2022 Vermont Statutes
Title 24 Appendix - Municipal Charters
Chapter 3 - City of Burlington
App § 5. Election to be by ballot; method of election; runoff elections
§ 5. Election to be by ballot; method of election; runoff elections
(a) The election of the Mayor and school commissioners shall be by ballot, and the person or persons receiving a plurality of all votes cast for any office aforesaid shall, except as hereinafter provided, be declared elected thereto. However, if no person receives at least 40 percent of all votes cast for any office aforesaid, no one shall be declared elected and a runoff election shall be held. The only candidates in the runoff election shall be the two persons receiving the greater number of votes or, in case of a tie, the persons receiving the greatest number of votes or the persons receiving the second greatest number of votes. The Chief Administrative Officer shall within seven days warn a runoff election to be held not less than 12 days nor more than 20 days after the date of the warning. The warning shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City and posted in a public place. The person or persons receiving a plurality of all the votes cast in a runoff election shall be declared elected.
(b) All elections of City Councilors shall be by ballot, using a system of ranked choice voting without a separate runoff election. The Chief Administrative Officer shall implement a ranked choice voting protocol according to these guidelines:
(1) The ballot shall give voters the option of ranking candidates in order of preference.
(2) If a candidate receives a majority (over 50 percent) of first preferences, that candidate is elected.
(3) If no candidate receives a majority of first preferences, an instant runoff tabulation shall be performed by the presiding election officer.
(4) The City Council may adopt ordinances consistent with this subsection to implement these standards. (Amended 1997, No. M-18 (Adj. Sess.), § 26, eff. April 23, 1998; 2005, No. M-3, § 2, eff. May 12, 2005; 2009, No. M-17 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. April 24, 2010; 2021, No. M-14 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 19, 2022.)
