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For Windham County candidates · Vermont ballot access

Running for office in Windham County, Vermont.

The 2026 calendar, what it costs to file, how to get on the ballot, and how to reach the Windham County Clerk's Office.

The short version.

A plain-language guide to how county ballot access works in all 14 Vermont counties. Vermont county government is unusually small. There is no county commission and no county council, there are no county-wide services to run, and the county clerk is not an elected office at all. Roads, schools, zoning, budgets and just about everything a voter actually notices are decided at the TOWN level, not the county level. If you arrived here expecting a county board like the one in the state you moved from, Vermont does not have one.

What a Vermont county does elect is five offices, and the list is closed. 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2103(10) defines a county officer as exactly these: judge of Probate, assistant judge of the Superior Court, State's Attorney, sheriff and high bailiff. All five were on the August 11, 2026 primary ballot in every county, and all five are on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot. Two of them, State's Attorney and sheriff, are the substantive contested races. Two more, assistant judge and judge of Probate, are real jobs that most people have never heard of. And the fifth, high bailiff, is the lowest barrier to elected office anywhere in Vermont: a two-year term, frequently uncontested, and the traditional first race in this state. Read the office list below before you decide which one you are running for, because the job descriptions are nothing like what the titles suggest.

This page covers that for Windham County and points you at your local election office for anything specific to your county. It is not legal advice; the official rules live with your election office and the Vermont Secretary of State, Elections Division.

Windham County by the numbers.

  • In 2024, Windham County cast 25,718 votes for president: 26.9% Republican, 69.6% Democratic.
The first step in any campaign is to know your voter.

The campaigns that win the field are the ones who start building their list of supporters and volunteers before qualifying even opens, not after. Motion51 is ready to load your Windham County voter file the moment you send it over, so you can start finding your people now.

Start free in Windham

Vermont election calendar (2026).

Vermont runs one statewide calendar for every county. The 2026 primary was held on Tuesday, August 11, and the regular petition windows all closed in the spring and early summer. But the primary opened doors of its own, and as of the middle of August 2026 several of them are still open. Two of them close within days. Governor is also on this ballot, along with Lieutenant Governor and Treasurer, all of them two-year offices under Chapter II, Section 49 of the Vermont Constitution.

  • Mon Apr 27, 2026Filing opened for the 2026 cycle. 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2356(a).
  • Thu May 28, 2026, 5 p.m.Deadline for a major-party candidate to file a primary petition and consent of candidate -- CLOSED. County candidates filed with the COUNTY CLERK. 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2356(a), Sec. 2357(a)(2).
  • Mon Jul 20, 2026, 5 p.m.Deadline for an independent Justice of the Peace to file with the TOWN CLERK -- CLOSED. This is the third Monday in July, BEFORE the primary, under 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2402(d)(1)(B) as amended by 2025 Act 70 Sec. 26. Older guidance saying three days AFTER the primary is out of date.
  • Mon Jul 27, 2026, 5 p.m.Deadline for a party caucus or town committee to file a Justice of the Peace nomination with the town clerk -- CLOSED. Fourth Monday in July.
  • Thu Aug 6, 2026, 5 p.m.Deadline for an independent or minor-party statement of nomination for county office, filed with the SECRETARY OF STATE -- CLOSED. 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2402(d)(1)(C).
  • Tue Aug 11, 2026Vermont's 2026 primary election -- PAST. 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2351.
  • Within 2 days of the county canvassing committee meetingCanvassing committees mail nomination notices to primary winners, including write-in winners. 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2371(a). This is happening the week of August 10, 2026.
  • Mon Aug 17, 2026, 5 p.m.OPEN AS THIS PAGE IS WRITTEN. Deadline for a major party committee to nominate a candidate for an office where its primary produced nobody, and for a minor party or a committee filling a vacancy. 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2381(a)(1). The Secretary of State sets this at six days after the primary. This is the single best remaining route onto the November ballot.
  • 5 p.m. on the 10th day after the primary (about Fri Aug 21, 2026)Last day a primary nominee may withdraw. A withdrawal creates a vacancy the party committee may then fill under 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2381(a)(1).
  • Thu Oct 29, 2026, 5 p.m.The Secretary of State's write-in registration deadline, 5 p.m. on the Thursday before the election. Registration is asked of candidates for federal, statewide and General Assembly offices. See the write-in section below for what this does and does not mean for a COUNTY office.
  • Tue Nov 3, 2026General election. 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2103(15). Vermont mails a ballot to every qualified voter by October 1.

