Australian Ballot and Town Meeting Day


This post addresses 2 specific questions related to voting by Australian ballot that were raised in the Fall 2023 Town Meeting survey:

  • What will happen to the community building that occurs during Town Meeting?

  • How can residents shape the Town budget?


Town Budget Informational Meetings

The DEI Committee invites you share your ideas for ways to build community AND make voting accessible to all residents. Many towns host hybrid informational meetings prior to voting to build community and understanding of the budget and public questions on the ballot. These are accessible events, that enable residents to attend via Zoom or in-person. For those who can attend in-person, there is food, information tables for community organizations and town committees, and opportunities to connect with neighbors. The Zoom option allows all Jericho residents to listen to the budget presentation and ask questions.

Williston, VT hosts a different type of Town Meeting that maintains some of the floor voting traditions. Those articles that enable that Town to conduct business (such as collecting taxes, authority to borrow money) are floor AND Zoom votes, while budget, town officers, and other public questions are Australian ballot votes. This way, budgetary decision-making is still accessible to all and some the Town Meeting Day traditions are preserved.

While these informational meetings do not allow residents to amend the budget, they do help residents plan for how they can more actively participate in the next budget development cycle.


How does Voting by Australian Ballot Change Public Participation?

Public participation in the Town's budget process is valuable. Voting by Australian ballot changes when participation takes place - it does not eliminate it! Residents can provide feedback and suggest changes during the budget development process. Budget development occurs during regular Select Board meetings. These meetings that are hybrid (via Zoom and in-person) and open to the public. More frequent and earlier budget discussions could be scheduled to encourage residents to contribute to these discussions.

In addition, residents can get public questions and budget articles on the Australian ballot for voting on Town Meeting day. While this requires planning to collect required signatures and meet public notice deadlines, it is a tool available to all to ask neighbors to vote on matters that are important you and are in the public interest.