Vernon Getting a Fresh Set of Ballots for Nov. 5 Election

The Vernon registrars of voters are having new ballots printed up for the Nov. 5 municipal election with slot 13B now blank.

A change on the ballot became necessary when Tara Gordon resigned a two-year Democratic Board of Education slot last week after local party officials uncovered a criminal background and asked her to step aside.

Gordon had occupied slot 13B on the ballot. 

Democratic Registrar Judith Beaudreau on Tuesday said that the town was in the process of printing about 12,000 ballots for public voting. She said a new order was placed with the printer as soon as she received the resignation notice. 

The secretary of the state's office permits redaction in the case of candidate resignation, but Beaudreau said her office does not have the time or the resources for such an endeavor. 

"Not for 12,000 ballots," she said. 

She said it can be done with white correcting fluid or by drawing a black line through the name. The latter is the preferred method of redaction because it is a clearer elimination, she said. The voting circle can still remain blank and not get picked up by the scanner, she said. 

But the most prudent solution was to have new ballots printed up, she said, to avoid any confusion. Beaudreau said local registrars were unsure if the printer was able to cut off the original Vernon job before all ballots were printed. 
Beaudreau said she was unsure of how much the extra ballots would cost until she sees a final bill from the printer. 

The race for two-year seats on the school board now features Democratic challenger Paul Stansel (slot 12B), a former board member, against Republican incumbents Anne Fischer (Slot 12A) and David Kemp (slot 13A). 

On Nov. 5, the polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

Beaudreau said new absentee ballots are not being printed.