Decision on Vermont's New Governor Tabled Until January

Author: Kelsey Rinehart

On Tuesday night, for the 21st time since 1777, no candidate in the governor or lieutenant governor's race acquired a majority of the vote. In accordance with the Vermont constitution, the Legislature will elect the governor and lieutenant governor by secret ballot at its first session on Jan. 9, 2003.
At press time, Republicans held 50 seats in the Legislature, with 46 seats held by Democrats and one by an independent.
For the first time in 10 years, there was no incumbent in the gubernatorial race. At press time, 42 percent of voters cast ballots for Democrat Doug Racine, who currently serves as lieutenant governor under Governor Howard Dean. Forty-five percent of the vote went to Republican candidate and state treasurer Jim Douglas. Independent Con Hogan, who acquired 10 percent of the vote, began his career in state government in 1972 as deputy commissioner of corrections and became secretary of Human Services in 1999. Hogan, who said he is "not a prisoner of a party," gained support from voters who were unimpressed with either Racine or Douglas.
Professor of Political Science and Secretary of the College Eric Davis said, "What we have that is so different this year is no polarizing candidate or polarizing issue." With no standout candidate in the race, voters went to the polls expecting to see the decision go to the state legislature, and with so many seats up for grabs, they felt pressured to "vote their party." One voter said, "I'm really frustrated. I wanted to vote for Con Hogan, but I had to vote practically instead of voting my conscience."
Vermonters have strong reactions to the Legislature's use of the secret ballot in electing the governor, lieutenant governor and treasurer. Many fear that the legislators' anonymity allows them to vote with impunity for their party's candidate. One Middlebury voter remarked, "[The legislators] will vote the way they want to vote, instead of respecting the popular vote." Another said, "I think [the law] is unconstitutional and horrendous. The governor should be chosen by the plurality, by the people." Others insist that the law is satisfactory, and want to maintain the constitutional stipulations. When asked how he felt about the law, one voter said, "Comfortable. It's better than a coup."
Governor Dean, wanting to preserve the new Legislature's integrity, said, "I'll call on every legislative candidate to pledge they'll reveal their ballot. I think we're owed that as Vermonters." Senator Peter F. Welch (D-Windsor), agreed. "The decision is going to be hyper-partisan, but at least it can be open," he said.
One possible solution is amending the state constitution. Davis noted, "The problem with a simple plurality rule is that if there are more than two strong candidates in the race, the winner could have a relatively small proportion of the vote. Should someone be able to win the governorship with, say, 35 percent of the vote?" Davis suggested a lowering of the ration necessary to win to 40 percent, as is done in Burlington's mayoral elections. He said, "If no one receives 40 percent, there is a runoff election two weeks later between the top two candidates. This alternative is easy for candidates and voters to understand. However, it could result in longer and more expensive campaigns."
The most recent candidate to be elected without a plurality was incumbent candidate for lieutenant governor Republican T. Garry Buckley, who in 1976 received 90 votes in the Legislature to beat his opponent, Democrat John Alden, who received 87.