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How Burlington Works

Burlington is one week into early voting for the 2026 local election, and already 1,214 ballots have been cast. How does that stack up to previous years, and what do voters need to know to cast an informed vote this year?

Burlington resident Larry Warfield has been keeping tabs on voter behavior over the last couple of years, and 2026's election looks to be following a similar pattern to the last two years.

After settling around 16% for several years, a pattern common to local elections across the country, said League of Women Voters Spokesperson Nancy Confrey on Burlington At Work this March, Burlington's election turnout spiked at 22% in 2024 and remained high at 19% in 2025.

In 2024, the year for which Warfield performed a deep analysis, 1,462 ballots had been cast with one week left in early voting compared to today's 1,214 – a number that includes 248 early in-person ballots and 966 mail-in ballots received to this point. With 1,593 mail-in ballots still outstanding according to Town Clerk Jennifer Priest, and three days left in early in-person voting, the final early voting total could approach or exceed 2024 levels.

In 2024, early voting ultimately made up roughly 2/3 of the 3,826 total ballots, with about 2,500 early votes cast by Election Day. There were two contested town-wide races on the ballot that year, which could be one explanation for the increase in turnout – combined, likely, with the increase in voter education efforts, as well as newcomers joining the race.

In 2025, says Warfield, 3,358 total votes were cast (19% of eligible voters), of which almost exactly half (1,671) were via early in-person and mail-in voting. The two questions on the ballot (one of which was a non-binding referendum on rescinding the town's ban on recreational cannabis sales) likely drove turnout, as well as a contested race for Planning Board.

While there are many factors influencing election turnout – including Election Day weather, which looks like it will be in the nice-but-not-too-nice sweet spot – if the last two years are any indication, Burlington's election turnout will continue to be higher than the 2020-2023 average.

Early in-person voting will run through April 8 at Town Hall during regular business hours – 8:30-4:30 on Monday and Tuesday and 8:30-7:00 on Wednesday. Voters using mail-in ballots should return them as soon as possible, as they need to be received by 8:00 PM on Election Day. Election Day is Saturday, April 11, and polls are open from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM at Burlington High School.

For information on this year's election, including profiles, podcast interviews, debates, and more, head to the Burlington Buzz Election Corner and the BCAT Election Center. The BCAT post-election show will air as soon as possible after the election is complete (usually around 9:00) on BCAT; Buzz Editor-in-Chief Nicci Kadilak and BNEWS's Chris Flaherty will host.

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