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63-673: From 1777 to 1791, Vermont was an independent country, often referred to in the present day as the Vermont Republic . During that time it was usually called the State of Vermont but sometimes called the Commonwealth of Vermont or the Republic of Vermont. Its first constitution, drafted in 1777, was among the most far-reaching in guaranteeing personal freedoms and individual rights. In particular, it banned adult slavery, saying male slaves become free at

126-537: A preferendum when the choices given allow the voters to weight their support for a policy. In Switzerland , for example, multiple choice referendums are common. Two multiple choice referendums were held in Sweden , in 1957 and in 1980, in which voters were offered three options. In 1977, a referendum held in Australia to determine a new national anthem was held, in which voters had four choices. In 1992, New Zealand held

189-523: A modern state in 1848 . Italy ranks second with 78 national referendums : 72 popular referendums (51 of which were proposed by the Radical Party ), 4 constitutional referendums, one institutional referendum and one advisory referendum . A referendum usually offers the electorate a straight choice between accepting or rejecting a proposal. However some referendums give voters multiple choices, and some use transferable voting. This has also been called

252-432: A 'referendum' is often said to be a vote to change the federal constitution and 'plebiscite' a vote which does not affect the federal constitution. However, this is erroneous as not all federal referendums have been on constitutional matters (such as the 1916 Australian conscription referendum ), and state votes that likewise do not affect either the federal or state constitution are frequently said to be referendums (such as

315-523: A Latin gerund, referendum has no plural). The Latin plural gerundive 'referenda', meaning 'things to be referred', necessarily connotes a plurality of issues. It is closely related to agenda , "those matters which must be driven forward", from ago , to impel or drive forwards; and memorandum , "that matter which must be remembered", from memoro , to call to mind, corrigenda , from rego , to rule, make straight, those things which must be made straight (corrected), etc. The term 'plebiscite' has

378-495: A Latin word and attempting to apply to it the rules of Latin grammar) is unsupportable according to the rules of both Latin and English grammar. The use of "referenda" as a plural form is posited hypothetically as either a gerund or a gerundive by the Oxford English Dictionary , which rules out such usage in both cases as follows: Referendums is logically preferable as a plural form meaning 'ballots on one issue' (as

441-556: A constitutional amendment authorizing the justices of the Vermont Supreme Court to revise the Constitution in "gender-inclusive" language, replacing gender-specific terms. (Examples: "men" and "women" were replaced by "persons", and the "Freeman's Oath," required of all newly registered voters in the state, was renamed the " Voters' Oath "). The revision was ratified by the voters in the general election of November 8, 1994. Vermont

504-515: A convention of representatives from towns in the territory declared the region independent, choosing the name the Republic of New Connecticut (although it was sometimes known colloquially as the Republic of the Green Mountains). On June 2 of that year, the name was officially changed to "Vermont" (from the French, les verts monts , meaning the Green Mountains) upon the suggestion of Thomas Young ,

567-544: A convention to consider an application for admittance to the "Union of the United States of America". The convention met at Bennington , on January 6, 1791. On January 10, 1791, the convention approved a resolution to make an application to join the United States by a vote of 105 to 2. Vermont was admitted to the Union by 1 Stat. 191 on March 4, 1791. Vermont's admission act is the shortest of all state admissions, and Vermont

630-474: A desire for political union with the United States. Vermont's coins minted in 1785 and 1786 bore the Latin inscription " STELLA QUARTA DECIMA " (meaning "the fourteenth star"). The Great Seal of Vermont , designed by Ira Allen , centrally features a 14-branched pine tree. On March 6, 1790, the legislature of New York consented to Vermont statehood, provided that a group of commissioners representing New York and

693-411: A five-option referendum on their electoral system. In 1982, Guam had a referendum that used six options, with an additional blank option for those wishing to (campaign and) vote for their own seventh option. A multiple choice referendum poses the question of how the result is to be determined. They may be set up so that if no single option receives the support of an absolute majority (more than half) of

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756-524: A generally similar meaning in modern usage and comes from the Latin plebiscita , which originally meant a decree of the Concilium Plebis (Plebeian Council), the popular assembly of the Roman Republic . Today, a referendum can also often be referred to as a plebiscite, but in some countries the two terms are used differently to refer to votes with differing types of legal consequences. In Australia,

819-550: A land-granting scheme designed to enrich himself and his family. After 1763, settlement increased because of easing security concerns after the end of the French and Indian Wars . The Province of New York had made grants of land, often in areas overlapping similar grants made by the Province of New Hampshire ; this issue had to be resolved by the King in 1764, who granted the land to New York, but

