Board for Registration of Voters

Regular Meeting

Burlington, VT · May 5, 2026

Minutes

BURLINGTON BOARD FOR REGISTRATION OF VOTERS POLICE DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY ROOM, 1 NORTH AVE, BURLINGTON, VT, 05401 OR REMOTELY VIA ZOOM. MINUTES OF MEETING May 5, 2026 1. Call Meeting to Order Members in attendance: Annie Schneider, Alison Harte, Karen Rowell, Colleen Montgomery, Michelle Lefkowitz, Janet Stambolian, Jeanne Keller, Grace Grundhauser, Kevin Lewis, Lauren Ebersol, Lesley Gendron, Adam Franz, Youth Member Will Cunningham Also present: Sarah Montgomery, Assistant City Clerk 1. Agenda Karen Rowell made a motion to adopt the agenda. Seconded by Kevin Lewis. Passed unanimously. 2. Announcements Annie Schneider said she would be unable to work on Election Day in August. 3. Meeting Length The meeting was set to end at 7:00. 4. Adopt Minutes Jeanne Keller made a motion to adopt the minutes. Seconded by Colleen Montgomery. Passed unanimously. 5. Public Forum Jill Lesh from the VT League of Women Voters said she was joining to observe. Melo Grant spoke about the meeting location, stating that when she was on the Police Commission they had heard from community members about not feeling comfortable meeting at the Police station. She suggested the board consider an alternate meeting location. 6. Clerk's Report Sarah Montgomery reported 29,603 currently registered voters. Out of that total number, 6,548 are challenged. In April, there were 123 new registrations, 29 voters were removed from the checklist, and 108 voters were transferred to other Vermont towns. 7. Approval of Voter Challenges The board reviewed the proposed challenge list, which contained 26 voters. Lesley Gendron made a motion to approve. Seconded by Annie Schneider. Approved unanimously. 8. Political Composition of the Board and Litigation Status Prior to the meeting, Grace Grundhauser shared a brief comment from the City attorney’s office with the board via email, which gave a status update on the pending litigation against the City regarding the composition of the BRV. The statement explained that litigation is still pending and the court will make a ruling, which will determine the correct interpretation of the city charter. Will Cunningham offered to share a summary of the two sides of the litigation. Jeanne Keller questioned whether it was appropriate to have this discussion since the litigation is still pending, and the ruling will be coming from the court through the City Council to this board. She added that she doesn’t think it is the role of board members to be interpreting the litigation, or trying to influence each other’s opinions. Karen Rowell said she finds it disheartening that the City is fighting to keep Republicans off of the board. Jeanne Keller made a motion to table the discussion about the litigation. Seconded by Janet Stambolian. Vote called. Yes: Janet Stambolian, Jeanne Keller, Michelle Lefkowitz No: Kevin Lewis, Lesley Gendron, Lauren Ebersol, Karen Rowell, Alison Harte, Annie Schneider Abstain: Grace Grundhauser, Colleen Montgomery, Adam Franz Motion to table failed. Will Cunningham clarified that his intent was just to be informative since this case does pertain to the board, not to try to persuade one way or the other. Lauren Ebersol asked if the attorney’s office expected a ruling to happen prior to the appointments. Grace Grundhauser answered that it is unclear when the ruling will come out. Jeanne Keller commented that it seems like depending on how the judge rules, the situation could be rectified in favor of the ruling. Alison Harte suggested that Will could share the summary via email, and board members could read it for their information. Annie Schneider supported allowing Will to speak. Lauren Ebersol noted that it is important to understand the situation since it will have ramifications on the board, especially in advance of the August election. Will Cunningham summarized the litigation, explaining the City’s defense, and well as the argument of the plaintiffs. Annie Schneider asked what would happen if the current two members, who are currently serving as chair and vice-chair, are not reappointed. She noted that this would mean a loss of a significant amount of institutional knowledge. Grace Grundhauser noted that she is likely not reapplying. Annie Schneider suggested moving onto the next agenda item. Councilor Melo Grant noted that it was important to have qualified candidates who will support voters’ rights, regardless of their political party. Members called for a point of order since this portion of the meeting was not open to members of the public. 