Terms Used In Vermont Statutes > Title 17 > Chapter 55 - Local Elections

• Accept: means to solicit, receive, or agree to receive. See
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Annual meeting: when applied to towns shall mean the annual town meeting in March or an adjournment thereof. See
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Australian ballot: includes any ballots counted by a vote tabulator approved for use in any election conducted in the State. See
• Australian ballot system: means the technique of having the polls open for voting on specified and warned matters during a warned, extended period, which may be during or after a municipal meeting, or both. See
• Board of civil authority: means , unless otherwise provided by municipal charter, in the case of a town, the selectboard and town clerk and the justices residing therein; in the case of a city, the mayor, aldermen, city clerk, and justices residing therein; in the case of a village, the trustees, village clerk, and the justices residing therein; and, in any case, such suitable member or members of unrepresented or insufficiently represented political parties as may be appointed members of the board of civil authority under the provisions of section 2143 of this title. See
• Cancer: means all malignant neoplasms, regardless of the tissue of origin, including malignant lymphoma, Hodgkins disease, and leukemia, but excluding basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma of the skin. See
• Candidate: means an individual who has taken any affirmative action to become a candidate for public office. See
• Caucus: From the Algonquian Indian language, a caucus meant "to meet together." An informal organization of members of the legislature that exists to discuss issues of mutual concern and possibly to perform legislative research and policy planning for its members. There are regional, political or ideological, ethnic, and economic-based caucuses.
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Cultural competency: means a set of integrated attitudes, knowledge, and skills that enables a health care professional to care effectively for patients from cultures, groups, and communities other than that of the health care professional. See
• Cultural humility: means the ability to maintain an interpersonal stance that is other-oriented, or open to the other, in relation to aspects of cultural identity that are most important to the client or patient. See
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the Department of Health. See
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Election: means the procedure whereby the voters of this State, or any of its political subdivisions, select persons to fill public offices or act on public questions. See
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Fees: shall mean earnings due for official services, aside from salaries or per diem compensation. See
• filed: means deposited in the regularly maintained office of the official with whom the filing is to be made. See
• following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
• gender identity: means an individual's actual or perceived gender identity, or gender-related characteristics intrinsically related to an individual's gender or gender-identity, regardless of the individual's assigned sex at birth. See
• Health equity: means all people have a fair and just opportunity to be healthy, especially those who have experienced socioeconomic disadvantage, historical injustice, and other avoidable systemic inequalities that are often associated with the social categories of race, gender, ethnicity, social position, sexual orientation, and disability. See
• Health equity data: means demographic data, including, race, ethnicity, primary language, age, gender, socioeconomic position, sexual orientation, disability, homelessness, or geographic data that can be used to track health equity. See
• Health officer: means Commissioner of Health, the Commissioner's designee, or a local or district health officer. See
• inhabitants: shall mean the population of the political division referred to, as ascertained by the national census last completed before the time when such population is a material fact. See
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Justice: when applied to a person, other than a Justice of the Supreme Court, shall mean a justice of the peace for the county for which he or she is elected or appointed. See
• Legislative body: means the selectboard in the case of a town; the city council, mayor, and alder board in the case of a city; the trustees or bailiffs in the case of a village; the school board in the case of a school district; and the prudential committee in the case of a fire district. See
• LGBTQ: means Vermonters who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. See
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Local board of health: means the local health officer, with the selectboard of the town or city council of a city. See
• Local election: means any election that deals with the selection of persons to fill public office or the settling of public questions solely within a single municipality. See
• Municipality: shall include a city, town, town school district, incorporated school or fire district or incorporated village, and all other governmental incorporated units. See
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Permit: means any permit or license issued pursuant to this title. See
• Person: means any individual, business entity, labor organization, public interest group, or other organization, incorporated or unincorporated. See
• Person: means any individual, company, corporation, association, partnership, the U. See
• Political party: is a ny group of individuals that has organized and filed its certificate of organization with the Secretary of State, pursuant to chapter 45 of this title. See
• Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
• Primary: means any election that precedes a general or special election, for the purpose of permitting political parties to nominate, from among all of the candidates for any office, only that number of candidates equal to the number of persons to be elected to that office at the succeeding general or special election. See
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Public health hazard: means the potential harm to the public health by virtue of any condition or any biological, chemical, or physical agent. See
• Public health risk: means the probability of experiencing a public health hazard. See
• Public question: means any question, issue, proposition, or referendum (whether binding or advisory) submitted or required by law to be submitted to the voters of the State or any political subdivision of the State, for a decision. See
• Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
• Resident: means a natural person who is domiciled in this State as evidenced by an intent to maintain a principal dwelling place in the State indefinitely and to return there if temporarily absent, coupled with an act or acts consistent with that intent. See
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• road: shall include bridges thereon and their approaches. See
• seal: shall include an impression of the official seal made upon paper alone or by means of a wafer or wax affixed thereto. See
• Secretary: means the Secretary of State. See
• sexual orientation: means female or male homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality. See
• Significant public health risk: means a public health risk of such magnitude that the Commissioner or a local health officer has reason to believe that it must be mitigated. See
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Supervisory union: means an administrative, planning, and educational service unit created by the State Board under section 261 of this title, that consists of two or more school districts; if the context clearly allows, the term also means a supervisory district. See
• sworn: shall include affirmed. See
• Town: includes "city. See
• Town clerk: means a town officer elected pursuant to section 2646 of this title or otherwise elected or appointed by law and performing those duties prescribed by 24 Vt. See
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Village: shall mean an incorporated village. See
• Vote tabulator: means a machine that registers and counts paper ballots and includes optical scan tabulators. See
• Voter: means an individual who is qualified to vote in an election in this State or a political subdivision of this State, and whose name is registered on the checklist of a political subdivision of the State. See
• Year: means a calendar year. See