882-625: A member of the Sons of Liberty , a Boston Tea Party leader, and mentor to Ethan Allen. John Greenleaf Whittier 's poem The Song of the Vermonters, 1779 describes the period in ballad form. First published anonymously, the poem had characteristics in the last stanza that were similar to Ethan Allen's prose and caused it to be attributed to Allen for nearly 60 years. The last stanza reads: Come York or come Hampshire, come traitors or knaves, If ye rule o'er our land ye shall rule o'er our graves; Our vow

945-495: A member state of the United States. The 1793 Vermont state constitution made relatively few changes to the 1786 Vermont state constitution, which had, in turn, succeeded the 1777 constitution. It retained many of its original ideas, as noted above, and kept the separation of powers. It remains in force with several amendments. 44°00′N 72°42′W  /  44°N 72.7°W  / 44; -72.7 Referendum A referendum , plebiscite , or ballot measure

1008-409: A motivated minority of voters. Referendums may require a turnout threshold (also called a participation quorum) in order for the referendum to be considered legally valid. In a participation quorum a majority of those voting must approve of the referendum, and a certain percentage of population must have voted in order for the results to be approved. The usage of participation quorums in referendums

1071-409: A referendum are more likely to be driven by transient whims than by careful deliberation, or that they are not sufficiently informed to make decisions on complicated or technical issues. Also, voters might be swayed by propaganda , strong personalities, intimidation, and expensive advertising campaigns. James Madison argued that direct democracy is the " tyranny of the majority ". Some opposition to

1134-473: A referendum. Therefore avoid referendums. Therefore don't raise questions which require them, such as the big versus the little states. Some critics of the referendum attack the use of closed questions. A difficulty called the separability problem can plague a referendum on two or more issues. If one issue is in fact, or in perception, related to another on the ballot, the imposed simultaneous voting of first preference on each issue can result in an outcome which

1197-545: A response to this, members representing Vermont conducted negotiations to join the Province of Quebec , which were accepted by the British, who offered generous terms for the republic's reunion. When the British surrendered at the Siege of Yorktown in 1781, however, American independence became apparent. Vermont, later bordered on three sides by U.S. territory, ended negotiations with Britain and instead negotiated terms to become part of

1260-524: A separate vote on each of the multiple options as well as an additional decision about which of the multiple options should be preferred. In the Swedish case, in both referendums the 'winning' option was chosen by the Single Member Plurality ("first past the post") system. In other words, the winning option was deemed to be that supported by a plurality , rather than an absolute majority, of voters. In

1323-524: A similar element of the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 . In 1786, the constitution was amended with language proposed by the 1785 Council of Censors, their first meeting, and adopted by the 1786 Constitutional Convention. The section on the Council of Censors remained generally unchanged, with only an added clarification of scope. In 1793, the constitution was amended with language proposed by

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1386-539: A similar group representing Vermont could agree on the boundary. Vermont's negotiators insisted on also settling the real-estate disputes rather than leaving those to be decided later by a federal court. On October 7, the commissioners proclaimed the negotiations successfully concluded, with an agreement that Vermont would pay $ 30,000 to New York to be distributed among New Yorkers who claimed land in Vermont under New York land patents. The Vermont General Assembly then authorized

1449-571: A two-thirds vote. It must then receive a majority vote in the House. Then, after a newly elected legislature is seated, the amendment must receive a majority vote in each chamber, first in the Senate, then in the House. The proposed amendment must then be presented to the voters as a referendum and receive a majority of the votes cast. In 1991 and again in 1993, the Vermont General Assembly approved

1512-454: Is "fit for" doing. Its use as a noun in English is not considered a strictly grammatical usage of a foreign word but is rather a newly coined English noun, which follows English grammatical usage, not Latin grammatical usage. This determines the form of the plural in English, which according to English grammar should be "referendums". The use of "referenda" as a plural form in English (treating it as

1575-505: Is "the only state admitted without conditions of any kind, either those prescribed by the Congress or the state from which it was carved". March 4 is celebrated in Vermont as Vermont Day. The North, the smaller states, and states concerned about the impact of the sea-to-sea grants held by other states, all supported Vermont's admission. Thomas Chittenden served as governor for Vermont for most of this period and became its first governor as

1638-465: Is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives ) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy ) or advisory (functioning like a large-scale opinion poll ). 'Referendum' is the gerundive form of the Latin verb referre , literally "to carry back" (from the verb ferre , "to bear, bring, carry" plus

