Governor Jim Douglas has vetoed two elections bills, one that would have
allowed instant runoff voting and another that would have clarified the
rules around campaign finances. Host Bob Kinzel talks with Vermont’s
chief elections officer Secretary of State Deb Markowitz about the
implications of these vetoes for the November elections. We also hear
Markowitz’s take on a few national elections issues, including how some
delegates in the Democratic primary will be seated, and a court ruling that
allows states to require IDs of voters.
Also in the program, VPR’s Ross Sneyd analyzes the top stories this
week, including a housing bill that was signed into law and Progressive
Anthony Pollina’s political aspirations. And we listen back to some of
the voices in the week’s news.
Comments from listeners about this program:
Bruce from South Burlington:
I believe there is a need to make serious changes to campaign financing. Elected candidates are supposed to represent the people in their district/state, not the interests of others.
1. No individual should be allowed to donate to a candidate if they will not be represented by the candidate.
2. If an entity has no income (or donations for PACs) from a district, they should not be influencing the election and should not be allowed to donate in the district.
3. If an entity has a presence in a district, their donations in the district should be restricted to a percentage of all their donations in any district/state, etc based on the percentage of their income obtained from the district that will be represented by the candidate. For instance if an entity has income of $1000 in district A, income of $100,000 in all its operating areas, the max they can donate to all candidates in district A should be 1 percent of the total amount of donations to candidates in all its operating areas.
4. PACS should not be allowed to donate more money in a district than the total amount of money raised in that district.
The Electoral College absolutely should be dismantled. For primaries: No delegates, no ‘winner take all’ or delegates based on percentage of votes. We have the technology to support ‘one person, one vote’. We don’t need to filter or summarize it. Let the people decide.