Poll: Vermont Voters Expected to Pass Two Constitutional Amendments, on Collective Bargaining Rights and Equal Protection
According to local media reports on October 22, the latest polling shows Vermont voters will pass two state constitutional amendments in the November 3 midterm elections: one writing collective bargaining rights into the state constitution, and another further guaranteeing equal treatment under the law across race, ethnicity, sex, disability and religion. On Election Day, as voters choose state legislators and statewide officials, they will also decide the two amendments.
The collective bargaining amendment aims to elevate the right to organize and bargain collectively to constitutional protection; the equal protection amendment requires the state constitution to more explicitly prohibit unequal treatment based on race, ethnicity, sex, disability or religion. If passed, the two amendments will become new provisions of the Vermont Constitution, with long-term effects on state labor policy and civil rights protections.
Notably, Vermont's campaign season has been heating up this week: the second televised debate in the governor's race was held at 8 p.m. on October 22 on NBC 5, and heating oil prices, up to about $6 a gallon, have also become a campaign issue, with an emergency committee to vote Friday on supplemental funding for low-income heating assistance. If the amendment polling proves accurate, Vermont will be among the representative states in this midterm cycle to pass labor and civil rights constitutional amendments.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 佛蒙特州议会大厦 / Vermont State House, Montpelier — King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