1701-508: Is a class of referendum required to be voted on if certain conditions are met or for certain government actions to be taken. They do not require any signatures from the public. In areas that use referendums a mandatory referendum is commonly used as a legally required step for ratification for constitutional changes, ratifying international treaties and joining international organizations, and certain types of public spending. Typical types of mandatory referendums include: An optional referendum

1764-408: Is a class of referendums that is put to the vote as a result of a demand. This may come from the executive branch, legislative branch, or a request from the people (often after meeting a signature requirement). Types of optional referendums include: From a political-philosophical perspective, referendums are an expression of direct democracy , but today, most referendums need to be understood within

1827-463: Is argued as the reason why, since World War II , there has been no provision in Germany for the holding of referendums at the federal level. In recent years, referendums have been used strategically by several European governments trying to pursue political and electoral goals. In 1995, John Bruton considered that All governments are unpopular. Given the chance, people would vote against them in

1890-463: Is controversial, as higher requirements have been shown to reduced turnout and voter participation. With high participation quorums, the opposition of a referendum has an interest in abstaining from the vote instead of participating, in order to invalidate the referendum results through low turnout. This is a form of the no-show paradox . All others who are not voting for other reasons, including those with no opinion, are effectively also voting against

1953-648: Is displeasing to most. Several commentators have noted that the use of citizens' initiatives to amend constitutions has so tied the government to a jumble of popular demands as to render the government unworkable. A 2009 article in The Economist argued that this had restricted the ability of the California state government to tax the people and pass the budget, and called for an entirely new Californian constitution. A similar problem also arises when elected governments accumulate excessive debts. That can severely reduce

Constitution of Vermont - Misplaced Pages Continue

2016-580: Is one of six states whose constitutions are written in gender-neutral language. Vermont Republic The Vermont Republic officially known at the time as the State of Vermont , was an independent state in New England that existed from January 15, 1777, to March 4, 1791. The state was founded in January 1777, when delegates from 28 towns met and declared independence from the jurisdictions and land claims of

2079-724: Is recorded—our banner unfurled, In the name of Vermont we defy all the world! On August 20, 1781, the Confederation Congress of the United States passed resolutions saying it would not consider admitting that state to the Union unless Vermont would renounce its claims to territory east of the Connecticut River and west of Lake Champlain. The Constitution of Vermont was drafted and ratified at Elijah West's Windsor Tavern in 1777. The settlers in Vermont, who sought independence from New York, justified their constitution on

2142-416: The 2009 Western Australian daylight saving referendum ). Historically, they are used by Australians interchangeably and a plebiscite was considered another name for a referendum. In Ireland, 'plebiscite' referred to the vote to adopt its constitution, but a subsequent vote to amend the constitution is called a 'referendum', as is a poll of the electorate on a non-constitutional bill. The name and use of

2205-498: The British colonies of Quebec , New Hampshire , and New York . The republic remained in existence for the next fourteen years, albeit without diplomatic recognition from any foreign power. On March 4, 1791, it was admitted into the United States as the State of Vermont , with the constitution and laws of the independent state continuing in effect after admission. The delegates forbade adult slavery within their republic, although

2268-524: The 'referendum' is thought to have originated in the Swiss canton of Graubünden as early as the 16th century. After a reduction in the number of referendums in the Mid-twentieth century, the referendum as a political tool has been increasing in popularity since the 1970s. This increase has been attributed to dealignment of the public with political parties, as specific policy issues became more important to

2331-458: The 1777 Constitution. In particular, it forbade anyone to simultaneously hold more than one of certain offices, including those of judges, legislators, members of the governor's council, the governor, and the surveyor-general. It also provided that the legislature could no longer function as a court of appeals nor otherwise intervene in cases before the courts, as it had often done. The 1786 Constitution continued in effect when, in 1791, Vermont made

2394-426: The 1777 constitution established a Council of Censors . This body consisted of thirteen elected members, chosen every seven years, but not from the Council or General Assembly. They were to check that "the legislative and executive branches of government have performed their duty as guardians of the people". They also had the power to call a convention, if needed, to amend the constitution. This council had been based on

2457-477: The 1792 Council of Censors and adopted by the 1793 Constitutional Convention. The Council now had the "power to send for persons, papers, and records". In 1870, the constitution was amended with language proposed by the 1869 Council of Censors, their last meeting, and adopted by the 1870 Constitutional Convention. The Council of Censors was abolished and replaced by a new procedure to amend the constitution. The Vermont Constitution, Chapter 2, Section 72 establishes

