►
From YouTube: VT Secretary of State Forum - 9/26/2022
Description
Introduction - 00:00
Opening Statements - 1:10
Impact of Secretary of State - 4:32
Role of Secretary of State - 7:49
Citizenship - 11:23
Role - Democracy - 14:35
Democracy Under Threat - 17:28
Partisan Politics - 20:40
Complex Systems - 24:01
Closing Statements - 27:00
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A
Welcome
to
ongoing
general
election
coverage
by
town
meeting
television.
This
is
one
of
a
series
of
forums,
we're
bringing
you
in
advance
of
the
general
election
in
November,
talmading,
TV,
hosts
forums
with
all
candidates
and
covers
all
items
that
will
be
on
your
November
ballot,
town
meeting,
TV
election
forums,
introduce
you
to
community
decision
makers
and
the
issues
that
shape
your
local
community.
If
you're
watching
this
live,
we
welcome
your
questions
at
802-862-3966.
A
Watch
town
meeting
TV
on
Comcast
channel
1087,
Burlington,
Telecom,
Channel,
17
and
217,
as
well
as
online
at
youtube.com
town
meeting
TV
I'm
your
moderator
this
evening.
My
name
is
Christine
Lott
and
here
with
me,
are
candidates
for
Vermont
Secretary
of
State
I
have
H
Brooke,
page
and
representative
Sarah
Copeland
Kansas
good
evening
good
evening
I'm
going
to
ask
you
a
series
of
questions,
we'll
alternate
who
goes
first,
please
take
about
90
seconds
to
answer
and
why
don't
we
start
with
introductions,
though?
Can
I
start
with
you,
representative,
hansis,
absolutely.
B
With
intentional
misinformation
and
active
voter
suppression
going
on
in
other
parts
of
the
country
and
now
elections,
deniers
I
think
it's
time
that
we
really
focus
on
strengthening
democracy
and
in
order
to
do
that,
I
think
it's
important
to
help
vermonters
feel
more
confident
on
how
to
vote
and
on
who
they're
voting.
For
so
that's
why?
If
I'm
elected
Secretary
of
State
I
will
start
to
create
a
voter
guide
so
that
when
you
get
your
November
ballot
in
the
mail,
you'll
also
get
a
guide
a
listing
of
all
the
candidates.
C
This
is
not
my
first
time
to
the
rodeo
running
for
Secretary
of
State
and
I've
I've
run
in
the
past,
because
I
was
concerned
about
the
propriety
of
our
elections.
Up
until
recently,
my
main
concern
was
with
open
primaries,
which,
if
we
created
this
whole
basket
of
troubles
and
confusion
amongst
the
voters.
More
recently
now,
with
universal
vote
by
mail,
we
have
compounded
the
confusion.
The
many
people
are
now
confused
because
we
really
run
three
different
kinds
of
Elections:
the
presidential
election,
primary,
the
Statewide
primary
and
then
the
general
election.
C
Beyond
that.
The
secretary
of
state
is
also
responsible
for
the
office
of
Professional
Regulation,
which
has
become
a
outsized
monster.
That
is
creating
a
great
deal
of
troubles
for
businesses
and
and
contractors
here
in
the
state.
The
archives
is
in
disarray
and
it's
become
less
accessible,
especially
since
the
archives
took
over
the
State
Library,
which
was
in
Montpelier,
and
the
collection
has
been
divided.
C
C
A
C
I'm
going
to
be
repeating
myself
a
little
bit
here,
one
of
my
biggest
concerns
is
that
we
get
some
propriety
in
our
election
process.
It's
not
only
important
that
there's
no
cheating
or
nefarious
things
going
on,
but,
more
importantly,
that
people
understand
that
we
have
a
sound
and
fair
election
process.
Many
people
do
not
many
people
that
I
talk
to
are
so
discouraged
that
they
have
given
up
on
participating
in
in
politics
and
in
the
in
the
elections.
C
They
feel
the
whole
thing
is
rigged,
somehow
and
and
I'm
not
really
an
advocate
of
going
that
far
I
think
I
think
there
are
things
that
are
going
on
like
open
primaries,
where
there's
a
lot
of
intrigue
and
and
Democrats
sneaking
over
and
grabbing
Republican
ballots
to
try
to
Sully
the
Republicans
general
election
ballot
and
there's
some
on
the
other
side
too,
with
Republicans
and
far
less
Statewide
and
more
local.
