Democrat · Incumbent
Sarah Copeland Hanzas
Bradford. Former science teacher and café owner; longtime member of the Vermont House before becoming secretary of state in 2023. UVM graduate in history and geology.
Her case is steady election administration and expanded voting access. Her weakness is a voter-registration error on her watch and resistance to voter ID, which some voters want.
Pros
- Confidence in electionsSays she's "very confident" in Vermont's elections, pointing to 247 local clerks who each keep their own voter lists.
- Protecting voter dataSays state law bars giving the federal government the full unredacted voter file; a federal judge threw out the Justice Department's suit seeking it.
- Voting accessSupports mailing ballots to all voters so work or distance doesn't keep people from voting.
- Modernization and civicsReplacing aging IT systems; expanded civics programs including Kid Governor, now in classrooms in all 14 counties.
- ExperienceNearly two decades in the Legislature plus two terms running the office.
Cons
- Motor-voter errorNearly 900 people were added to the rolls through the DMV without opting in. She says none voted and has improved data transfers, but Paige disputes her figures.
- Opposes voter IDCalls ID and proof-of-citizenship laws "a solution in search of a problem." Supporters of such laws see them as basic safeguards.
- Universal mail ballotsCritics say mailing ballots to every voter lowers public confidence, even without evidence of fraud.
- Aging systemsStill working to replace outdated IT systems in her third term.