2520-564: The 1977 Australian referendum, the winner was chosen by the system of preferential instant-runoff voting (IRV). Polls in Newfoundland (1949) and Guam (1982), for example, were counted under a form of the two-round system , and an unusual form of TRS was used in the 1992 New Zealand poll. Although California has not held multiple-choice referendums in the Swiss or Swedish sense (in which only one of several counter-propositions can be victorious, and

2583-422: The State of New York . In 1790, New York's legislature finally renounced its claims that Vermont was a part of New York, the cessation of those claims being effective if and when Congress decided to admit Vermont to the Union. Vermont held constitutional conventions in 1777, 1786, 1793, 1814, 1822, 1828, 1836, 1843, 1850, 1857, and 1870. "In order that the freedom of this Commonwealth may be preserved inviolate"

Constitution of Vermont - Misplaced Pages Continue

2646-531: The United States, the Netherlands, and France. After a combined British- Mohawk force raided several Vermont settlements in the 1780 Royalton Raid , Ethan Allen led a group of Vermont politicians in secret discussions with Frederick Haldimand , the Governor General of the Province of Quebec , about returning Vermont to British rule. Much of the symbolism associated with Vermont in this period expressed

2709-553: The United States. Many of its citizens favored political union with the United States rather than full independence. While the Continental Congress did not allow a seat for Vermont, Vermont engaged William Samuel Johnson , representing Connecticut, to promote its interests. In 1785 the Vermont General Assembly granted Johnson title to the former King's College Tract as a form of compensation for representing Vermont. The constitution and other official documents referred to

2772-596: The Vermont constitution continued to make allowances for the enslavement of men under the age of 21 and women under the age of 18. Many Vermonters took part in the American Revolution on the side of the Revolution, but the Continental Congress did not recognize the independence of Vermont (then also known as the New Hampshire Grants ) due to objections from New York, which had conflicting property claims. In

2835-525: The age of 21 and females at 18. The 1777 constitution's Declaration of Rights of the Inhabitants of the State of Vermont anticipated the United States Bill of Rights by a dozen years. The first chapter, a "Declaration of Rights of the Inhabitants of the State of Vermont", is followed by a "Plan or Frame of Government" outlining the structure of governance. It provided that the governor would be elected by

2898-600: The area was popularly known as the New Hampshire Grants . The " Green Mountain Boys ", led by Ethan Allen , was a militia force from Vermont that supported the New Hampshire claims and fought against the British during the American Revolution . Following controversy between the holders of the New York grants and the New Hampshire grants, Ethan Allen and his militia of " Green Mountain Boys " suppressed Loyalists. On January 15, 1777,

2961-479: The context of representative democracy . They tend to be used quite selectively, covering issues such as changes in voting systems, where currently elected officials may not have the legitimacy or inclination to implement such changes. Since the end of the 18th century, hundreds of national referendums have been organised in the world; almost 600 national votes have been held in Switzerland since its inauguration as

3024-533: The country as the "State of Vermont". The 1777 constitution refers to Vermont variously: the third paragraph of the preamble, for example, mentions "the State of Vermont", and in the preamble's last paragraph, the constitution refers to itself as "the Constitution of the Commonwealth". The currency used by the country, the Vermont copper , carried the legend that read Vermontis. Res. Publica , which in Latin means: Republic of Vermont . Prior to June 2, 1777, it

3087-519: The effective margin for later governments. Both these problems can be moderated by a combination of other measures as Referendums occur occasionally rather than periodically as elections are and they don’t offer the same kind of formal opposition. Because referendums affect for a longer term than legislative deliberation, a turnout and supermajority requirement is necessary to maintain principles of majoritarianism. In republic polities, referendums could be used to bypass legislatures and representatives by

3150-430: The freemen of the state, who could vote regardless of whether they owned property, that each town would be represented in the legislative assembly, that there would be a court of law in each county, and that the legislative assembly and the governor's council would jointly hold legislative power. In 1786, the Constitution was extensively revised to establish a far greater separation of powers than what had prevailed under

3213-484: The inseparable prefix re- , here meaning "back" ). As a gerundive is an adjective , not a noun , it cannot be used alone in Latin, and must be contained within a context attached to a noun such as Propositum quod referendum est populo , "A proposal which must be carried back to the people". The addition of the verb sum (3rd person singular, est ) to a gerundive, denotes the idea of necessity or compulsion, that which "must" be done, rather than that which

