In Vermont, 'Town Meeting' is democracy. What can the U.S. learn?

ELMORE, Vt. — Julie wants more donations to the food pantry. “This is the real thing, and we should all be proud that we’re doing this.” Town Moderator Jon Gailmor sits for a portrait at the town hall, Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Elmore, Vt. COMMUNITY AND GOVERNMENT, HAND IN HAND Elmore calls itself the beauty spot of Vermont. They joke about “flatlanders” — people not born in Vermont — and have come up with a song that celebrates the spring thaw: “So break out the booze, we’ve got nothin’ to lose, embracing the ooze, it’s the mud season blues.” Gailmor first moved to Elmore in 1980 and says he found the town meeting tradition nothing short of miraculous. Town Clerk Sandra Lacasse, places a sign outside the town office as polls opens Tuesday, March 5, 2024, for Super Tuesday and when the town holds its annual Town Meeting in Elmore, Vt. Across the United States, people are disgusted with politics That doesn’t mean it always goes smoothly. Julie Bomengen speaks during the annual Town Meeting to advocate for an extra $500 in the town’s budget for the Lamoille Community Food Share, Tuesday, March 5, 2024 in Elmore, Vt. There’s a key downside when a town moves to secret ballot, also known as an Australian ballot because states there were the first to adopt such a system in the mid-19th century: It’s usually a straight up-or-down vote.