Two dating traps are worth knowing about. The Secretary of State's candidate FAQ has carried a stale line saying independent Justice of the Peace petitions are due three days AFTER the primary; the statute as amended by 2025 Act 70 Sec. 26 puts that deadline on the third Monday in July, BEFORE the primary, and the Secretary of State's own 2026 candidate page uses the July date. Where a form and a statute disagree, the statute wins. Separately, Act 126 of 2026 was signed on June 8, 2026 and took effect on passage, so Vermont Statutes Online may not yet show the amended text of some sections. Confirm any deadline with your county clerk before you rely on it.

Offices on the ballot in Windham County.

These are the only five county offices Vermont elects. The list comes from 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2103(10) and it is exhaustive: if an office is not on this list, your county does not elect it. All five are on the November 3, 2026 ballot in every county. Note in particular that there is no county commissioner, no county council seat, no county treasurer and no elected county clerk to run for in Vermont. The county clerk is a Superior Court employee, not an elected official, even though the county clerk is the person major-party county candidates file with.

  • State's Attorney -- on the November 3, 2026 ballot, 4-year term from February 1 (Vt. Const. Ch. II, Sec. 50). The county prosecutor for Windham County.
  • Sheriff -- on the November 3, 2026 ballot, 4-year term from February 1 (Vt. Const. Ch. II, Sec. 50).
  • Assistant Judge -- TWO seats on the November 3, 2026 ballot, 4-year terms from February 1 (Vt. Const. Ch. II, Sec. 50). The side judges hold the county's non-judicial power: care and superintendence of county property under 24 V.S.A. Sec. 131 and the annual county budget under Sec. 133. No law degree required.
  • Judge of Probate -- on the November 3, 2026 ballot, 4-year term from February 1 (Vt. Const. Ch. II, Sec. 51). One per county; the probate division of the Superior Court in Windham County handles estates, wills, trusts, guardianships, adoptions and name changes.
  • High Bailiff -- on the November 3, 2026 ballot, and the only county office in Vermont with a TWO-year term (Vt. Const. Ch. II, Sec. 43). Serves process the sheriff cannot serve, under 24 V.S.A. Sec. 332. No certification requirement, no fee, 100 signatures. Frequently uncontested and the classic first race in Windham County.
  • NOT elected in Windham County, or anywhere in Vermont -- county commissioner, county council, county executive, county treasurer and county clerk. 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2103(10) closes the list of county offices at the five above. Windham County sits on the Massachusetts line and its media market is largely Massachusetts-facing, which is a real problem for name recognition in a county-wide race and a real argument for knocking doors rather than buying advertising.

Statewide and legislative seats covering Windham County are on the same ballot:

  • U.S. Representative -- Vermont elects a single at-large member of the U.S. House, so this race covers the whole state.
  • Governor -- a TWO-year term under Chapter II, Section 49 of the Vermont Constitution. Vermont and New Hampshire are the only two states that still elect a governor every two years.
  • Lieutenant Governor -- two-year term, Chapter II, Section 49. Elected separately from the Governor, so the two offices can and regularly do go to different parties.
  • Treasurer -- two-year term, Chapter II, Section 49.
  • Secretary of State, Auditor of Accounts and Attorney General -- all on the 2026 ballot. Every Vermont statewide office runs on a two-year cycle, which is why the entire executive branch is up for election at once.
  • All 30 State Senate seats -- Vermont has no staggered senate. Every seat is up every two years. A primary or independent petition needs 100 signatures, the same as a county office, and it is filed with the SENATORIAL DISTRICT CLERK, who is a county clerk. The 16 senatorial districts are named after counties but several are not the same shape as the county they are named for.
  • All 150 State Representative seats -- also up every two years. A petition needs just 50 signatures, filed with the representative district clerk. In a state of about 650,000 people that makes a Vermont House seat one of the most reachable legislative offices in the country, and it is where Motion51 fits Vermont best.
  • Justices of the Peace -- elected by town rather than by county. A party caucus or town committee nominates through the town clerk, and an independent files a consent form with the town clerk with 30 signatures or 1 percent of the municipality's legal voters, whichever is less.