So
my
greatest
desire
is
for
us
to
have
a
safe,
sound,
understandable
election
process
that
everybody
who
is
excited
about
participating
in.
B
So
under
Jim
condos
leadership,
we've
done
a
lot
of
work
to
make
sure
that
we
have
removed
barriers
to
people
being
able
to
vote.
I
can't
tell
you
how
many
times
over
18
years
running
for
my
house,
seat,
I
have
stood
out
on
Election
Day
and
had
somebody
come
out
really
frustrated
and
say:
I've
lived
here
for
seven
years
and
I
know
I'm
registered
to
vote
here,
but
they
turned
me
away,
and
so
I
was
really
pleased
to
support
not
only
same-day
voter
registration
so
that
I
could
say
to
that
person.
B
They
are
automatically
registered
to
vote
I'd
like
to
see
us
continue
to
expand
automatic
voter
registration,
because
there
are
lots
of
people
who
come
to
Vermont
who
want
to
participate
as
citizens
who
maybe
don't
intend
to
get
a
driver's
license,
in
which
case
I
think
we
should
have
other
avenues
of
automatically
registering
people
to
vote.
I've
been
really
proud
to
support
vote
by
mail.
B
We
did
it
in
2020
in
response
to
covid,
so
that
people
didn't
have
to
choose
between
their
own
safety
and
being
able
to
participate
in
our
Democratic
process
and
I'm
pleased
that
it
has
been
expanded
and
made
permanent
I
also
want
to
make
sure
that
going
forward.
We
bring
back
that
education
and
Outreach
position
that
used
to
exist
when
Deb
Markowitz
was
secretary
and
she
helped
to
create
materials
to
help
people
understand
how
government
works
and
how
elections
work.
A
B
You
know
I
think
the
the
biggest
tragedy
out
there
is
when
somebody
who
is
rightfully
should
be
allowed
to
vote
is
restricted
from
voting.
We
live
in
a
democracy
and
the
point
of
a
democracy
is
that
you
have
a
contest
of
ideas
and
if
your
ideas
are
popular
with
more
people,
you
will
get
elected
the
key
to
to
moving
forward
and
to
increasing
participation
in
democracy.
I
think
really
lies
in
helping
people
really
understand
how
democracy
works,
and
so
that
Civics
education
is
not
just.
B
Oh,
there
are
three
branches
of
government
and
the
legislative
branch
does
this,
and
the
judicial
branch
does
that
no
I
I
want
to
make
sure
that
when
we
do
this
education
and
Outreach
that
we're
doing
it
in
a
way
that
helps
people
understand,
how
do
you?
How
do
you
take
a
concern
or
a
problem
or
a
frustration
that
you
have
that
you're,
seeing?
Maybe
many
of
your
friends
have
as
well?
A
C
We
really
should
be
encouraging
last
minute
voting,
so
that
I
mean
the
closer
we
get
to
the
election
day.
The
better
informed
that
people
are
to
make
an
informed
decision
as
to
who
they
want
to
vote
for.
In
fact,
I've
been
involved
in
some
legal
wrangling
with
Jim
condos
and
all
of
this
early
voting
kind
of
goes
against
the
Vermont
Constitution.
The
Vermont
Constitution
specifically
says
that
election
day
is
the
first
Tuesday
after
the
first
Monday
in
November.
C
So
in
our
constitution,
we
have
enshrined
an
election
day
if
people
are
sending
in
their
ballots
early,
all
well
and
good,
but
they
should
have
an
opportunity
if
they've
made
a
mistake
to
cure
their
ballot,
to
go
to
the
town
clerk's
office
or
on
Election
Day,
go
to
the
polling
place
and
have
their
sealed
up
early
ballot
certificates
still
available,
and
if
they
realize
that
you
know
somebody
they
voted
for
is
a
little
bit
of
a
rascal.
That
they'd
have
the
opportunity
to
have
that
ballot.
C
I,
do
not
I
think
that
citizenship
is
a
privilege,
I
think
that,
just
like
so
many
other
things,
it
needs
to
be
earned.
It
needs
to
be,
you
know,
there's
a
process
and
it's
not
hard
to
become
a
citizen.
