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2024 Op. Vt. Att'y Gen. 1 (2024)

handle is hein.sag/sagvt2024 and id is 1 raw text is: CHARITY R. CLARK (802) 828-3171 ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OF VERMONT OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 109 STATE STREET MONTPELIER, VT 05609-1001 December 24, 2024 Honorable BetsyAnn Wrask Clerk of the Vermont House of Representatives Vermont State House 115 State Street Montpelier, VT 05633 Sent via email only: ;rwaskS e at Re: Requests to Judge Bennington-I House District Election Filed by Bruce Busa, Select Residents to the Town of Pownal, the Board of Civil Authority for the Town of Stamford, and the Board of Civil Authority for the Town of Readsboro Dear Ms. Wrask: Pursuant to 17 V.S.A. § 2605, this letter provides an opinion on the law and facts regarding four requests related to the election of a member of the Vermont House of Representatives. On November 23, 2024, the Secretary of State provided the Attorney General's Office with notice of a written request filed by candidate Bruce Busa seeking to invoke the constitutional authority of the House of Representatives to judge the elections and qualifications of its own members. Vt. Const. ch. II, §14;1 see also 17 V.S.A. § 2605(a). Mr. Busa's request is included as Attachment A. The Secretary of State also provided this Office with three subsequent written requests filed pursuant to 17 V.S.A. § 2605(a). First is a written request in the form of a petition by Pownal residents self-identified as the Pownal 45 that was submitted to the Secretary of State by Mr. Busa on November 28, 2024 (the Pownal 45), included as Attachment C.2 The Board of Civil Authority for the Town of Stamford also submitted a written request to the Secretary of State, dated November 21, 2024, and included as Attachment B. And 1 Chapter II, § 14 of the Vermont Constitution reads in part that [t]he Representatives so chosen... shall have power to... judge of the elections and qualifications of their own members.... 2 The request includes 29 signatures next to 29 of the 57 names listed as the people who live on the south side of Barber Pond Road, South Stream Road, and some residents of Moonrise Drive in Pownal. One of the 57 names is of an individual who has moved out of Pownal and the Bennington-1 House District. TEL: (0)8837