Vermont's Town Elects Dead Man In Council Polls

For the first time, Vermont voters went by the spirit, not the letter. Though they were unaware of it, they elected a dead man for three years to the local council.

Voters in the town were not prevented from opting for their ghostly choice by the town officials.

Kevin Tarrant, 55, had passed away a day earlier. Town officials clarified that the state's campaign laws had not permitted them from informing the locals about it, according to rt.

He had suddenly collapsed on Monday morning, and was not revived although attempts were made. He was standing for elections from the Select Board of Underhill, which was a town that had 3,000 residents just 15 miles east of Burlington.

His wife, Catherine Tarrant, told the Burlington Free Press that her husband, who had been in the military for 24 years and had also piloted United Airlines, had been eager to stand for the elections.

Tarrant had been part of the US Air Force and Texas National Guard. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2010 and lived with his family in Underhill. Finally, he will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

At the annual town meeting, the officials had not given out the announcement, as it had been in the same school as the board vote. The town clerk agreed that campaigning or "discussing candidates" (whether dead, alive, or halfway, it looks like!) within a polling place is not permitted by state law. Hence, the following day Tarrant was elected to a three-year term by 371 votes.

How will it fill the seat, wonders the board, according to abcnews. As the vacant seat is now empty, except for a name, can it be filled quickly? It is not completely clear. The board members are not permitted to "discuss appointments or interview candidates in private". They can do it in an open ground, which was not previously announced in a public meeting. A special election needs a resident to start a petition and collect 120 signatures.

The Select Board member Dave Rogers said that the town could either appoint somebody to fill the seat, or it could recruit applications from citizens and then ask one of them to fill the vacancy. Or it could hold a special election, he said. By the following week, the board may appoint somebody, but it could also call for a vote.

Interestingly, while Vermont voters did not know that they would be casting their votes for a dead man, it is not the first time that such ghostly election has taken place. In 2000, Missourians even knew that the candidate had died, but still voted for him!

In the Senate election in Missouri, Governor Mel Carnahan outpolled the incumbent John Ashcroft by almost 50,000 votes, after he was killed in an airplane crash two weeks before the date. Although the state election laws did not permit the removal of Carnahan's name from the ballot, the public knew of his death and still cast their votes for him.