Board for Registration of Voters — Burlington, VT
Date: 2026-04-07
Time: 18:00

Board for Registration of Voters

 Tuesday, April 7, 2026, 6:00 PM,

Police Department Community Room, 1 North Ave, Burlington, VT, 05401 OR remotely via
 Zoom.




Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/93712437108
Meeting ID: 937 1243 7108
1. Call Meeting to Order

2. Agenda
  2.1. Motion to amend/adopt agenda

3. Announcements

4. Meeting Length
  4.1. Set Meeting Length

5. Adopt Minutes
  5.1. Motion to adopt previous meeting's minutes
 File Attachments
 1. Board for Registration of Voters Minutes Board for Registration of Voters Minutes.pdf

6. Public Forum

7. Clerk's Report

8. Approval of Voter Challenges

9. Election Day Review

10. Member Terms Ending in June

11. New Business

12. Adjournment
12.1. Motion to Adjourn

Board for Registration of Voters

 Tuesday, April 7, 2026, 6:00 PM,

Police Department Community Room, 1 North Ave, Burlington, VT, 05401 OR remotely via
 Zoom.




Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/93712437108
Meeting ID: 937 1243 7108
1. Call Meeting to Order

2. Agenda
  2.1. Motion to amend/adopt agenda

3. Announcements

4. Meeting Length
  4.1. Set Meeting Length

5. Adopt Minutes
  5.1. Motion to adopt previous meeting's minutes
 File Attachments
 1. Board for Registration of Voters Minutes Board for Registration of Voters Minutes.pdf

6. Public Forum

7. Clerk's Report

8. Approval of Voter Challenges

9. Election Day Review

10. Member Terms Ending in June

11. New Business

12. Adjournment


 Page 1 of 4
12.1. Motion to Adjourn




 Page 2 of 4
 BURLINGTON BOARD FOR REGISTRATION OF VOTERS
 POLICE DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY ROOM, 1 NORTH AVE, BURLINGTON, VT, 05401
 OR REMOTELY VIA ZOOM.

 MINUTES OF MEETING
 February 3, 2026

 1. Call Meeting to Order

 The meeting was called to order at 6:05.

 Board members in attendance: Lesley Gendron, Alison Harte, Adam Franz, Karen Rowell, Kevin Lewis,
 Colleen Montgomery, Jeanne Keller, Annie Schneider, and Youth Member Will Cunningham

 Board member absent: Grace Grundhauser, Michelle Lefkowitz, Lauren Ebersol, Janet Stambolian

 Also in attendance: Sarah Montgomery, Assistant City Clerk; Jeff Comstock


 2. Agenda
Karen Rowell made a motion to adopt the agenda. Seconded by Annie Schneider. Adopted unanimously.


 3. Meeting Length
The meeting was set to end at 7:00pm.


 4. Adopt Minutes
Jeanne Keller made a motion to adopt the minutes. Seconded by Kevin Lewis. Approved unanimously.

 5. Public Forum
Jeff Comstock, ward 7 resident, spoke about two election-related bills that have been introduced in the
legislature, H.670 and H.671. H.670 relates to voter ID requirements for Vermont, in relation to both in-person
and mail-in-ballots. H.671 relates to citizenship verification, which would start with the voter registration
process. He shared that, as someone with election official experience, his focus is on ID verification with
mailed ballots, since he feels that is where the greater risk is. He noted that, in his opinion, the current Vermont
election law does not fully support the board in effectively doing its work. He said that the two bills would
improve the quality of the voter eligibility checks and election integrity in Vermont. The other issue that he
would like addressed by the legislature is the current legal definition of residency. He mentioned the biennial
checklist review, and how only voters who have not voted within the past four years are reviewed. He said that
this is a concern, especially for student voters who may move within those 4 years. He said that between 2020
and 2025, the election team in ward 7 processed more than 13,000 mail-in ballots. Due to this, he believes that
the board should give some deference to the election officials who are processing these ballots.

Will Cunningham asked if there was a difference between the Vermont and federal definitions of residency. Jeff
Comstock replied that there is a difference, and in Vermont there are 3 or 4 legal definitions of residency; one
is specific to voting. He is concerned about these discrepancies. Will Cunningham asked for clarification on
what power he is suggesting the board should be entrusting to election officials, regarding voter registration.
 Page 3 of 4
Jeff answered that he is not requesting any additional authority, just that the board does not disregard the
concerns election officials express.

Kevin Lewis asked what evidence has been found that people are using the mail-in ballot system to commit
fraud. Jeff Comstock answered that there is no way to further investigate. Karen Rowell said that the system
the Secretary of State has in place does not allow for this verification. She said that in races that are very
close, this is especially important.

Annie Schneider proposed ending the discussion, so the board could move forward with the agenda.

 6. Clerk's Report
Sarah Montgomery reported that there are currently 29,397 registered voters. Out of the total voters, 5,026 are
currently challenged. In January: 162 voters newly registered, 39 voters were removed from the checklist, and
114 voters were transferred out of Burlington into other Vermont towns.