Two things worth carrying away from that list. First, if what you want is a governing role over county property and the county budget, the office that actually carries it is ASSISTANT JUDGE, under 24 V.S.A. Sec. 131 and Sec. 133. That is the closest thing Vermont has to a county commissioner and there is no other. Second, if you want the lowest barrier to holding elected office in this state, it is HIGH BAILIFF: a two-year term, no certification requirement, no fee, 100 signatures, and frequently nobody else on the ballot. Vermont does not stagger its county offices the way most states do, because the terms are fixed by the state constitution and Vermont has no county charters that could vary them. The four 4-year offices were last elected in 2022 and are up again in 2026; the high bailiff, being a 2-year office, is up every even year. The Secretary of State's published list of offices to be elected in 2026 names Probate Judge, Assistant Judges, State's Attorney, Sheriff, High Bailiff and Justices of the Peace, and the 2026 primary results carry contests for all five county offices in all 14 counties.

How to get on the ballot.

There is no filing fee for any Vermont county office. Vermont charges a filing fee only to presidential candidates; every other route asks for signatures, a consent of candidate form and, new for 2026, an Ethics Commission financial disclosure. The regular petition windows for November 3, 2026 have closed. What is still open is the set of doors the August 11 primary opened, and the first of them closes at 5 p.m. on Monday, August 17, 2026.

Party committee nomination -- OPEN until 5 p.m. Monday, August 17, 2026.

This is the strongest route left and almost nobody outside Vermont politics knows it exists. Under 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2381(a)(1), a candidate may be nominated and printed on the general election ballot by party committee where there is a vacancy caused by death, removal or withdrawal, or where a major political party simply failed to nominate anybody for that office at the primary. The same subchapter lets a minor party nominate by committee for any office. The Secretary of State sets the 2026 deadline for these statements of nomination at 5 p.m. on Monday, August 17, 2026, six days after the primary.

  • Vermont county offices go unfilled at the primary more often than you would think. Five offices times fourteen counties times two major parties is 140 primary nominations to fill in a state of 650,000 people, and high bailiff in particular routinely draws nobody at all.
  • You are not petitioning and you are not collecting signatures. You are asking a county or town party committee to name you. That is a conversation, not a clipboard, and there are about three days left to have it.
  • You still file a consent of candidate form (17 V.S.A. Sec. 2361) and, for a county office, an Ethics Commission financial disclosure under 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2414.
  • Statements of nomination for county office under this route go to the SECRETARY OF STATE, not the county clerk. Justice of the Peace nominations go to the town clerk.
  • PLAN AROUND THE HOLIDAY. Monday, August 17, 2026 is Bennington Battle Day, a Vermont state holiday. The Vermont Judiciary has announced that all Vermont courts are closed that day and reopen Tuesday, August 18, which means county clerk offices are closed too, and the Elections Division's published office hours run Monday to Friday except holidays. The Secretary of State publishes August 17 as the deadline. We are not telling you it moved, because we cannot verify that it did. We are telling you not to leave the filing to that morning. Get it in the preceding week and call 802-828-2363 to confirm it landed.

Withdrawal and vacancy -- watch until about Friday, August 21, 2026.

A primary nominee may withdraw up to 5 p.m. on the 10th day after the primary. Every withdrawal creates exactly the kind of vacancy that Sec. 2381(a)(1) lets a party committee fill. If you are close to a county party, this is the window in which the list of open seats is still moving.

  • Canvassing committees mail nomination notices within two days of meeting (17 V.S.A. Sec. 2371(a)), so the week after the primary is when accidental nominees find out they won and when some of them decide not to serve.

General election write-in -- open through election day, no registration for county office.

