The Origin of Town Meeting Day The first town meeting in America was in Massachusetts in 1633, but the practice of direct democracy dates back to around 400 B.C. in Athens of ancient Greece. Unlike town meetings today, in ancient Greece women, children and slaves could not vote, and meetings required the presence of at least 6,000 citizens! Vermont town meeting is a tradition dating back to before there was a Vermont. The first town meeting was held in Bennington in 1762, 15 years before Vermont was created. In the late 1700s, as today, town citizens in Vermont held meetings so that they could address the problems and issues they faced collectively. Popular matters of legislation in earlier town meetings included whether or not to let pigs run free or whether smallpox vaccinations should be allowed in the town (some thought vaccinations were dangerous). Voters also decided what goods or labor could be used as payment for taxes. Town meeting also served a social function (as it does today.) It brings people together who might not otherwise know each other. This can strengthen social ties within a town and help people work together to tackle community problems. What is Town Meeting Day? On the first Tuesday of March most Vermont towns hold a meeting to elect local officials, approve a budget for the following year, and conduct other local business. Vermont town meetings (with one exception) are the practice of direct democracy. That is, eligible citizens of the town may vote on specific issues that are announced through a warning. The town meeting warning tells us when and where town meeting will be held, and it lists all of the articles (topics) that are going to be discussed and voted on at the meeting. The warning must be posted at least 30 days before the meeting. Voting At Town Meeting Towns can vote in two different ways at March Town Meeting - by "floor meeting" or by "Australian Ballot." Most towns use a combination of both voting methods. The "floor meeting" is what we generally picture a Vermont Town Meeting to be like - it is when people gather together at a public meeting place like the town hall or local school to discuss and vote on issues. Floor meetings can last a few hours - or they can go all day. The length of the meeting depends on how many articles are on the warning and how much discussion there is over the issues raised by the articles. "Australian Ballot" voting takes only a few minutes. It takes place at a polling place where voters mark a secret ballot which is counted when the polls close. This is how we cast our ballots at the general election in November. Town Boards of Civil Authority determine when the polls open in the morning (between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and all polls must close at 7:00 p.m. Most towns use a combination of Australian Ballot voting and a floor meeting. In 2008, approximately 15 towns conducted all of the town meeting business using Australian ballot voting, 61 decided all of their business by floor vote and 170 towns used a combination of both. Harriet Chase, looking forward to a very spirited town meeting in Randolph!