The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 17 : Elections

Chapter 035 : Offenses Against the Purity of Elections

Subchapter 006 : Voter Protections

• § 2045. Vote denial or dilution

  (a) No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by the State or any municipality in a manner that results in a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote based on race or color, membership in a language minority group, or having a disability as defined in 9 V.S.A. § 4501.

  (b) A violation of subsection (a) of this section is established if, on the basis of the totality of circumstances, it is shown that the political processes leading to nomination or election in the State or a municipality are not equally open to participation by members of a protected class in that its members have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political processes or to elect representatives of their choice. The extent to which members of a protected class have been elected to office in the State or municipality is one circumstance that may be considered.

  (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to establish a right to have members of a protected class elected in numbers equal to their proportion in the population.

  (d) As used in this section:

  (1) “Municipality” means a town, city, village, school district, or other political subdivision that holds public elections.

  (2) “Protected class” means a group of citizens protected from discrimination based on race or color, membership in a language minority group, or having a disability as defined in 9 V.S.A. § 4501. (Added 2025, No. 126 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. June 8, 2026.)