If
you
go
through
the
all
of
the
steps.
I
know,
I
I
am
a
docent
down
at
the
state
house
and
one
of
the
several
times
that
I've
been
there
when
one
of
the
judge,
federal
judges
from
up
here
in
Burlington
has
the
swearing-in
of
citizens
down
there
at
the
state
house.
C
It's
a
marvelous
thing
to
see
that
people
come
out
and
they're
beaming
with
pride
for
having
jumped
through
the
Hoops,
if
you
like,
or
going
through
all
the
steps
in
order
to
earn
their
citizenship,
and
so
you
know
things
that
are
too
easily
obtained
or
too
little
appreciated
and
I.
Think
that
you
know
everyone.
C
That's
here
legally
should
have
the
opportunity
to
become
a
citizen
but
I
think
those
who
have,
for
various
reasons
decided
not
to
become
a
citizen
or
certainly
welcome,
to
stay
with
us,
but
they
I
don't
know
if
they
should
be
able
to
have
the
opportunity
to
select
who
our
leaders
are.
The
leaders
of
the
citizens
of
the
state
or
of
the
nation.
Thank.
B
We
took
a
very
careful
look
at
that
proposed
Charter
change
that
is
within
the
bounds
of
what
a
municipality
might
ask
for.
We
took
a
lot
of
testimony
and
I
was
I,
was
really
impressed
with
a
lot
of
the
reasons
why
both
the
community
as
a
whole
and
individuals
who
are
not
yet
citizens
wanted
to
be
able
to
vote
in
their
local
elections.
B
There
are
often
times
Mr
page
says
it's
very
easy
to
become
a
citizen.
There
are
often
times
when
it
takes
several
years,
in
fact,
sometimes
many
years
for
somebody
to
become
a
citizen
of
the
United
States.
There
are
also
scenarios
in
which
someone
may
have
left
a
country
and
would
have
to
renounce
their
citizenship
there
in
order
to
become
a
United,
States
citizen,
and
they
may
still
be
in
the
process
of
choosing
whether
they
want
to
let
go
of
their
their
Birthright
citizens
citizenship
in
order
to
become
a
United
States
citizen.
B
So
we
asked
the
question:
is
it
legal
for
a
community
to
to
open
voting
on
local
matters?
To
people
who
are
not
citizens
but
who
are
permanent
residents
of
that
community
and
indeed
with
the
Constitutional
Scholars
we
talked
to
with
the
historians.
It
is
in
fact,
within
the
bounds
of
the
legislature,
to
grant
that
right
to
communities
who
want
to
enact
non-citizen
voting.
A
Thank
you
for
that.
A
little
background
on
the
where
we're
at
in
Vermont
on
that.
The
next
role
question
is
about
protecting
democracy,
something
that
has
already
come
up
in
your
intros,
so
our
clerks.
Do
you
believe
that
town
clerks
are
prepared
to
handle
potential
election
tampering
and
how
would
you
assist
with
our
clerks
in
the
state
we'll
start
with
you?
So.
B
I've
been
spending
a
lot
of
time
over
the
last
several
weeks.
Reviewing
some
of
the
processes
that
are
in
place
currently
in
the
Secretary
of
State's
office
and
and
I
have
been
really
pleased
to
see.
The
extent
to
which
the
current
office
has
regular
communication
with
our
local
clerks
and
I
feel
really
good
about
the
strength
of
our
local.
The
strength
of
the
of
our
elections,
based
on
how
our
local
clerks
are
administering
them.
A
C
A
C
The
the
game
has
kind
of
be
been
rigged
to
one
side,
if
you
like,
not
that
there's
any
tampering
with
the
ballots
or
anything,
but
that
the
media
is
overwhelmingly
favoring
the
more
Progressive
or
liberal
agenda
that
many
of
the
other
aspects
of
things
we've
seen
most
recently,
issues
with
the
FBI
apparently
taking
sides.
You
know,
okay,
to
talk
all
about
this
Russian
collusion
carrying
on,
but
God
forbid.
A
B
I
think
the
greatest
challenge
to
democracy
is
the
proliferation
of
misinformation
about
stolen
elections.
We
live
in
a
democracy
where,
if
your
ideas
are
popular
with
the
electorate,
you
will
be,
you
will
be
elected,
has
nothing
to
do
with
media
bias.