Vermont law requires every general election ballot to carry write-in lines. 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2472(c) says that following the names of candidates for each office there shall be as many blank write-in lines as there are persons to be elected to that office. And 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2587(e)(2) requires the election officials counting ballots to list every person who receives a write-in vote and the number of votes received. In a county of a few thousand voters, running an uncontested seat, that is a genuinely winnable path.

  • The Secretary of State asks candidates for federal, statewide and General Assembly offices to register as write-ins by 5 p.m. on the Thursday before the election, which for 2026 is October 29. That registration form is aimed at those offices. County write-in votes are tallied by name under Sec. 2587(e)(2) regardless. If you intend to run a serious county write-in campaign, register anyway and tell your town clerks -- it costs nothing and it removes any argument.
  • Your name will not be printed on the ballot. Every vote has to be hand-written by a voter who remembered your name and how to spell it. That is a name-recognition problem, not a paperwork problem, and it is what door knocking is for.
  • Vermont mails a ballot to every qualified voter by October 1, so a write-in campaign here has to peak in early October, not on election day.

Primary write-in -- 50 votes took a county office this year.

This door has closed for 2026 but it is the one to plan for in 2028, and it explains who is being certified right now. Under 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2370 a write-in candidate qualifies as a primary winner with at least one-half the number of votes as the number of signatures required on a primary petition for that office. A Vermont county office needs 100 signatures, so the write-in threshold is 50 VOTES. Alternatively, a write-in who simply outpolls a candidate whose name was printed on the ballot qualifies regardless of the threshold.

  • Fifty votes is a number a determined candidate can produce from their own address book.
  • A write-in who wins a primary must still file a consent of candidate form, and a financial disclosure where the office requires one, before the name is printed on the November ballot.

Major-party primary petition -- closed May 28, 2026; next window opens late April 2028.

For the record, because this is the route most people mean when they ask how to get on the ballot. Filing opened Monday, April 27, 2026 and closed at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 28, 2026 (17 V.S.A. Sec. 2356(a)). A county office needs 100 signatures under Sec. 2355. The petition, the consent of candidate form (Sec. 2361) and the Ethics Commission financial disclosure (Sec. 2414) go to the COUNTY CLERK for a county office. If signatures come up short the filing officer gives 72 hours notice and supplemental petitions may be filed up to 10 days after the deadline (Sec. 2358).

Independent statement of nomination -- closed August 6, 2026.

An independent or minor-party candidate for county office files a statement of nomination with 100 signatures, plus consent of candidate and financial disclosure, with the SECRETARY OF STATE rather than the county clerk (17 V.S.A. Sec. 2402(b)(1)). The 2026 window ran from Monday, April 27 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, August 6.

Statutory references: 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2103(10) -- county officer means judge of Probate, assistant judge of the Superior Court, State's Attorney, sheriff and high bailiff. That list is exhaustive. Vermont elects no county commissioners, no county council, no county treasurer and no county clerk. · SPLIT, and it catches people out. A MAJOR-PARTY candidate for county office files with the COUNTY CLERK (17 V.S.A. Sec. 2357(a)(2)) even though the county clerk is not an elected office. An INDEPENDENT or MINOR-PARTY candidate for county office files with the SECRETARY OF STATE. An independent Justice of the Peace files with the TOWN CLERK. State Senate petitions go to the senatorial district clerk, and in every one of Vermont's 16 senatorial districts that clerk is a county clerk. · 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2355 (primary) and Sec. 2402(b)(1) (independent), identical tiers -- state or congressional office 500; COUNTY OFFICER or State Senator 100; State Representative 50; Justice of the Peace 30 or 1 percent of the municipality's legal voters, whichever is less. · There is no filing fee for a Vermont county office, a legislative office or a town office. Vermont charges a filing fee only to candidates for President. · 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2361 makes the consent of candidate form mandatory. NEW FOR 2026: 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2414 requires every candidate for county office, the General Assembly and non-federal statewide office to file a State Ethics Commission financial disclosure alongside the consent form. Act 126 of 2026 Sec. 5 suspends the Sec. 2415 delinquency penalties through May 30, 2027. · 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2358 -- if a petition is short, the filing officer gives 72 hours notice and supplemental petitions may be filed up to 10 days after the filing deadline. · Vt. Const. Ch. II, Sec. 43 -- the high bailiff is elected for a TWO-year term. Sections 50 and 51 were amended to give assistant judges, sheriffs, State's Attorneys and judges of Probate four-year terms; Section 43 was not, which is why high bailiff is on the ballot every even year. · 24 V.S.A. Sec. 131 (care and superintendence of county property) and Sec. 133 (the annual county budget). These are the assistant judges' non-judicial powers and they are the nearest thing Vermont has to county government. · 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2681(b) -- a petition for a town office needs 30 signatures or 1 percent of the registered voters of the municipality, whichever is LESS, filed by 5 p.m. on the sixth Monday before the election. For a March Town Meeting Day that lands in late January. No fee. · 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2472(c) requires write-in lines on every general election ballot for every office. Sec. 2587(e)(2) requires counters to list every person receiving write-in votes by name. Sec. 2370 sets the PRIMARY write-in threshold at half the signature requirement, which is 50 votes for a county office. · 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2381(a)(1) -- a party committee may nominate for the general election ballot where a candidate has died, been removed or withdrawn, or where a major party failed to nominate at the primary. The Secretary of State's 2026 deadline is 5 p.m. Monday, August 17, 2026. · 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2103(15) -- the general election is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each even-numbered year. For 2026 that is November 3.. Fees and signature counts change; confirm before you file.

