Primary 2020: Vermonters vote in record numbers
A view from High Pastures Road in Pomfret, Vermont. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
As expected, Vermonters voted in record numbers during Tuesday's primary election that decided contested races for the governor and lieutenant governor nominations.
Over 157,000 people cast ballots in the primary on Tuesday, according to Vermont's unofficial statewide numbers. That shattered the 2018 primary's turnout of 120,000. The state had already shown signs of a record-setting night, with election workers counting a tidal wave of absentee ballots amid concerns about the pandemic.
Contested races were also a big factor in drawing many Vermonters to participate. On Tuesday, Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman won the Democratic contest for the state’s highest office. He’ll face a general election campaign against incumbent Gov. Phil Scott, who easily took the Republican nomination.
Molly Gray won the Democratic primary race for lieutenant governor, defeating three opponents including Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe. Gray now faces Republican Scott Milne in the general election that will be decided Nov. 3.
Other Tuesday primaries appeared to go smoothly as well. In keeping with the national trend, officials in Connecticut, Georgia, Minnesota and Wisconsin also had significant numbers of absentee ballots, but reported no major issues on Tuesday, according to The Washington Post.
Vermont doesn't have restrictions on who can vote absentee, but that's new to some states. For example, Connecticut gave all voters that option for the first time due to the pandemic. As of Monday, that state saw 300,000 absentee ballot requests.
“There’s no historical data to compare it to,” said Gabe Rosenberg, a spokesman for Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill, told the Washington Post. “Even if we did, it would be comparing apples to skyscrapers.”
In Vermont, 104,000 out of 152,000 requested absentee ballots had been returned as of Monday, according to NBC5 News. That's higher than the total number of people who voted in the state's 2018 primary — about 107,600.
— Gareth Henderson
