a vote was cast.

And statistically it is true that participation and debate at the deliberative session is far less that the number of voters who once attended Town Meetings. This could consequently put forth more uninformed voters at the polls.

Still, in the past 12 years, many New Hampshire towns, including Hampton, North Hampton, Raymond, Rye, Exeter, Newmarket and Seabrook, switched to what is often called the SB 2 form of government. Both sides can agree on certain facts: More people vote under SB 2 than voted at traditional town meetings; and the number of people who attend deliberative sessions to amend the budget and warrant articles is fewer than the number who used to vote at Town Meeting.

Once towns pass SB 2, it's hard to go back, requiring a three-fifths vote to approve the change.

According to New Hampshire Public Radio, only a handful of communities in N.H. have gone back to Town meeting format.

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