9. Communication to City Council re: Board Member Appointments Kevin Lewis had drafted a communication to City Council after conversations last meeting, which Grace shared with the board via email prior to the meeting. Karen Rowell appreciated the draft communication and commented on how well written and thoughtful it is. She suggested adding a statistic that indicates how many Burlington residents voted for a Republic in a recent election, to show the political representation of Burlington voters. Kevin Lewis responded that the communication was drafted with the spirit of collaboration. He would hesitate to add language that would encourage them to consider specific parties. Lauren Ebersol said she thinks it could be helpful to highlight the tri-partisan representation of the state, rather than explicitly listing percentages, since there is no party registration in VT. Jeanne Keller noted that she felt adding a statistic would make it feel like the board was giving the City Council a quota to fill, and thinks the language would make it seem like the board was supporting one side of the litigation. Karen Rowell said she was interested in adding that language due to the make-up and attitude of the council, but is open to it moving forward without that specific language. She would like collaboration, but feels like with the current make-up of the board, her perspective is often dismissed. She said that having only one Republican on the board does not represent the make- up of the city. Janet Stambolian stated the City Councilors are aware of the existing issues, so the intent of the communication should be clear without adding in specifics. Will Cunningham asked what members thought of Lauren’s compromise, which was to exclude specific data, but including an acknowledgement that Burlington residents are represented at multiple levels of government by tri-partisan government. Colleen Montgomery noted that there are four parties in Vermont. She disagreed with adding the specific percentages or language speaking to the specific parties and supported the document as drafted. Annie Schneider said she appreciated the letter, but is unsure if there will be any impact in sending it. Alison Harte said the letter was fair and well written. She asked if the intent was for the board to make a motion to send the letter tonight, or at the next meeting. Adam Franz suggested adopting the letter as drafted. He noted that he disagrees with a lot of what Republicans are trying to do with voting, but does agree that he would be uncomfortable with being the only person of his party on the board. Lauren Ebersol made a motion to extend the meeting by 10 minutes. Seconded by Colleen Montgomery. Passed unanimously. Jeanne Keller said she would vote against sending the letter to the City Council. She noted that it is valid to discuss this among the board, but is wary of sending this communication and it being published on the news, further exacerbating the situation. Janet Stambolian said the board does represent different parties, but they are also meant to represent all of the residents are Burlington. Due to this she does not feel like it is the role of the board to step into a political role. Grace Grundhauser noted that the board members are not elected officials, they are appointed, so they are chosen by the city councilors, rather than the voters. Alison Harte said she does not see the communication as political, or as telling the City Council how to do their job. The communication is asking for a fair and unbiased appointment process. She asked if it might make sense to have members who agree with the letter sign it individually, rather than it coming from the whole board, if the whole board does not support it. Colleen Montgomery said the letter would not have been written if the board did not have an issue with how the appointments are made. Kevin Lewis added that he suggested this letter after hearing Karen’s perspective, but also due to the partisan process he went through when he was appointed. He said that if a councilor feels criticized by the letter, it could be an opportunity for them to reflect on the process. He noted that the letter highlights cooperation and transparency. Annie Schneider said that the partisan appointment process is how appointments are, and have always been, made. If that is the issue the board is trying to address, that is what should be explicitly said in the letter. Lauren Ebersol said the board is appointed with their parties listed, so in part at least, it is by nature a partisan process. Karen Rowell noted that the City is fighting against having Republicans on the board, and thinks the letter would help by sending a strong message. Jeanne Keller said that Karen’s comments prove how the letter is going to be used in order to advise the Council to add Republicans to the board. She said this letter should not be sent since it is not appropriate for the board the take a stance on the pending litigation. Alison Hart suggested tabling the discussion due to the time. Colleen Montgomery made a motion to extend the meeting. Seconded by Annie Schneider. Vote called. Yes: Annie Schneider, Karen Rowell, Lauren Ebersol, Colleen Montgomery, Lesley Gendron No: Janet Stambolian, Alison Harte, Michelle Lefkowitz, Jeanne Keller, Adam Franz Abstain: Grace Grundhauser, Kevin Lewis Motion failed. Meeting adjourned at 7:15pm

