Conclusion

Looking at both federal and statewide elections, in 37% of all election years one or more races had a result less than a majority in Vermont. The fact that the state used to have runoff elections for at least some races, contributed to the reality that in most of these cases it is likely that the candidate preferred by most voters was ultimately elected. Vermont, however, no longer has runoffs.

The problem of plurality election rules has gone relatively unnoticed in modern time, first because of the hegemony of the Republican Party and most recently by the dominance of just two major parties. That reality, however, is now an anachronism. Recent presidential and state elections, with Perot-style and other independents have already returned us to the days of plurality rather than majority outcomes. Most importantly, the advent of campaign finance reform, with public financing, nearly assures there will be more than two credible candidates in many statewide elections. Quoting from an essay on the history of Vermont’s elections,

Each election brings to light new reasons to contest elections in Vermont, and we will never exhaust the possibilities, given the ingenuity of voters and the opportunities for conflict. The best we can do is strengthen the laws we have on elections, and on the critical steps that follow the casting of ballots in particular, so that Vermont elections will always be, in the words of the Constitution, "free and voluntary," and truly representative of the intent of the voters.