For the upcoming Annual City Election on March 3, 2026: Ballots are finalized, and sample ballots are on the
website. Absentee ballots will be mailed out to all active registered voters. This equals a total of 24,056 votes.
Voters who are challenged or who have not taken the voter's oath will not be automatically mailed a ballot.

 7. Annual City Election Prep
Colleen Montgomery reminded everyone about the pre-election training that will happen on Wednesday, 2/25,
at 5:00pm at City Hall.

Lesley Gendron looked at the volunteer list and noted that it looks like Lauren Ebersol is making progress.
Sarah Montgomery said Lauren will follow up with board members if she needs help.

Colleen Montgomery asked if everyone had been able to log into VEMS. Karen Rowell said she is still
struggling to get into the system, but will work with Tenzin to troubleshoot. Annie Schneider said she has not
received the activation information; Sarah will help troubleshoot.

Lesley Gendron said that she is working on an Election Day summary sheet, which she will share once it is
complete.

Jeanne Keller asked if it would be helpful to go through the flowchart as part of the pre-election training. Lesley
Gendron agreed and added that it would be helpful to go over specific scenarios, so the volunteers understand
what to expect.

Annie Schneider asked Will Cunningham if he was able to work the full day. He can work most of the day, and
Annie will find coverage for the remainder of the shift.

Alison Harte asked when the next election posting should go out, on Front Porch Forum as well as any other
recommended outlets or distribution lists, asking voters to check their voter registration if they haven't received
their ballot. Sarah Montgomery said that her office advises voters to check in if they have not received their
ballot by 2/18, so a similar timeline might make sense. Jeanne Keller asked if anyone had done any other
recent voter registration outreach. She asked if the League for Vermont Women Voters has been doing
registration in schools. Will Cunningham said it is tricky since most high school students aren't old enough to
vote yet, and often when they are eligible, they do so automatically through the DMV. Jeff Comstock asked
about tabling at UVM for a voter registration drive - he noted that the board had previously discussed this and
found that UVM would charge a $30 fee. Adam Franz said the fee applied to outside organizations tabling,
which the board is considered.

 8. New Business
No new business.

 9. Adjournment
At 6:47, Jeanne Keller made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Annie Schneider. Passed
unanimously.
 Page 4 of 4

MINUTES

 Board for Registration of Voters

 Tuesday, April 7, 2026, 6:00 PM,

Police Department Community Room, 1 North Ave, Burlington, VT, 05401 OR remotely via
 Zoom



 1. Call Meeting to Order

The meeting was called to order at 6:03pm by Chair, Grace Grundhauser.

Board members in attendance: Lesley Gendron, Alison Harte, Adam Franz, Karen Rowell, Kevin Lewis, Colleen
Montgomery, Jeanne Keller, Annie Schneider, Grace Grundhauser, Michelle Lefkowitz, Lauren Ebersol, Janet
Stambolian, and Youth Member Will Cunningham

Also in attendance: Sarah Montgomery, Assistant City Clerk


 2. Agenda

Jeanne Keller made a motion to adopt the agenda. Seconded by Lauren Ebersol. Passed unanimously.



 3. Announcements

There were no announcements.

 4. Meeting Length

The meeting was set to end at 7pm.

 5. Adopt Minutes

Jeanne Keller made a motion to adopt the minutes. Seconded by Kevin Lewis. Passed unanimously.

 6. Public Forum
No members of the public were present.

 7. Clerk's Report

Sarah Montgomery reported that there are currently 29,609 voters on the checklist. Out of this total number, 4,876
are currently challenged. In February, there were 208 voters added to the checklist, 32 voters removed from the
checklist, and 127 voters were transferred to other Vermont towns. In March, there were 330 voters were added to
the checklist, 23 voters were removed from the checklist, and 171 voters were transferred to other Vermont towns.

For the Annual City Election on March 3rd, 8,919 ballots were cast, which is equal to participation from 30.29% of
the total registered voters. Out of these votes, 3,433 were cast in person on Election Day, and 5,486 were cast via
absentee ballot. Out of the total cast by absentee ballot, 880 of those were received at the polling places on
Election Day. For comparison, for the 2025 Annual City Election, 9,823 ballots were cast, which was 33.93% of the
total registered voters at that time.

 8. Approval of Voter Challenges

The board reviewed the list of voters that Sarah Montgomery shared via email, which included a total of 1,767
voters, most of whom had Annual City Election ballots returned to the clerk's office as undeliverable. Jeanne Keller
stated that she knew a few people who were on the list due to selling their properties, and wondered if the board
should do voter outreach informing residents that selling their home may lead to their voter registration being
challenged. Grace Grundhauser added that it might be worth doing voter education around voter challenges in
general. Lesley Gendron noted that it could be a more broad announcement, letting voters know to check their
voter registration if they have changed their address. Annie Schneider asked if that was necessary, since voters
should know that if they move, they will need to update their registration, and also because same-day voter
registration is available if issues are not resolved before Election Day. Karen Rowell suggested also doing outreach
around the fact that folks will not receive a ballot automatically for the primary election. Lesley Gendron made a
motion to challenge all of the proposed voters. Seconded by Jeanne Keller. Passed unanimously.