The Windham County Clerk's Office.

Vermont counties do not run elections. Towns and cities do, through the town clerk, and the Secretary of State runs the statewide machinery. So there is no county board of elections here to call. What there is, and what matters if you are running for a county office, is the COUNTY CLERK. The county clerk is a Superior Court employee rather than an elected official, and that same office is the filing officer for major-party county candidates under 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2357(a)(2) and, wearing its other hat as senatorial district clerk, for State Senate candidates too. Addresses and phone numbers below are from the Secretary of State's own county clerk directory, updated January 2026. We do not publish the current clerk's name here, because people move on and the directory linked below is always fresher than a web page.

Windham County Clerk's Office
Office
7 Court Street, Newfane, VT
Phone
802-289-7073
Mailing
PO Box 207, Newfane, VT 05345
Windham County elections website →

Newfane is the shire town of Windham County, though Brattleboro is much the largest town in it. The Windham Senatorial District elects 2 senators, and Londonderry and Wilmington, both Windham County towns, are drawn into the Bennington Senatorial District instead. Vermont's senatorial districts are named after counties but several of them are not the same shape as the county, so check the Secretary of State's district list before you gather signatures. State Senate petitions are filed with the senatorial district clerk, and that clerk is a county clerk.

Contact details verified 2026-08-14. Official statewide sources: Vermont SoS: 2026 candidates, forms, signature counts and where to file · Vermont SoS: Vermont County Clerks directory (PDF, updated January 2026) · Vermont SoS: Elections Calendar · Vermont SoS: Town Meeting and local elections · Vermont SoS: Guide to Vermont's town clerks, treasurers and county clerks (PDF) · Vermont SoS: House and Senate district maps and district clerks · Vermont election night results (2026 primary, by county and office) · 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2103 (definitions, including county officer) · 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2370 (primary write-in threshold) · 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2381 (nomination by party committee) · Vermont State Ethics Commission: candidate financial disclosure · Vermont Judiciary: Probate Division.

Common questions.

Can I still get on the ballot in Windham County in 2026?

Possibly, and the fastest route closes at 5 p.m. on Monday, August 17, 2026. Under 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2381(a)(1) a party committee may nominate a candidate straight onto the November ballot where the party failed to nominate anyone for that office at the August 11 primary, or where a nominee has died, been removed or withdrawn. That is not a petition drive; it is a conversation with a county or town party committee, and Vermont county offices go unfilled at the primary often enough that there are usually seats available. After that, the remaining route is a general election write-in, which stays open through election day: every Vermont ballot carries write-in lines for every office under 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2472(c), and counters must list every person who receives write-in votes by name under Sec. 2587(e)(2). The regular petition windows closed on May 28 for major parties and August 6 for independents. The next regular filing window opens in late April 2028.

