The Vermont legislature adjourned for the year on May 6. The only election law of significance that passed this year’s session was the National Popular Vote Plan bill, which was signed into law several weeks ago.

HB 241, which would have changed fusion, never made any headway. Vermont lets two parties jointly nominate the same person now. But that candidate’s name is only listed once on the ballot, with both party names next to the name of that candidate. The bill would have provided two separate boxes on the ballot, so that a voter could indicate a preference for one party.

HB 25, which would have made it more difficult for a party to nominate someone by write-in votes at its own primary, also made no headway.

No bill was ever introduced to move the independent candidate petition deadline from June to a later date, even though a Superior Court has already issued an order which strongly suggests that the deadline is unconstitutionally early.