Vermont § 2543 - Return of ballots

§ 2543. Return of ballots

• (a) After marking the ballots and signing the certificate on the envelope, the early or
  absentee voter to whom the same are addressed shall return the ballots to the clerk
  of the town in which the voter is registered, in the manner prescribed, except that
  in the case of a voter to whom ballots are delivered by justices, the ballots shall
  be returned to the justices calling upon that voter, and they shall deliver them to
  the town clerk. (b) Once an early voter absentee ballot has been returned to the clerk in the envelope
  with the signed certificate, it shall be stored in a secure place and shall not be
  returned to the voter for any reason unless the ballot is deemed defective under subdivision
  2546(a)(2) of this subchapter and the voter chooses to cure the defect and cast the
  ballot pursuant to subsection 2547(d) of this subchapter. (c) If a ballot includes more than one page, the early or absentee voter need only return
  the page upon which the voter has marked his or her vote. (d)(1) All early voter absentee ballots returned as follows shall be counted: (A) by any means, to the town clerk’s office before the close of business on the day preceding
  the election; (B) to any secure ballot drop box provided by the town or city in which the voter is registered
  pursuant to section 2543a of this subchapter before the close of business on the day
  before the election; (C) by mail to the town clerk’s office before the close of the polls on the day of the
  election; and (D) by hand delivery to the presiding officer at the voter’s polling place before the
  closing of the polls at 7:00 p.m. (2) An early voter absentee ballot returned in a manner other than those set forth in
  subdivision (1) of this subsection shall not be counted. (e) A candidate whose name appears on the ballot for that election, or a paid campaign
  staff member of any such candidate, may not return a ballot to the town clerk or to
  a secure ballot drop box, unless that candidate or paid campaign staff member: (1) is returning the candidate’s or paid campaign staff member’s own ballot; (2) is returning the ballot of an immediate family member, as defined in section 2532 of this title, including a person’s spouse, children, brothers, sisters, parents, spouse’s parents,
  grandparents, and spouse’s grandparents, who has requested the candidate’s or paid
  campaign staff member’s assistance with the return of that ballot; (3) is returning the ballot of a voter for whom the candidate or paid campaign staff member
  is a caretaker, and who has requested the candidate’s or paid campaign staff member’s
  assistance with the return of that ballot; or (4) is a justice of the peace performing his or her official duties pursuant to section 2538 of this title. (f) No individual may return more than 25 ballots to the town clerk or to a secure ballot
  drop box unless the individual is a justice of the peace performing his or her official
  duties pursuant to section 2538 of this title. (g) The clerk or other local election official accepting the return of ballots shall not
  be required to enforce the provisions of subsections (e) and (f) of this section but
  shall report any suspected violations to the Secretary of State’s office, which shall
  refer them to the Attorney General’s office for investigation. Individuals violating
  this section may be subject to penalties pursuant to section 2017 of this title. (Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1979, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 73; 2001, No. 6, § 10, eff. April 10, 2001; 2017, No. 50, § 31; 2021, No. 60, § 10, eff. June 7, 2021.)