What county offices can I actually run for in Windham County?

Five, and only five. 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2103(10) defines a county officer as the judge of Probate, the assistant judges of the Superior Court, the State's Attorney, the sheriff and the high bailiff. There is no county commission or county council in Vermont, no county-wide services department, no elected county treasurer, and the county clerk is a court employee rather than an elected official. All five offices are on the November 3, 2026 ballot in Windham County. If what you actually want to change is roads, schools, zoning or the property tax rate, those decisions are made by your town, not by the county, and you should be looking at Town Meeting Day rather than at a county office.

What is a high bailiff, and why does everyone say to run for it?

The high bailiff is the officer who serves process the sheriff cannot serve, which is a polite way of saying the high bailiff is the person who can arrest the sheriff. The power comes from 24 V.S.A. Sec. 332. It is the only Vermont county office with a two-year term, because Chapter II, Section 43 of the Vermont Constitution was never amended to four years the way Sections 50 and 51 were for the other county offices. There is no law-enforcement certification requirement, there is no filing fee, and a primary petition needs 100 signatures. It is frequently uncontested, which is exactly why it is the traditional first race in Vermont: it puts your name on a county-wide ballot, it is a real office with a real statutory function, and it teaches you the mechanics of a Vermont campaign before you try for State's Attorney or a legislative seat.

Where do I file to run for county office in Windham County?

It depends on how you are running, and this is the single most common mistake. A MAJOR-PARTY candidate for a county office files the petition, the consent of candidate form and the Ethics Commission financial disclosure with the COUNTY CLERK, under 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2357(a)(2). That is true even though the county clerk is not itself an elected office. An INDEPENDENT or MINOR-PARTY candidate for the same county office files with the SECRETARY OF STATE in Montpelier instead. An independent candidate for Justice of the Peace files with the TOWN CLERK. And a candidate for State Senate files with the senatorial district clerk, which in every Vermont senatorial district happens to be a county clerk. Send the paperwork to the wrong office and it does not count as filed.

How much does it cost to file for office in Windham County?

Nothing. Vermont charges no filing fee for county office, for the General Assembly or for town office. The only candidates who pay a filing fee in Vermont are candidates for President. What a candidacy costs you is signatures and paperwork: 100 signatures for any county office or for State Senate, 50 for State Representative, 500 for a statewide or congressional office, and 30 or 1 percent of your municipality's legal voters, whichever is less, for Justice of the Peace. On top of that every county candidate files a consent of candidate form under 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2361 and, new for 2026, a State Ethics Commission financial disclosure under Sec. 2414.

How many write-in votes does it take to win in Vermont?

At the general election, more than anybody else. Vermont general elections are decided by plurality and there is no minimum threshold for a general election write-in. At the PRIMARY the rule is different and it is worth knowing: 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2370 says a write-in qualifies as the primary winner with at least one-half the number of votes as the number of signatures required on a primary petition for that office. A county office needs 100 signatures, so the primary write-in threshold for a county office in Windham County is 50 votes. A write-in who simply outpolls a candidate printed on the ballot qualifies regardless of the threshold.

I care about roads, schools and zoning. What should I run for instead?

Your town. In Vermont the town is the unit of government that decides almost everything a county decides in other states, and the barrier to entry is lower than for any county office. A petition for a town office needs 30 signatures or 1 percent of the registered voters of the municipality, WHICHEVER IS LESS, under 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2681(b), and it is due at 5 p.m. on the sixth Monday before the election. For a March Town Meeting Day that means late January. There is no filing fee. Selectboard, school board, lister, town moderator and Justice of the Peace are all elected this way. If you want the next step up from that, Vermont has 150 House seats needing 50 signatures each and 30 Senate seats needing 100, which for a small state means the legislature is unusually reachable.

Can I get the Vermont voter checklist for my campaign in Windham County?

