Board for Registration of Voters — Burlington, VT
Date: 2025-12-02
Time: 18:00

Board for Registration of Voters

 Tuesday, December 2, 2025, 6:00 PM,

 City Hall, 1st Floor Conference Room, 149 Church Street, 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 Flowchart Review

10. New Business

11. Adjournment
 11.1. Motion to Adjourn

Board for Registration of Voters

 Tuesday, December 2, 2025, 6:00 PM,

 City Hall, 1st Floor Conference Room, 149 Church Street, 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 Flowchart Review

10. New Business

11. Adjournment
 11.1. Motion to Adjourn


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 BURLINGTON BOARD FOR REGISTRATION OF VOTERS
CITY HALL, 1ST FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM, 149 CHURCH STREET, BURLINGTON, VT,
 05401 OR REMOTELY VIA ZOOM.

 MINUTES OF MEETING
 November 4, 2025




1. Call Meeting to Order
1. Call Meeting to Order
The meeting was called to order by Chair Grace Grundhauser at 6:00pm.

In Attendance: Grace Grundhauser, Kevin Lewis, Adam Franz, Karen Rowell, Colleen Montgomery, Lauren
Ebersol, Lesley Gendron, Alison Harte, Annie Schneider, Youth Member Will Cunningham

Absent: Jeanne Keller, Janet Stambolian, Michelle Lefkowitz

Also Present: Sarah Montgomery, Assistant City Clerk

2. Agenda
2. Agenda

2.1. Motion to amend/adopt agenda
2.1. Motion to amend/adopt agenda
Lesley Gendron made a motion to adopt the agenda. Seconded by Kevin Lewis. Approved unanimously.


3. Announcements
3. Announcements
There were no announcements.

4. Meeting Length
4. Meeting Length

4.1. Set Meeting Length
4.1. Set Meeting Length
The meeting length was set to one hour.


5. Adopt Minutes
5. Adopt Minutes

5.1. Motion to adopt previous meeting's minutes
File Attachments
1. BRV Minutes 10/7/25 BRV Minutes 10/7/25.pdf

5.1. Motion to adopt previous meeting's minutes




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Colleen Montgomery made a motion to adopt the minutes. Seconded by Lesley Gendron. Approved
unanimously.


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

7. Clerk's Report
7. Clerk's Report
Sarah Montgomery reported that there are currently 29,270 registered voters in Burlington. Out of those,
5,084 are currently challenged. In October: 200 new voters registered, 40 were purged, and 117 were
transferred from Burlington into other Vermont towns.

8. Approval of Voter Challenges
8. Approval of Voter Challenges
Alison Harte made a motion to approve the proposed challenges. Seconded by Lauren Ebersol. Approved
unanimously.

9. Board Member Expectations
9. Board Member Expectations

9.1. Rules and Procedures for the Board for the Registration of Voters
File Attachments
1. BRV Rules and Procedures - DRAFT BRV Rules and Procedures - DRAFT.docx

9.1. Rules and Procedures for the Board for the Registration of Voters
Grace Grundhauser shared the updated draft of the board's rules and procedures, noting that this will be the
third time the board discusses these changes. She highlighted the proposed changes from last month's
version, which included revisions to election day attendance requirements and automating the process in
which absences exceeding the threshold would be added to a meeting agenda.
Grace Grundhauser noted that once the agenda is approved, a board member can always make a motion to
remove the item from the agenda, which could be done by the vote of a simple majority of the board.

Alison Harte noted that a previous member was unable to work election days because her employer would
not give her the day off, and she wondered if these added attendance requirements might prevent great
board members from joining the board. She said this is something potential applicants would need to
consider. Lauren Ebersol noted that the proposed process would allow board members to defend their
position during the meeting discussion where the absences were addressed. Will Cunningham highlighted
that the current language requires all members to attend every election, which is a change from the current
practice. Colleen Montgomery noted that if there are more members trained and available than there are
polling places, shorter shifts could be worked, which might accommodate board members who can't work a
full day, due to work or other obligations.

Karen Rowell asked if, under the membership section, the language could state a minimum of 12 members,
to allow for greater political representation, since this is something that is being pursued. Colleen
Montgomery and Grace Grundhauser noted that it likely couldn't be changed because that language is
derived from the City Charter. Lesley Gendron wondered if that language would only need to be amended if
action was taken to increase the board size. Alison Harte asked what the process would be for a charter
change. Grace Grundhauser stated that it would need to be approved by the voters. Colleen Montgomery
noted that the city charter reference on the website states that there can not be more than six members
from the same political party on the board. Karen asked what the current political make-up of the board
currently is. Lesley Gendron shared the members' party affiliations that are listed on the website.

Alison Harte asked if the same individual needed to cover the full 12 hours at each polling place; Grace
Grundhauser answered no. Grace Grundhauser also brought up the idea of members rotating wards for
different elections, rather than each member always working at the same polling place. Lesley Gendron




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agreed that there could be some benefits to that, but noted that it is also important to have stability and
experience within wards.

Lesley Gendon said she thought the discussion about member availability at polling places was getting too in
the weeds, since there are always new incoming members who have varying levels of experience, and the
number of trained and available members always fluctuates. Lauren Ebersol noted the framework in the
procedure can always be updated as the board learns what might not be working.

Kevin Lewis called the question to approve the proposed changes as written.

Kevin Lewis made a motion to adopt the proposed changes. Seconded by Karen Rowell. Approved
unanimously.


10. New Business
10. New Business
Lesley Gendron noted that she will be making some updates to the election day process flowchart and will
share the revised version with the board. She also proposed adding VEMS training to a future agenda once
the flowchart is updated. Lesley will also look at the written scenarios and see if any of them need updates
due to the new system.