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3276-682: The losing proposals are wholly null and void), it does have so many yes-or-no referendums at each election day that conflicts arise. The State's constitution provides a method for resolving conflicts when two or more inconsistent propositions are passed on the same day. This is a de facto form of approval voting —i.e. the proposition with the most "yes" votes prevails over the others to the extent of any conflict. Other voting systems that could be used in multiple-choice referendum are Condorcet method and quadratic voting (including quadratic funding ). Quorums are typically introduced to prevent referendum results from being skewed by low turnout or decided by

3339-415: The procedure for amending the constitution. The Vermont General Assembly , the state's bi-cameral legislature, has the sole power to propose amendments to the Constitution of Vermont. The process must be initiated by a Senate that has been elected in an "off-year", that is, an election that does not coincide with the election of the U.S. president. An amendment must originate in the Senate and be approved by

3402-458: The public than party identifiers. The term "referendum" covers a variety of different meanings, and the terminology is different depending on the us that holds them. A referendum can be binding or advisory. In some countries, different names are used for these two types of referendum. Referendums can be further classified by who initiates them. David Altman proposes four dimensions that referendums can be classified by: A mandatory referendum

3465-522: The referendum has arisen from its use by dictators such as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini who, it is argued, used the plebiscite to disguise oppressive policies as populism . Dictators may also make use of referendums as well as show elections to further legitimize their authority such as António de Oliveira Salazar in 1933 ; Benito Mussolini in 1934 ; Adolf Hitler in 1934 , 1936 ; Francisco Franco in 1947 ; Park Chung Hee in 1972 ; and Ferdinand Marcos in 1973 . Hitler's use of plebiscites

3528-853: The referendum to take place. In one such challenge, in 2017, the Spanish Constitutional Court suspended the Catalonia 's independence referendum . In post-referendum disputes, they challenge the result. British courts dismissed post-referendum challenges of the Brexit referendum. International tribunals have traditionally not interfered with referendum disputes. In 2021, the European Court of Human Rights extended its jurisdiction to referendums in its judgment Toplak and Mrak v. Slovenia , initiated by two disabled voters over polling place access . In Political Governance states that voters in

3591-499: The referendum. In the 2005 Italian fertility laws referendum , opposition to the proposed loosening of laws on research on embryos and on allowing in-vitro fertilization , campaigned for people to abstain from voting to drive down turnout. Although a majority of people voted yes for the changes in the law, the results were invalid because participation was low. Important referendums are frequently challenged in courts. In pre-referendum disputes, plaintiffs have often tried to prevent

3654-529: The same basis as the first state constitutions of the former colonies: authority is derived from the people. As historian Christian Fritz notes in American Sovereigns: The People and America's Constitutional Tradition before the Civil War : They saw themselves as a distinct region outside the legitimate jurisdiction of New York. Possessing an identifiable population or "a people" entitled them to

3717-550: The same constitutional rights of self-government as other "Peoples" in the American confederacy. The Vermont constitution was modeled after the radically democratic constitution of Pennsylvania on the suggestion of Young, who worked with Thomas Paine and others on that 1776 document in Philadelphia . During its time as an independent state, the government issued its own coinage and currency and operated postal service. The currency

3780-515: The transition from independence to the status of one of the states of the Union. In particular, the governor, the members of the governor's council, and other officers of the state, including judges in all courts, simply continued their terms of office that were already underway. The 1793 Constitution was adopted two years after Vermont's admission to the Union and continues in effect, with various later amendments, to this day. It eliminated all mention of grievances against King George III and against

3843-657: The votes, resort can be made to the two-round system or instant-runoff voting , which is also called IRV and PV. In 2018 the Irish Citizens' Assembly considered the conduct of future referendums in Ireland , with 76 of the members in favour of allowing more than two options, and 52% favouring preferential voting in such cases. Other people regard a non-majoritarian methodology like the Modified Borda Count (MBC) as more inclusive and more accurate. Swiss referendums offer

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3906-622: Was also known as the Republic of New Connecticut, and the Republic of the Green Mountains. After 1724, the Province of Massachusetts Bay built Fort Dummer near Brattleboro , as well as three other forts along the northern portion of the Connecticut River to protect against raids by Native Americans farther south into Western Massachusetts. After 1749, Benning Wentworth , the Royal Governor of New Hampshire, granted land to anyone in

3969-577: Was known as the Vermont copper , and its mint was operated by Reuben Harmon in East Rupert from 1785 to 1788. The chief executive of the state was referred to as the governor . The governor of Vermont, Thomas Chittenden , with consent of his council and the General Assembly, appointed commissioners to the American government seated in Philadelphia. Vermont engaged in diplomatic negotiations with

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