On May 12, the Vermont Senate passed HB 429 by 16-14. It bans “sore losers”. But because the Senate amended the bill, it must return to the House, so it still hasn’t passed the legislature.

The bill also requires write-in candidates to file a declaration of write-in candidacy if they want their write-ins tallied. And it makes it more difficult for a write-in candidate in a primary to be declared nominated. The write-in candidate must receive a number of write-ins in the primary that equals the number of signatures he or she would have needed to get on the primary ballot. In addition, the write-in candidate’s total in the primary must equal at least 10% of the number of votes cast for that office in that primary.