Daily Buzz | Absentee Voting is Happening Now!

A quick note you can even read before coffee 😉

Good morning and happy Monday, Burlington!

I hope you had a great weekend. Thanks to IAB for hosting a nice candidate meet and greet event yesterday. It’s been great to meet so many of you out in the community, and I look forward to talking to people when it’s not about elections and voting and campaign events!

There’s a short list of meetings this evening in Burlington, so I’ll take the lull to remind you that (a) there’s no school for kids Wednesday, (b) absentee voting is now happening at the Town Clerk’s office (or you can request to have a ballot mailed to you), and (c) now’s the time to look over candidate profiles and be sure you know who you’ll be voting for. You can find them on the Buzz, BCAT and at BEC.

Another thing I want to be sure is on your radar is write-in campaigns. I talked at length about writing in a couple weeks ago, but I focused only on filling empty seats with that note. I want to be sure you know that write-ins are not only for empty seats. You can do a write-in or sticker campaign for any seat in town. Many times people do this when they don’t think any of the candidates for a given seat bring what is needed to the office. If you are looking at the candidates for any of the races and thinking, “I actually think I’m more qualified and would do a better job than these folks,” you could get a write-in campaign together. You’d likely have some work ahead of you to publicize your candidacy and be sure voters know who you are and why you’re a better choice than the candidate(s) for that position, but don’t let that stop you if you truly feel like you’d be the best fit for the office!

From my previous note: One way to [do a write-in campaign] is to simply print out a few sheets of return address labels (with a phone number, please [so our Town Clerk can contact you the night of the election without having to comb through pages of spreadsheets]) and hand them out to people - that way they can just place your label right on the ballot. Just beware you’re not allowed to campaign within 150 feet of the polling site.

Note: This isn’t me making a judgment about any of our candidates. I just want to be sure residents are informed!

Alright, check out what’s on the agenda today:

• 5:00 PM - Ways & Means Public Safety Subcommittee meets to discuss the budget for Fire, EMS, and Police for the coming fiscal year.

• 6:00 PM - Burlington Youth & Family Services meets virtually.

• 6:00 PM - Select Board has their regular meeting. Topics will include the Communication Plan, the DEI Committee, and the use of the Common for a wedding. (Wish I’d have thought of that! 🤣) (Join via Webex)

Take it easy, Burlington. See you tomorrow!

Nicci