Agenda

Packet

Board for Registration of Voters Tuesday, May 5, 2026, 6:00 PM, Police Department Community Room, 1 North Ave, 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 5. Adopt Minutes 5.1. Motion to adopt previous meeting's minutes File Attachments 1. Board for Registration of Voters Minutes 04072026 Board for Registration of Voters Minutes 04072026 (1) (1).pdf 6. Public Forum 7. Clerk's Report 8. Approval of Voter Challenges 9. Political Composition of the Board and Litigation Status 10. Communication to City Council re: Board Member Appointments 11. New Business 12. Adjournment Page 1 of 6 12.1. Motion to Adjourn Page 2 of 6 MINUTES Board for Registration of Voters Tuesday, April 7, 2026, 6:00 PM, Police Department Community Room, 1 North Ave, Burlington, VT, 05401 OR remotely via Zoom 1. Call Meeting to Order The meeting was called to order at 6:03pm by Chair, Grace Grundhauser. Board members in attendance: Lesley Gendron, Alison Harte, Adam Franz, Karen Rowell, Kevin Lewis, Colleen Montgomery, Jeanne Keller, Annie Schneider, Grace Grundhauser, Michelle Lefkowitz, Lauren Ebersol, Janet Stambolian, and Youth Member Will Cunningham Also in attendance: Sarah Montgomery, Assistant City Clerk 2. Agenda Jeanne Keller made a motion to adopt the agenda. Seconded by Lauren Ebersol. Passed unanimously. 3. Announcements There were no announcements. 4. Meeting Length The meeting was set to end at 7pm. 5. Adopt Minutes Jeanne Keller made a motion to adopt the minutes. Seconded by Kevin Lewis. Passed unanimously. 6. Public Forum Page 3 of 6 No members of the public were present. 7. Clerk's Report Sarah Montgomery reported that there are currently 29,609 voters on the checklist. Out of this total number, 4,876 are currently challenged. In February, there were 208 voters added to the checklist, 32 voters removed from the checklist, and 127 voters were transferred to other Vermont towns. In March, there were 330 voters were added to the checklist, 23 voters were removed from the checklist, and 171 voters were transferred to other Vermont towns. For the Annual City Election on March 3rd, 8,919 ballots were cast, which is equal to participation from 30.29% of the total registered voters. Out of these votes, 3,433 were cast in person on Election Day, and 5,486 were cast via absentee ballot. Out of the total cast by absentee ballot, 880 of those were received at the polling places on Election Day. For comparison, for the 2025 Annual City Election, 9,823 ballots were cast, which was 33.93% of the total registered voters at that time. 8. Approval of Voter Challenges The board reviewed the list of voters that Sarah Montgomery shared via email, which included a total of 1,767 voters, most of whom had Annual City Election ballots returned to the clerk's office as undeliverable. Jeanne Keller stated that she knew a few people who were on the list due to selling their properties, and wondered if the board should do voter outreach informing residents that selling their home may lead to their voter registration being challenged. Grace Grundhauser added that it might be worth doing voter education around voter challenges in general. Lesley Gendron noted that it could be a more broad announcement, letting voters know to check their voter registration if they have changed their address. Annie Schneider asked if that was necessary, since voters should know that if they move, they will need to update their registration, and also because same-day voter registration is available if issues are not resolved before Election Day. Karen Rowell suggested also doing outreach around the fact that folks will not receive a ballot automatically for the primary election. Lesley Gendron made a motion to challenge all of the proposed voters. Seconded by Jeanne Keller. Passed unanimously. 9. Election Day Review Board members reported about items that stood out on Election Day. Ward 1: Colleen Montgomery noted an issue with two Justices of the Peace coming in and inappropriately trying to access voted absentee ballots. Colleen said she didn't see exactly what happened, but heard from the election workers. Jeanne Keller asked what the consequences for election misconduct are. Adam Franz said that Google indicates that a Justice of the Peace would need to be impeached by the legislature, since it is an elected state position. Grace Grundhauser said the voters could also choose to elect different individuals. Ward 2: Lauren Ebersol said that it was quiet — nothing major to report. Ward 3: Michelle Lefkowitz said it was quiet until around 6:30, when she received an influx of voters. Ward 4: Lesley Gendron said it was a good day in ward 4, which had high participation, but was quiet for BRV work. She and Kevin Lewis came up with an idea about having a voting station for kids at the polling place, where they could practice voting on items like ice cream vs. creemees. They shared