By Gudrun Hutchins

On November 8, 2022, “the Voters of Vermont” will be asked to ratify the addition of the proposed Reproductive Liberty Amendment to the Vermont Constitution. In this article I want to tell you about an amendment during the early 1990’s that had considerable involvement by AAUW of Vermont. That amendment, which was really a revision of the whole document, produced a Gender Inclusive Vermont Constitution. Before that amendment, the “Voters of Vermont” were the “Freemen of Vermont.” Surprisingly, only five states had included women in their state constitution by 1990. Most of these earlier revisions also include awkward he/she or his/her phrasing.

By 1990, Madeleine Kunin had already served as Governor of Vermont for three terms, a substantial number of Vermont Legislators were female, and half of Vermont voters were female. In 1991 Vermont Senators decided that it was important to change the wording of the Vermont Constitution to reflect the fact that women are full partners in the governance, politics, and daily life of this state.

The Vermont constitution is the second oldest in the nation and dates back to 1793. The procedure governing changes to the Vermont Constitution are laid out in Section #72 of the document. Proposed amendments must originate in the Vermont State Senate and can only be proposed every four years. Amendments must earn a 2/3 vote of the members of Vermont State Senate, but require only a majority vote of members of the Vermont House of Representatives. Amendments, once adopted by the Senate and House, must then be considered again at the next biennial session of the Vermont General Assembly. The amendment must win a majority vote of both chambers when it is considered for the second time. Such amendments then go on a ballot for a vote of Vermont voters. If a proposed amendment wins a simple majority vote, it becomes part of the Vermont Constitution.

The Vermont Senate is responsible for drafting any amendments and the wording cannot be changed by the House of Representatives. Therefore the starting draft is very important and the Senators asked the Vermont Supreme Court to draft an appropriate version in 1991 to make sure that it would withstand legal challenges. The Senators also requested that two public members be included in the drafting process to assure that the document would be understandable to voters without a legal background. Louise Luring, a member of the Brattleboro Branch and Public Policy Chair for AAUW of Vermont was one of the two public members. Louise informed us that the changes to the Vermont Constitution needed to involve only nine words: man, men, he, his, him, himself, freeman, freemen, and widow. Also, there would be no awkward he/she and his/her phrasing. The gender inclusive version primarily required alternatives for the nine words and some rearrangement of words already in the constitution.

Examples of Revisions in the Gender Inclusive Vermont Constitution

Chapter 2
Article 11. [Governor to approve bills, veto proceedings thereon; nonaction] (Original)

Every bill which shall have passed the Senate and House of Representatives shall before it becomes law, be presented to the Governor; if he approve, he shall sign it; if not, he shall return it with his objection in writing, to the House in which it shall have originated….

Articles  11. [Governor to approve bills, veto proceedings thereon; nonaction]
(Revised)
Every bill which shall have passed the Senate and House of Representatives shall before it becomes law, be presented to the Governor; if the Governor approve, the Governor shall sign it; if not, the Governor shall return it with objections in writing, to the House in which it shall have originated….

Article 22. [Commissions; state seal] (Revised)

All commissions shall be in the name of the People of the State of Vermont, sealed with the State Seal, signed by the Governor, and in the absence of the Governor …

The revised version is also more accurate. For example: The “freemen of Vermont” has been translated as “the voters of Vermont” when used in sentences referring to registered voters and the “people of Vermont” when it refers to residents of Vermont who are not necessarily registered voters. While this distinction was not made in the original constitution, it is important now.

22. [Commissions; state seal] (Revised)
All commissions shall be in the name of the People of the State of Vermont, sealed with the State Seal, signed by the Governor, and in the absence of the Governor …

The revised version is also more accurate. For example: The “freemen of Vermont” has been translated as “the voters of Vermont” when used in sentences referring to registered voters and the “people of Vermont” when it refers to residents of Vermont who are not necessarily registered voters. While this distinction was not made in the original constitution, it is important now.

The only potential problem with the ratification of the Gender Inclusive Constitution on the 1994 ballot was that voters would leave the question blank because they did not know about it or did not understand the reason for it. Printed copies of the revised Gender Inclusive Vermont Constitution were available from the Secretary of State’s office. AAUW members passed them on to friends and neighbors or told them about the changes in wording. Some of the teachers among our membership were particularly pleased that there were some substitutions in words but no awkward grammatical changes. The amendment passed by a large majority.

A similar problem may exit with the Reproductive Liberty Amendment that will be on the November ballot this year. Those who are opposed, will definitely vote NO. Those who feel that it is needed, will definitely vote YES. However, there may be a large middle group who will leave the question blank because they don’t have any information.