11. Adjournment
11. Adjournment

11.1. Motion to Adjourn
11.1. Motion to Adjourn
Lesley Gendron made a motion to adjourn. Seconded to Lauren Ebersol. Passed unanimously. The meeting
was adjourned at 6:35pm.




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BURLINGTON BOARD FOR REGISTRATION OF VOTERS
CITY HALL, 1ST FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM, 149 CHURCH STREET, BURLINGTON, VT,
 05401 OR REMOTELY VIA ZOOM.

 MINUTES OF MEETING
 December 2, 2025




1. Call Meeting to Order
1. Call Meeting to Order
Meeting called to order by Chair Grace Grundhauser at 6:03pm

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

Also present: Sarah Montgomery, Assistant City Clerk


2. Agenda
2. Agenda

2.1. Motion to amend/adopt agenda
2.1. Motion to amend/adopt agenda
Agenda approved unanimously.


3. Announcements
3. Announcements
No announcements.

4. Meeting Length
4. Meeting Length

4.1. Set Meeting Length
4.1. Set Meeting Length
The meeting length was set to one hour.


5. Adopt Minutes
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

5.1. Motion to adopt previous meeting's minutes
Colleen Montgomery made a motion to adopt the minutes from the November meeting. Seconded by Karen
Rowell. Passed unanimously.


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

7. Clerk's Report
7. Clerk's Report
Sarah Montgomery reported that there are currently 29,309 registered voters in Burlington. Out of this total,
5,072 are currently challenged. In November, 128 new voters registered, 90 voters were transferred out of
Burlington into other Vermont towns, and 27 voters were removed from the checklist. Janet Stambolian
asked what happens when a voter is challenged. Sarah Montgomery answered that once challenged, a voter
is sent a letter alerting them and requesting their response. The voter can either respond by saying that they
are no longer eligible to vote in Burlington and would like to be removed from the checklist, they still live at
the same address in Burlington and would like to be reactivated, or they have moved to a different address
in Burlington and would like to update their address and be reactivated. If a voter does not respond to the
challenge, they remain on the checklist for two General Elections, after which the board can vote to remove
them.

8. Approval of Voter Challenges
8. Approval of Voter Challenges
The board reviewed the proposed challenges they received from the Clerk's office. Jeanne Keller made a
motion to approve the challenges. Seconded by Michelle Lefkowitz. Approved unanimously.

9. Election Day Flowchart Review
9. Election Day Flowchart Review
Lesley Gendron shared the election day flowchart — a visual guide to the processes and forms used to help
resolve voter issues on election days. She walked the board through the processes laid out in the flowchart.
Lesley will share the flowchart with the board. Grace Grundhauser noted that, for newer members, the whole
flow chart might feel overwhelming, but that it will make more sense once they have election day
experience.

Kevin Lewis asked if there are wards where there are more voter challenges where it would be beneficial to
train getting more hands-on experience. Lesley Gendron said that there are wards that have a higher
percentage of address changes. Grace Grundhauser made a note that the voters who are challenged on
election day are the same individuals that the board has voted to challenge.

Jeanne Keller shared her appreciation for Lesley Gendron creating the flowcharts.

Grace Grundhauser suggested that it might be helpful to, as the first step in the proposed flowchart process,
look up the voter's address and look them up in VEMs at the same time. Other members noted that this is a
good idea, but may be difficult if they have several voters waiting for help. Annie Schneider suggested that
she always starts helping a voter by looking up their address to ensure they are in the correct ward. Jeanne
Keller noted that some wards are doing a thorough screening at the door to ensure they are in the correct
ward. Lauren Ebersol shared that even with greeters helping voters at the entrance, some voters come
through who are in the wrong ward, so it is always worth checking the address to confirm.

Grace Grundhauser noted that all new members will ideally train for two elections prior to working solo.




10. New Business
10. New Business
Grace Grundhauser asked board members to think about how they would like to spend the next two
meetings preparing for the March election. She asked if fully trained members are interested in splitting
shifts between multiple wards or spending the whole day at a single location as they have in the past. Lesley
Gendron asked who is fully trained and ready to work solo; she noted that there may not be enough
coverage to split shifts. Annie Schneider noted that, if possible, she would like to start her day at noon, but
she can work the full day if needed. Members expressed their ward preferences. Janet Stambolian asked how
the training shifts work; Grace Grundhauser shared that trainees usually rotate between three wards
throughout the day, but noted that some newer members haven't found that the best way to learn. Grace
asked the new members if they preferred to rotate between wards. Janet Stambolian noted a preference for
staying in one ward. Jeanne Keller said it is helpful to see multiple wards because each polling place is run
differently. Janet amended that she would be open to splitting her day between two polling places. Adam
Franz said he preferred rotating through multiple wards. Kevin Lewis has no preference. Grace Grundhauser
will draft a schedule for coverage. Everyone is available and able to work. Grace also asked members to save
the date for the pre-election volunteer training, which will either be the Wednesday or Thursday evening
prior to the election.

In the January meeting, Lauren Ebersol will ask members to help with volunteer recruitment for the March
election.

Grace Grundhauser proposed doing an election work refresher at the next meeting. She asked if anything
else should be discussed at the next meeting.

Adam Franz said that UVM requested a $30 fee to table there for a voter registration drive. Annie Schneider
asked if there is a UVM club that would sponsor the registration drive. Adam will look into it and circle back.




11. Adjournment
11. Adjournment

11.1. Motion to Adjourn
11.1. Motion to Adjourn
Karen Rowell made a motion to adjourn. Seconded by Jeanne Keller. Approved unanimously.