Vermont voters urged to check addresses before ballots are sent

Residents who have changed homes since the 2024 election are being encouraged to update their information right away.

Vermonters who expect to vote by mail this fall should confirm that their state voter record is up to date before Sept. 1, the deadline after which ballot mailings will be based on the address currently on file. The state is scheduled to begin sending ballots in late next month for the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 3, according to Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas.

Residents who have changed homes since the 2024 election are being encouraged to update their information right away. Copeland Hanzas said the goal is to make sure ballots are delivered to the correct place. People who will not be where they live this fall, including college students and military voters overseas, can ask for an absentee ballot to be sent to the location where they will be staying.

The state’s voter portal at vote.vermont.gov can be used to check a registration address, make changes, or request an absentee ballot. Voters can also work through their local town or city clerk.

Vermont law requires that every registered voter receive a ballot for the biennial general election. Once it arrives, a voter can complete it at home and mail it back, drop it off at an approved location, or ignore it and vote in person on Election Day instead. Ballots are not mailed for primary elections, such as the one held earlier this month.

Copeland Hanzas said the state uses several layers of review to keep the process accurate. Since last fall, every municipality has completed its required checklist review through the Board of Civil Authority to identify people who may have moved, died, or otherwise no longer belong on a local voter list. Anyone identified in that process will not automatically get a ballot this year unless local officials confirm the registration is correct.

She also rejected national claims that voting by mail is unsafe, noting that absentee voting is widely used in Vermont. In 2024, nearly two-thirds of voters cast ballots by mail.

Concerns about postal delays remain common, especially in rural parts of the state, where delivery problems have been documented. More than 2,000 people have already complained this year to Vermont’s three-member congressional delegation about mail service, lawmakers wrote in a Friday letter to U.S. Postmaster General David Steiner.

At the federal level, President Donald Trump has sought to curb mail voting through executive actions, including a March order that would have limited postal delivery of ballots unless voters were on a federally approved list. Another order last year tried to bar counting ballots postmarked by Election Day but arriving later. In Vermont, ballots must be received before polls close on Election Day to count. Federal courts have blocked both efforts while legal challenges continue, including those filed by Vermont and national voting rights groups.

Even with those delivery concerns, Copeland Hanzas said voters should expect their ballots to arrive and still have options if return timing becomes a problem. Official dropboxes are listed online, and completed ballots can be turned in until polls close on Election Day.