The deadline was 5 p.m. on Jan. 11 for candidates to file their petition to appear on the ballots of the Vermont presidential primaries. Secretary of State Jim Condos announced that 14 candidates qualified for the ballots: 10 candidates for the Republican ballot and 4 candidates for the Democratic ballot.
The Republicans qualifying for placement on the ballot in Vermont were: Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum and Donald J. Trump.
The Democrats qualifying for placement on the ballot in Vermont were: Hillary Clinton, Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente, Martin J. O’Malley, and Bernie Sanders.
Vermont law requires any candidate seeking to have his or her name printed on the ballot of a major party presidential primary to file petitions signed by no fewer than 1,000 registered Vermont voters, along with a $2,000 filing fee. Once registered, voters can access and update information about their registration and polling place on the My Voter Page at mvp.sec.state.vt.us.
Also of note is a constitutional amendment, passed in 2010, allowing 17-year-olds who will have turned 18 by the November 2016 election to register and vote in Vermont’s presidential primaries. This will be the second presidential election in which this amendment has been in effect.
Vermont’s primaries will be held on “Super Tuesday,” March 1. The deadline to register to vote in the primaries is Wednesday, Feb. 24. Anyone registering for the first time or in a new town can now do so online at www.olvr.sec.state.vt.us.
