By Kolby R. LaMarche

The Vermont Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week on a lawsuit challenging Burlington’s policy allowing non-U.S. citizens to vote in local elections, including school budget votes. No ruling has been issued as of today.

The case, Morin v. City of Burlington, was originally filed in June 2024 by the Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE), a conservative nonprofit. 

It represents two U.S. citizen voters, Michele Morin and Karen Rowell, with attorneys Brady Toensing (lead), Patrick Strawbridge, and James Hasson from Consovoy McCarthy PLLC. Rowell is on the city’s Board of Voter Registration, serving as its lone Republican member.  

The suit targets Burlington’s March 2023 charter amendment, approved by 68% of voters, which permits noncitizen residents over the age of 18 to vote on Town Meeting Day, in city council, mayoral, and school district elections.

Burlington, with 44,000 residents, has about 10% foreign-born population, including refugees and green card holders. The policy applies to roughly 1,500 eligible noncitizens. It covers municipal matters like zoning and budgets but not state or federal elections.

Plaintiffs argue the policy violates Chapter II, Section 42 of the Vermont Constitution, which states: “Every person… who is a citizen of the United States… shall be entitled to all the privileges of a voter of this state.” 

They claim school budgets count as “matters that concern the State of Vermont” because local votes set spending levels funded by the statewide Education Fund, which draws from property taxes across the state.

Burlington’s attorney, Erik Ramakrishnan, disputes this, saying local voters only approve spending amounts and the state legislature controls the funding formula and tax impacts. 

In February 2025, Chittenden County Superior Court Judge John W. Hoar dismissed the case. 

He ruled it a facial challenge without evidence of harm and followed the 2023 Vermont Supreme Court decision in Ferry v. City of Montpelier. That case upheld Montpelier’s noncitizen voting for local elections, finding the constitution’s citizenship rule applies only to statewide matters.

RITE appealed in April 2025, arguing the dismissal was incorrect because Burlington includes school votes, unlike Montpelier’s limited policy. Tim Murtaugh, RITE spokesperson, said: “Vermont’s Constitution is clear: when it comes to votes concerning state matters, only U.S. citizens have the right to decide.”

Vermont has three towns with noncitizen voting: Montpelier (since 2018, local elections only), Winooski (since 2021, includes school budgets), and Burlington. 

The legislature approved all changes after voter referendums. Republican Gov. Phil Scott vetoed Burlington’s in 2023, but the legislature overrode it.

Nationwide, about a dozen localities allow limited noncitizen voting, including San Francisco and Takoma Park, Md. Seven states ban it outright. No evidence of noncitizen voting fraud in Burlington has been reported.

Florida enforces some of the nation’s toughest limits on noncitizen voting. A 2020 constitutional amendment clarified that “only U.S. citizens” may vote. 

Under Florida law, noncitizen voting—or helping a noncitizen vote—is a third-degree felony. 

In 2023, S.B 7050 expanded restrictions by banning noncitizens, including legal residents, from volunteering or working for voter-registration groups, with fines up to $50,000 per violation. 

Civil rights groups sued, and a federal court struck down parts of the law in May of 2024. State officials maintain the measures protect election integrity, while critics say it suppresses lawful civic engagement.

If upheld in Vermont, the policy would stand for the March 2026 Town Meeting Day. 

BDN will follow this story.