By Guy Page
The board responsible for maintaining the Burlington voter checklist has an opening for a member to a five-year post. The application deadline is 4:30 PM Wednesday.
The 12-person Board for Registration of Voters (BRV) currently has just one Republican, the city GOP committee is asking Burlington residents to apply.
The BRV meets monthly and staffs the “Voter Help” tables at polling places during elections, assisting residents whose registration issues prevent them from casting a ballot.
Members are appointed jointly by the City Council and the mayor. The position comes with a small stipend for attending monthly meetings and working on election days. Each term lasts five years. City official Sarah Montgomery staffs the board.
The Board of Registration of Voters is ground zero in the Queen City for learning about, and implementing city policy on, how elections are run, who is eligible to vote, and the impact of state and federal election law. For example, at its May 6 meeting (6 PM, first floor of City Hall), the board:
- Learned that there are currently 29,136 registered voters in Burlington. Out of these, 3,863 have a challenged status. In April, there were 117 new registrations, 97 voters were transferred toother Vermont towns, and 36 were removed from the checklist.
- Discussed the impact of the SAVE Act, federal legislation that would require voters to show proof of citizenship. The bill passed the U.S. House and is in the Senate. Montgomery noted that a a presidential executive order was signed that had similar contents to the SAVE act, but that “the Secretary of State has spoken out against that,” the minutes said. Progressive board member Jeanne Keller said the executive order had no basis in law, and another board member said the bill is unlikely to get the necessary 60 votes in the U.S. Senate.
- Discussed what to do about a War 1 election worker who admitted he no longer lives in Burlington. Montgomery said she checks election workers’ voter registration status (verifying they are registered to vote in Burlington) before they are recommended for appointment, but she does not specifically ask each election worker if they are still residing in Burlington. Attempts to raise the issue with the election worker appear to have been inconclusive, based on the minutes.
Applications for the open seat are due by 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20. Interested residents can apply online at burlingtonvt.gov/746/Current-Vacancies or by emailing completed forms to Lori Olberg at lolberg@burlingtonvt.gov.
More information about the BRV is available at burlingtonvt.gov/750/Board-for-Registration-of-Voters. The board’s chair, Grace Grundhauser, can also be reached at (802) 747-8577.
The following board members are listed on the board’s webpage on the city website.
| Board member | Ward | Term expires on | Party |
| Kevin R Lewis | 2 | 6/2030 | Independent |
| Grace Grundhauser | 3 | 6/2026 | Independent |
| Colleen Montgomery | 1 | 6/2029 | Democrat |
| – Vacant – | 0 | 6/2027 | – |
| Karen L Rowell | 4 | 6/2027 | Republican |
| Michelle J. Lefkowitz | 3 | 6/2026 | Progressive |
| Alison Harte | 6 | 6/2030 | Democrat |
| Lesley E Gendron | 4 | 6/2028 | Democrat |
| Anna C. Schneider | 2 | 6/2029 | Progressive |
| Lauren Ebersol | 3 | 6/2028 | Democrat |
| Jeanne Keller | 1 | 6/2027 | Progressive |
| Adam Karl Franz | 8 | 6/2030 | Progressive |
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