Sign at town hall at Killington.

Sign at town hall at Killington.

With the ski season coming to a close, many residents of Killington are thinking about the future. A day does not go by without a conversation about "what are you doing this summer?" or "are you getting away in the spring?" But before we get there, there is some town business that needs attention.

Unfinished business from the Killington Town Meeting held in early March will result in town residents getting together for the evening on May 9th (7:30PM - Killington Elementary School on River Road) to discuss and vote on many town issues. The town budget failed in March, requiring the town to get together in late spring to discuss the new proposal from the select board and vote the budget up or down. In addition, as there is a meeting scheduled, a number of citizen initiatives are also on the agenda to be acted upon.

One citizen initiative is switching town voting practice from an open floor vote at town meeting to an "Australian Ballot". An "Australian Ballot", for those who are not familiar with the term, is also referred to as a "Secret Ballot", where voters go to a polling place and vote on election day.

Mary wrote a "Letter to the Editor" which the Mountain Times published this week. The text of the letter, which discusses the "Australian Ballot" initiatives, is below:

Australian Ballot and why should you should vote for it!

Australian ballot is a secret ballot. Polls are open from at least 10:00 am to 7:00 pm and voters can show up any time to vote by marking a printed ballot. The Australian ballot allows people to vote quickly and at a time that is convenient for them. This system also allows a person who is sick or out of town or prefers not to come to the polls on election day to vote early or vote by mail using an absentee ballot.

Town Meetings still occur with Australian ballot voting and the community would still have the opportunity to discuss issues and hear from candidates. Town Meeting would also serve as an educational session to inform voters about the issues they would be voting on.

Towns that use the Australian ballot generally have much higher voter participation rates than those that do not. The Vermont Secretary of State web site states that in 2008 towns that held traditional town meetings and Australian ballot had a 47.8% turn out for Australian ballots and in towns that held only a traditional town meeting the turn out was 21.1%.

If you want all registered voters in town to have access to voting please vote YES on the Australian ballot Articles. These Articles are part of a Special Town Meeting to be held on May 9th at 7:30 PM in the Sherburne Elementary School Gymnasium.

The three Australian Ballot Articles read as follows:

Article 4 - "Shall the Town of Killington adopt its budget article or articles by Australian ballot?"

Article 5 - " Shall the Town of Killington vote on all public questions by Australian ballot?"

Article 6 - "Shall the Town of Killington elect officers by Australian ballot?"

If you feel that the right to vote should be as accessible as possible to the most people as possible this is the right thing to do. Supporting the Australian ballot Articles will greatly improve access to voting in the Town of Killington......Mary Furlong