the idea with the ward clerk, who was excited about it. Ward 5: Jeanne Keller said it was really quiet. Annie Schneider agreed and also noted that she heard from several voters about inconsistent ballot mail delivery. For example, people who lived in the same household received their ballots on different days, or one individual in the household received their ballot while another did not. She noted that there were no issues with these voters' registrations. Will Cunningham said he heard a question about whether someone could deliver another voter’s ballot to the poll; Grace explained that as long as the ballot is sealed inside the signed absentee ballot envelope, it doesn’t matter who delivers it. Ward 6: Alison Harte said it was quiet, but steady. Adam Franz, who agreed that it felt slow in the morning, said he had a hard time finding the ward 6 entrance. Other members heard the same feedback from voters about the ward 6 entrance. Janet Stambolian asked if there might be a better way to make the old space at Edmunds Middle Page 4 of 6 School accessible for Election Days, and recommended doing so if possible. Alison Harte agreed. Ward 7: Karen Rowell had an issue getting logged into the BRV computer. Other members agreed they had similar issues with the logins on the computers. Karen said she had a really helpful volunteer working with her. Ward 8: Grace Grundhauser had a very busy day – especially midday through to the end of the day. She processed lots of address changes and social security number verifications. Janet Stambolian, who worked part of her shift there, said she appreciated volunteering at a busy location. Jeanne Keller suggested that, if there is board member capacity, it might be helpful to have 2 BRV members at the busier polling places for future elections. Lesley Gendron said that a ward being busy isn’t necessarily correlated to the amount of participation, so it would be helpful to look at the data summary sheets to help determine which locations have the most volume at the BRV tables. 10. Member Terms Ending in June Michelle Lefkowitz and Grace Grundhauser both have terms that are ending at the end of June. The deadline to submit applications for these two seats is May 20th. Grace Grundhauser shared that she is considering not reapplying. Lesley Gendron suggested the board should start advertising the positions soon, through all our outreach methods. Karen Rowell said it shouldn’t be advertised on Front Porch Forum at all, since per the board’s rules, only Republicans should be appointed to these seats, and Republicans are not on Front Porch Forum. Colleen Montgomery made a motion to extend the meeting by 5 minutes, so the discussion could continue. Janet Stambolian seconded. Approved unanimously. Grace Grundhauser stated that the board does not get to make any decisions regarding who is appointed to the board; this is a decision that City Council will make. Karen Rowell made a motion for the board to make a statement to the City Council about following the board’s rules when it comes to party balance. Jeanne Keller asked for clarification on the motion. Grace Grundhauser clarified that Karen Rowell is referring to the laws pertaining to the board. Lesley Gendron said that the website says that no more than 6 members of the board can be from the same party. Karen Rowell said she would look at the language. There was no second to the motion. Lesley Gendron made a motion for Alison to draft communication about the vacancies, share with the board for feedback, and then share it as broadly as possible to any suggested outlets. Seconded by Colleen Montgomery. Discussion: Alison Harte asked if the intent was for the board to advertise for both vacancies, or just advertise if the incumbents were choosing not to reapply. Grace Grundhauser said that the board would advertise both vacancies, since they are open positions that anyone could be appointed to, not just incumbents. Alison Harte said she would be happy to host a subcommittee meeting to discuss where else the communication should be posted, since she hasn't had any luck posting anywhere other than Front Porch Forum. Jeanne Keller suggested the League of Women Voters. Alison said she could also take recommendations via email. Motion approved unanimously. Kevin Lewis said he would support advocating to City Council for a fairer appointment process in general — to acknowledge Karen's feelings and also due to what he experienced when he was appointed, which did not feel like an unbiased process. Lesley Gendron suggested formulating that at the next meeting, since there will be time to pass along that communication to City Council prior to the appointments. Grace will add this to the May agenda. 10. New Business No new business. 11. Adjournment Kevin Lewis made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Lauren Ebersol. Approved unanimously. Page 5 of 6 Page 6 of 6