For those still reeling from the failures of Justice Ginsburg & Senator Feinstein to leave the stage in a timely manner, Senator Sanders’ announcement that he’ll run for re-election this year may not be the most joyous occasion.
However, with one simple legislative fix, the veto-proof Democratic majorities in both houses of the Vermont legislature can help Vermont protect Bernie’s legacy.
Vermont does require a special election in case of a Senate vacancy, but the election won’t be held until six months following the vacancy, which would leave Vermont without sufficient Senate representation for an unacceptable length of time.
A fantastic Vermont Law Review article from 3 years ago – Filling U.S. Senate Vacancies in Vermont: Replacing Bernie Sanders Is Harder than It Seems, by former Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy Associate Director Quinn Yeargain – identifies the problem & then alludes to the solution.
Since 2017, Republican Phil Scott has served as Vermont’s Governor. The Haley-endorsing moderate has promised in the past to appoint a Democrat to fill Sanders’ seat, however with very good odds of a 50-50 Senate at times in the coming years, a promise isn’t sufficient when legislative fixes exist to protect Vermont’s Democratic majority.
In the case of a vacant Senate seat, the vast majority of states empower the governor to appoint a replacement who serves either until the next statewide general election or until a special election.
Several states smartly require a replacement of the same political party, though Vermont currently does not.
However, who replaces Senators who don’t really belong a major political party?
Per Yeargain, Colorado solved this problem in a shockingly logical faction, where “each independent candidate for the state legislature designates a ‘vacancy committee’ that is tasked with picking their replacement should they…vacate their seat.”
With Senator Sanders committed to fighting for his principles, health permitting, for another six years, just in case life happens while he’s making those other plans, Vermont’s legislature MUST provide the following simple legislative fix to give Senator Sanders, all Vermonters, and all his supporters nationwide, solace in the face of his eventual departure, if it does not occur on his preferred schedule.
If you support Senator Sanders’ mission, please contact Vermont’s legislative leaders – and contact Senator Sanders’ office, too! – to get them to support this simple, two statement legislative fix for this problem:
Protect Our Senators’ Election (POSE) Act
Section 1. If either of Vermont’s United States Senators vacates their United States Senate seat prior to the swearing-in of their duly-elected successors, the Governor of Vermont must appoint a replacement Senator who 1) represents the same political party as the departed Senator, & 2) has been nominated by at least a plurality of the executive committee of the same Vermont state political party of that Senator within 7 days of the vacancy, with said appointment occurring between 8 & 14 days of the vacancy’s confirmation.
Section 2. For elected Senators unaligned with a single definitive political party, prior to the beginning of each Senate term, the Senator-elect must publicly register with the Governor’s Office a list of five people who would comprise a “vacancy committee” to nominate a replacement Senator who would best continue the departed Senator’s representation on behalf of the people of Vermont. The Senator may amend this list once every calendar year by submitting a written statement of the names of the new members of the “vacancy committee” to the Governor’s office and announcing the list publicly. The “vacancy committee” will serve in a comparable capacity to the executive committee of each of Vermont’s state political parties, and the Governor will appoint the Senate nominee submitted by the “vacancy committee”, according to the schedule as described in section 1.
Fixed.
By passing something along these lines in a timely manner, all Vermonters may confidently vote in this fall’s Senate election, either in support of or even against Senator Sanders, with the full knowledge that either Senator Sanders, or a successor of similar beliefs, will continue to serve the state of Vermont through the end of the six-year-term.
Please contact the following Vermont state officials to express your support for the vital importance of the Vermont legislature passing legislation like the POSE Act in the immediate future to secure Senator Sanders’ legacy:
Representative Jill Krowinski, Vermont Speaker of the House: call (802) 828-2245 or email Speaker@leg.state.vt.us
Senator Alison Clarkson, Vermont Senate Majority Leader: email AClarkson@leg.state.vt.us
Senator Bernie Sanders’ VT office: call 800-339-9834 or use Senator Sanders' official contact form