This commentary is by John Bossange, who lives in Burlington. Vermonters have a long tradition of participating in our local March town meeting process, whether it’s a vote by those in attendance or by Australian ballot. Vermont’s percentages of voting in national elections and other Nov ember ballot issues are among the highest of any state in America. In 2024, 71% of eligible voters went to the polls.  However, at our local March elections, the numbers are dramatically lower.  READ MORE A quick look at the Secretary of State’s 2025 annual meeting turnout statistics shows that participation in many traditional floor votes remains low. Across the state, the number of Vermonters who voted in March has struggled to rise above 20%. In fact, most small village floor votes range from 3% to 10% of all eligible voters in that village or town. In communities that allowed residents to vote earlier or used the Australian ballot system, percentages were closer to 20%, generally twice as high as those using the traditional town meeting process. This year, in my town of South Burlington, there was a 23.03% turnout, and in nearby Burlington, unofficial data puts it at 30.29%. In East Montpelier, where ballots were mailed to all residents before March 3, more than 40% of residents voted. However, overall, the 2026 March elections will probably mirror the disturbing trend of very low voter turnout in most local towns, villages and cities. Even communities that achieve a 20% voter turnout can hardly count it as a success story.  It’s not that Vermonters don’t care about what impacts them directly. There is great passion and endless discussion about taxes, bonds, capital projects, public safety, schools, housing and infrastructure. We also enthusiastically debate who to elect as our local political leaders, including select board and school board members, mayors, commissioners and other local elected positions of influence. But for some reason, every March, we forget that voting is our right and responsibility, and that if you don’t vote, someone else’s vote will decide the laws that affect your family and community. Everyone should be involved in deciding how our taxes will be spent and how to share that tax burden. Our local votes directly impact policies and budgets that will affect how well prepared our children will be for their future. Law enforcement, crime prevention, traffic patterns, housing developments, parks, recreational areas and open, natural conserved areas are all topics that affect the quality of our lives and provide reasons to vote. We vote to have a voice in decision-making, to influence policies and laws, to hold our leaders accountable, to reflect the will of the people and to foster civic engagement. By exercising our right to vote, we are strengthening democracy and ensuring that everyone has a chance to be heard. We need to ask ourselves why close to 80% of us — four out of every five eligible voters — did not vote this March. That’s an embarrassment for a state that prides itself on local control, self-reliance and good old-fashioned Yankee independence. There is no excuse. That’s not an example of democracy in action; it’s democracy at risk. It’s so easy to vote in our state. There are no long lines, voter identification requirements or other voter suppression tactics seen in too many other states. You can go to your town clerk’s office up to 45 days before the first Tuesday in March and vote in person early, or you can request an absentee ballot to take home and drop off at an official location or mail in. If you are registering to vote for the first time, you can do so on Election Day or during the early voting window. All you need is a valid identification and a document that shows your address, such as a utility bill, bank statement or paycheck. It’s that simple. Voter apathy invites unqualified candidates to run unchallenged, or people who do not have our communities’ best interests in mind. Single-issue candidates can dominate local March elections and negatively impact a wide range of other issues Vermonters really care about. Come January and February of 2027, let’s commit to raising turnout in March closer to our 71% turnout in November. Given the importance of our village, town and city issues, and the direct impact they have on our daily lives, it should be clear how important this is. No more excuses. It’s time to show we want to keep democracy alive in Vermont. Read the story on VTDigger here: John Bossange: Vermonters show up in November. Why not in March?. ...read more read less