Yes, and Vermont is one of the more open states about it. 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2154 imposes no eligibility class at all: you do not have to be a registered voter, a candidate or a Vermont resident. You sign an affidavit swearing, under penalty of perjury, that you will not use the checklist for commercial purposes and will not knowingly disclose it to a foreign government or a federal agency. Those two things are the entire restriction; there is no ban on redistribution and no requirement that use be political. Campaign canvassing is lawful because nothing prohibits it. Two honest caveats. First, the campaign has to be the one that signs the affidavit, not a vendor. Second, Vermont strips a lot: no month or day of birth, no telephone number, no e-mail address, no driver's licence number and no partial Social Security number, under Sec. 2154(b)(1) and 1 V.S.A. Sec. 317(c)(31). You get names, addresses and voting history, which is what a door campaign needs and not much more.

After you qualify: the field operation.

Vermont is small in a way that changes how a campaign is run. The whole state has about 650,000 people spread across roughly 250 towns and cities, and a county office here can mean anything from Chittenden County with well over a hundred thousand voters to Essex County with a few thousand. In the smallest counties a county-wide race is genuinely a knock-every-door race, and candidates do win them that way. Three Vermont-specific things to plan around. First, the ballot arrives early: Vermont mails a ballot to every qualified voter by October 1 of every even-numbered year, so a persuasion campaign that peaks in the last week of October is peaking after a large share of the electorate has already voted. Build the plan backwards from the first week of October. Second, the voter checklist gives you a name, an address and voting history and nothing else, so there is no phoning your way through a list and no e-mail programme off the state file; Vermont is a door and mail state by law. Third, town lines are the organising unit for everything. Ballots are printed by town, results are reported by town, signatures are certified by the town clerk, and senatorial districts are built out of whole towns. Cut turf by town and the paperwork, the data and the volunteers all line up.

That is the part Motion51 was built for. You scope your district, cut turf, and send volunteers out with a phone instead of a clipboard. It works offline, so canvassing does not stop where the cell signal does, and every door is logged with a timestamp for your records. Our For Candidates page walks through what that looks like.

Counties next to Windham.

Running in a district that crosses a county line? Each of these has its own guide.

Bennington County Windsor County

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It's never too early to start building support.

Motion51 does not hold the Vermont voter checklist and we do not request it on anyone's behalf. Bring the file you obtained and we will run your doors on it. That distinction matters more in Vermont than in most states, so here is the reasoning in plain terms. 17 V.S.A. Sec. 2154 lets anyone obtain the statewide checklist. There is no eligibility class: not registered voter, not candidate, not resident. What there is instead is an affidavit. The person requesting the checklist swears, under penalty of perjury, that they will not use it for commercial purposes and will not knowingly disclose it to a foreign government or a federal agency or commission. Those two promises are the entire restriction in the statute. There is no resale ban, no redistribution ban, no ban on providing access to it and no requirement that the use be political. Campaign canvassing is lawful in Vermont for the simple reason that nothing in the law prohibits it, and the phrase for political purposes does not appear in Sec. 2154 at all. Vermont is sometimes described as a state that criminalises the use of its voter file. That is wrong. Title 17 contains no offence for obtaining or misusing the checklist. The only criminal exposure is ordinary perjury under 13 V.S.A. Sec. 2904, and it reaches exactly one person: someone who willfully lies on the affidavit they signed. A campaign that signs truthfully and then knocks doors has committed no offence at all. Which is precisely why the campaign, and not a software vendor, must be the affiant. A for-profit company swearing that it will not use a voter file for commercial purposes is the one arrangement in this whole area that could put somebody at risk, so we will never sign that form for you. You request the checklist from the Secretary of State, or from your municipal clerk for a municipal checklist, and you upload it. Set your expectations honestly about what arrives. Under Sec. 2154(b)(1) and 1 V.S.A. Sec. 317(c)(31), Vermont strips the month and day of birth, the driver's licence or non-driver ID number, the telephone number, the e-mail address and the last four digits of the Social Security number. You get names, addresses and voting history. That is enough to build turf, cut walk lists, score propensity off past participation and stop two volunteers knocking the same door, which is what Motion51 does. It is not enough to run a phone bank or an e-mail programme, and any vendor telling you otherwise about Vermont has not read the statute. One more note for 2026: Act 126 of 2026, signed on June 8 and effective on passage, extended the same affidavit to MUNICIPAL checklists, which are requested from the municipal clerk. The two substantive restrictions did not change.

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