 9. Election Day Review

Board members reported about items that stood out on Election Day.

Ward 1: Colleen Montgomery noted an issue with two Justices of the Peace coming in and inappropriately trying to
access voted absentee ballots. Colleen said she didn't see exactly what happened, but heard from the election
workers. Jeanne Keller asked what the consequences for election misconduct are. Adam Franz said that Google
indicates that a Justice of the Peace would need to be impeached by the legislature, since it is an elected state
position. Grace Grundhauser said the voters could also choose to elect different individuals.

Ward 2: Lauren Ebersol said that it was quiet — nothing major to report.

Ward 3: Michelle Lefkowitz said it was quiet until around 6:30, when she received an influx of voters.

Ward 4: Lesley Gendron said it was a good day in ward 4, which had high participation, but was quiet for BRV
work. She and Kevin Lewis came up with an idea about having a voting station for kids at the polling place, where
they could practice voting on items like ice cream vs. creemees. They shared the idea with the ward clerk, who was
excited about it.

Ward 5: Jeanne Keller said it was really quiet. Annie Schneider agreed and also noted that she heard from several
voters about inconsistent ballot mail delivery. For example, people who lived in the same household received their
ballots on different days, or one individual in the household received their ballot while another did not. She noted
that there were no issues with these voters' registrations. Will Cunningham said he heard a question about whether
someone could deliver another voter’s ballot to the poll; Grace explained that as long as the ballot is sealed inside
the signed absentee ballot envelope, it doesn’t matter who delivers it.

Ward 6: Alison Harte said it was quiet, but steady. Adam Franz, who agreed that it felt slow in the morning, said he
had a hard time finding the ward 6 entrance. Other members heard the same feedback from voters about the ward
6 entrance. Janet Stambolian asked if there might be a better way to make the old space at Edmunds Middle
School accessible for Election Days, and recommended doing so if possible. Alison Harte agreed.

Ward 7: Karen Rowell had an issue getting logged into the BRV computer. Other members agreed they had similar
issues with the logins on the computers. Karen said she had a really helpful volunteer working with her.

Ward 8: Grace Grundhauser had a very busy day – especially midday through to the end of the day. She
processed lots of address changes and social security number verifications. Janet Stambolian, who worked part of
her shift there, said she appreciated volunteering at a busy location.

Jeanne Keller suggested that, if there is board member capacity, it might be helpful to have 2 BRV members at the
busier polling places for future elections. Lesley Gendron said that a ward being busy isn’t necessarily correlated to
the amount of participation, so it would be helpful to look at the data summary sheets to help determine which
locations have the most volume at the BRV tables.

10. Member Terms Ending in June

Michelle Lefkowitz and Grace Grundhauser both have terms that are ending at the end of June. The deadline to
submit applications for these two seats is May 20th. Grace Grundhauser shared that she is considering not
reapplying.

Lesley Gendron suggested the board should start advertising the positions soon, through all our outreach methods.
Karen Rowell said it shouldn’t be advertised on Front Porch Forum at all, since per the board’s rules, only
Republicans should be appointed to these seats, and Republicans are not on Front Porch Forum.

Colleen Montgomery made a motion to extend the meeting by 5 minutes, so the discussion could continue. Janet
Stambolian seconded. Approved unanimously.

Grace Grundhauser stated that the board does not get to make any decisions regarding who is appointed to the
board; this is a decision that City Council will make.

Karen Rowell made a motion for the board to make a statement to the City Council about following the board’s
rules when it comes to party balance. Jeanne Keller asked for clarification on the motion. Grace Grundhauser
clarified that Karen Rowell is referring to the laws pertaining to the board. Lesley Gendron said that the website
says that no more than 6 members of the board can be from the same party. Karen Rowell said she would look at
the language. There was no second to the motion.

Lesley Gendron made a motion for Alison to draft communication about the vacancies, share with the board for
feedback, and then share it as broadly as possible to any suggested outlets. Seconded by Colleen Montgomery.
Discussion: Alison Harte asked if the intent was for the board to advertise for both vacancies, or just advertise if the
incumbents were choosing not to reapply. Grace Grundhauser said that the board would advertise both vacancies,
since they are open positions that anyone could be appointed to, not just incumbents. Alison Harte said she would
be happy to host a subcommittee meeting to discuss where else the communication should be posted, since she
hasn't had any luck posting anywhere other than Front Porch Forum. Jeanne Keller suggested the League of
Women Voters. Alison said she could also take recommendations via email. Motion approved unanimously.

Kevin Lewis said he would support advocating to City Council for a fairer appointment process in general — to
acknowledge Karen's feelings and also due to what he experienced when he was appointed, which did not feel like
an unbiased process. Lesley Gendron suggested formulating that at the next meeting, since there will be time to
pass along that communication to City Council prior to the appointments. Grace will add this to the May agenda.


 10. New Business

No new business.

 11. Adjournment

Kevin Lewis made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Lauren Ebersol. Approved unanimously.