It
has
nothing
to
do
with
letting
those
people
vote
has
nothing
to
do
with
sloganeering
or
trickery.
B
B
This
really
callous
misinformation
about
stolen
elections,
because
when
people
believe
that
their
vote
doesn't
count
or
doesn't
matter,
it
makes
it
harder
for
them
to
want
to
participate,
which
is
why
I
will
come
back
to
my
education
and
Outreach
ideas,
because
I
think
it's
really
important
to
open
up
the
the
doors
so
to
speak,
and
let
people
understand
how
our
government
works,
and
this
is
how
we
know
that
your
vote
counts.
I've
participated
in
recounts
for
house
races
in
Vermont
that
were
decided
by
less
than
a
handful
of
votes.
B
I
have
looked
at
each
and
every
one
of
those
ballots
and
I
have
seen
that
each
and
every
one
of
those
ballots
really
did
matter
and
the
people
who
didn't
vote
could
have
swayed
it
one
way
or
the
other
and
I
think
that's
really
exciting
and
and
I
want
to
make
sure
that
everyone
out
there
understands
how
to
make
their
vote
count.
Thank.
A
A
B
So
I
think
it's
really
important,
because
at
the
end
of
the
day,
when
anybody
holds
a
position
in
public
office,
you
are
beholden
to
whoever
put
you
into
that
office
right.
So
if
you
want
a
Secretary
of
State
who
is
responsive
to
what
vermonters
want,
what
from
honors
think
what
vermonters
need,
then
we
should
elect
a
secretary
of
state.
There
are
other
places
where
the
Secretary
of
State
serves
at
the
pleasure
of
the
governor
or
at
the
pleasure
of
another
entity
in
in
the
state
government
that
appoints
them.
A
C
Think
not
just
the
Electoral
Secretary
of
State,
but
also
the
state
treasurer,
the
auditor
of
accounts
and
the
Attorney
General
are
really
ministerial
positions.
These
are,
you
know,
shouldn't
be
partisan
positions,
but
our
current,
a
group
of
folks
serving
those
positions,
are
somewhat
political
and
and
outspoken
in
politics.
I
know:
Mr
condos
has
made
specific
statements
about
various
National
figures
on
the
Republican
side
and
I.
Think
that's
not
a
good
thing.
C
That
I
know
to
clearly
not
be
true,
and
when
I'm
told
these
things,
you
know
I'm
always
the
first
to
speak
out
about
it.
You
know
and
and
so
information
as
Sarah
said,
education
of
the
young
folks
and
I
think
information
dissemination
about
Civics
and
about
how
our
election
system
work
is
the
best
tonic
for
for
curing
these
ills.
A
A
C
Thanks
I
I
think
that
the
various
individuals
who
serve
in
these
different
offices
need
to
stay
in
their
Lane.
Okay,
I
think
that
I
I
heard
Beth
Pierce
talking
all
about
social
justice
and
climate
and
Justice
and
all
of
this,
yet
that's
not
really
the
definition
of
her
job.
Likewise,
the
Secretary
of
State
basically
has
four
and
I
would
say
five
responsibilities
and
none
of
those
touched
dramatically
on
the
issues
that
you've
mentioned.
C
I
think
if
we
run
a
proper
election
so
that
the
people
can
hear
the
opinions
on
those
subjects
from
the
politicians,
then
the
Secretary
of
State,
if
he's
if
he
or
she,
is
able
to
run
a
safe
and
balanced
election.
That's
the
job,
likewise
office,
provincial
responsibility.
If
we
make
it
easy
for
people
to
conduct
business
in
the
state,
that's
the
job,
there's
other
problems
in
archives
and
things
like
that
and
the
Secretary
of
State
wears
many
hats.
And-
and
so
you
know,
it's
an
office.
C
A
B
B
C
If,
if
I
can
get
become
Secretary
of
State
and
straighten
out
the
troubles
that
are
in
elections
in
Office
Professional
response
regulation
in
archives,
renew
the
educational
function
of
the
Secretary
of
State's
job
in
two
years
or
maybe
four
years,
then
I
will
consider
that
I've
done
a
good
job
and
and
passed
the
Baton
on
to
someone
else.
Thank.