# Vermont H.78: An act relating to the use of the Australian ballot system in local elections

Vermont H.78, An act relating to the use of the Australian ballot system in local elections, is a 2025-2026 Session House bill sponsored by no sponsor on record; status signed, last action 2025-02-21 (House message: Governor approved bill on February 13, 2025) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H78-2026
- As of: 2026-11-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Vermont H.78
- State: Vermont
- Session: 2025-2026 Session
- Title: An act relating to the use of the Australian ballot system in local elections
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2025-01-23
- Last action: 2025-02-21, House message: Governor approved bill on February 13, 2025
- Sponsors: no sponsor on record
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Vermont voters keep their chosen ballot system: benefit, low. Effective February 13, 2025, Vermont municipalities can choose Australian ballots for some or all local officers. Once adopted, that system stays in place for those officers until voters vote to end it. The ballot question must name the municipality and ask about either specified officers or all mu…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- (none)

## Actions (22)

- 2025-02-21: House message: Governor approved bill on February 13, 2025 (House)
- 2025-02-13: Signed by Governor on February 13, 2025 (House)
- 2025-02-07: Delivered to Governor on February 7, 2025 (House)
- 2025-02-06: Senate Message: Passed in concurrence (Senate)
- 2025-02-06: Rules suspended & action messaged to House forthwith, on motion of Senator Baruth (Senate)
- 2025-02-06: Read 3rd time & passed in concurrence (Senate)
- 2025-02-06: Rules suspended & bill placed on all remaining stages of passage, on motion of Senator Baruth (Senate)
- 2025-02-06: Reported favorably by Senator Collamore for Committee on Government Operations, read 2nd time and 3rd reading ordered (Senate)
- 2025-02-06: Favorable report by Committee on Government Operations (Senate)
- 2025-02-06: New Business/Second Reading (Senate)
- 2025-02-05: Favorable report by Committee on Government Operations (Senate)
- 2025-02-05: Second Reading (Senate)
- 2025-02-05: Entered on Notice Calendar (Senate)
- 2025-01-30: Read 1st time & referred to Committee on Government Operations (Senate)
- 2025-01-29: Rules suspended and bill messaged forthwith to the Senate as moved by Rep. McCoy of Poultney (House)
- 2025-01-29: Read third time and passed (House)
- 2025-01-29: Action Calendar: Third Reading (House)
- 2025-01-28: Third Reading ordered (House)
- 2025-01-28: Rep. Birong of Vergennes spoke for the Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs (House)
- 2025-01-28: Read second time (House)
- 2025-01-28: Action Calendar: Committee bill for second reading (House)
- 2025-01-23: Committee bill read the first time and placed on Notice Calendar of 1/24/2025 (House)

## Bill text

- As Enacted (ACT 1)Opens in a new window, 2025-02-18: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/ACTS/ACT001/ACT001%20As%20Enacted.pdf)
- As Passed by Both Chambers, 2025-02-06: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0078/H-0078 As Passed by Both House and Senate Official.pdf)
- As Passed by Both Chambers (Unofficial), 2025-02-06: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0078/H-0078 As Passed by Both House and Senate Unofficial.pdf)
- As Passed by the House, 2025-01-30: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0078/H-0078 As passed by the House Official.pdf)
- As Passed by the House (Unofficial), 2025-01-30: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0078/H-0078 As Passed by the House Unofficial.pdf)
- As Introduced, 2025-01-23: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0078/H-0078 As Introduced.pdf)

## Related bills

- S.327: An act relating to economic development (signed)
- S.328: An act relating to housing and common interest communities (signed)
- S.323: An act relating to miscellaneous agricultural subjects (signed)
- S.326: An act relating to miscellaneous amendments to laws relating to motor vehicles (signed)
- S.313: An act relating to transforming Vermont’s career technical education system (signed)
- S.298: An act relating to voter protections (signed)

## Sources
- [As Enacted (ACT 1)Opens in a new window (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/ACTS/ACT001/ACT001%20As%20Enacted.pdf)
- [As Passed by Both Chambers (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0078/H-0078 As Passed by Both House and Senate Official.pdf)
- [As Passed by Both Chambers (Unofficial) (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0078/H-0078 As Passed by Both House and Senate Unofficial.pdf)
- [As Passed by the House (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0078/H-0078 As passed by the House Official.pdf)
- [As Passed by the House (Unofficial) (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0078/H-0078 As Passed by the House Unofficial.pdf)
- [As Introduced (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0078/H-0078 As Introduced.pdf)

## Related
- [S.327: An act relating to economic development](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-S327-2026)
- [S.328: An act relating to housing and common interest communities](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-S328-2026)
- [S.323: An act relating to miscellaneous agricultural subjects](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-S323-2026)
- [S.326: An act relating to miscellaneous amendments to laws relating to motor vehicles](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-S326-2026)
- [S.313: An act relating to transforming Vermont’s career technical education system](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-S313-2026)
- [S.298: An act relating to voter protections](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-S298-2026)
- [Vermont bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/vermont/bills)
- [Vermont state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/vermont)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H78-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).