On June 16, the Vermont legislature passed HB 474. It says someone who loses a major party primary may not then qualify as the nominee of a minor party, or as an independent. Also it says write-ins will no longer be counted unless the candidate has filed a declaration of write-in candidacy before the election. For general election write-in candidates, the deadline is the Thursday before the general election. Here is the text of the bill, which is an omnibus bill with many other provisions.
The “sore loser” part of the bill appears to apply to independent presidential candidates, but not minor party presidential candidates. It says, “A candidate who loses a major party primary for any office shall not appear on the general election ballot as an independent candidate for the same office for which the candidate lost in the primary election.”
UPDATE: Governor Phil Scott signed the bill on June 25.
Thus ends Vermont’s fascinating but rather silly practice of recording all write ins.
Per 17 V.S.A. ยง 2351, only major parties have primaries.
no count write-ins = 14-2 amdt violation
Standing Count is the solution.
@AZ,
How many voters right to vote is abridged?
Nooo right to vote if vote(s) NOT counted.
How many NY City voters moving to Texas —
to escape coming commie NYC mayor and his gangsters ???
@AZ,
What if a voter wanted to vote for an on-ballot candidate?
What if a voter voted for a declared write-in candidate?
Was their right to vote abridged?
What if a voter voted for “Donald Duck”?
What if a voter voted “no count write-ins = 14-2 amdt violation”?
What if a voter wrote something obscene?
What if a voter used a script that the election judge was unfamiliar with?
What if a voter drew a picture?
Was their write to vote abridged if these markings were not recorded and tabulated somehow?
What if Burdick v Takashi was wrongly decided?
All write ins should be counted.
So if you lose the primary in Vermont for president, you can’t then run for president? That could create some problems.
@Tim: if you read the text of the bill, you’d see that it says “In no event shall a candidate who loses a major party primary be nominated to appear on the general election ballot pursuant to this subchapter by a committee of any party OTHER THAN THE PARTY for which the candidate appeared on the primary ballot.” (emphasis added)
@Tim,
In Vermont, presidential primaries do not nominate anyone.
@Everyone else,
Under the new law, the number of write-in votes for undeclared candidates is totaled. If that number of votes would win the nomination or election, then they are tabulated.
I think that one way for independent and third party candidates to get massive attention is for them to run in the primaries of the republican and democratic parties.
I agree with Jelly.