2024 Instructions for Nominations of Justice of the Peace

Every election year VT Republicans gather together in their town committees to nominate a slate of candidates for Justice of the Peace. While many people think of Justices of the Peace as merely officers who can perform marriages, they actually serve a much more important role in helping at the local level to maintain the integrity of our elections. JPs, along with other town officials, make up the board of civil authority whose role it is to purge the town’s voter list of people who are no longer eligible voter due to death or a change of residency. With today’s voter checklist being used by our current Secretary of State in ways that have never been done before in the history of our state, it is more important than ever for Republican to be a part of the process by running candidates for Justice of the Peace. If you would like to run for Justice of the Peace in your town, please fill out our candidate inquiry form here, and select “Justice of the Peace”

For our town committees, here is the process you need to complete in order to get your nominations completed:

Step 1:
On or before August 12th, the town committee must warn a committee meeting (in Accordance with VSA 17-2413) with at least three days notice. The notice must be posted at the Town clerk’s office and (at least) two other public locations in town (could also be a library, grocery store, gas station, etc). And members of the town committee shall also be notified by mail or email. Below is a sample of the public warning that needs to be posted. A copy must be retained to submit to the town clerk.
Sample Warning

Step 2:
At the town committee meeting, the members present shall elect up to 14 names to be placed on the ballot. The Secretary should record the names on the form below but should NOT SIGN the form at the meeting. Below is a link to the form required by the Town Clerk:
Town Committee Nomination Form

Step 3:
On or before 5pm on August 16th, the Chair and Secretary of the meeting shall certify the results on the by signing it IN FRONT OF A NOTARY. Since BOTH officers need to be present, and some Town Clerk’s offices require an appointment, getting the form notarized may require some planning, so make sure to make appropriate arrangements. Once the form has been notarized, it needs to be submitted to the Town Clerk. You are free to get the document notarized anywhere BEFORE going to the Town clerk’s but most town clerk’s offices have a notary on hand, and that may be the easiest place to locate one. If you wait until August 13th to warn your meeting, it may mean that you will need to hold your meeting in the morning, and then submit your results the same day before 5pm. So make sure to warn your meeting with enough time so that if you plan to have an evening meeting to get greater participation, you will need to meet on or before August 15th (which means warning the meeting by August 12th) so that results can be submitted the next day before 5pm on the 16th

If you have any further questions, please contact your County Chair.

You can also consult the SOS’s “Vermont Justice of the Peace Guide”


Here is the full text of the law:

(Cite as: 17 V.S.A. § 2413)


  • § 2413. Nomination of justices of the peace

    (a)(1) The party members in each town, on or before each primary election, upon the call of the town committee, may meet in caucus and nominate candidates for justice of the peace.

    (2)(A) The committee shall give notice of the caucus by posting notice at the office of the town clerk and two other public places in the town at least five days prior to the caucus.

    (B) In addition, for towns with over 3,000 voters, the committee shall post this notice at least one day prior to the caucus:

    (i)(I) in a newspaper of general circulation within the town; or

    (II) on a nonpartisan electronic news media website that specializes in news of the State or the community; and

    (ii) on the municipality's website, if the municipality actively updates its website on a regular basis.

    (3) [Repealed.]

    (b) If it does not hold a caucus as provided in subsection (a) of this section, the town committee shall meet and nominate candidates for justices of the peace as provided in sections 2381 through 2385 of this title. At least three days prior to this meeting, the town committee shall provide notice of the meeting by e-mailing or mailing committee members and by posting notice of the meeting in the office of the town clerk and in two other public places in the town.

    (c) In any town in which a political party has not formally organized, any three members of the party who are voters in the town may call a caucus to nominate candidates for justice of the peace by giving notice as required in subsection (a) of this section. Upon meeting, the caucus shall first elect a chair and a secretary. Thereafter the caucus shall nominate its candidates for justice of the peace.

    (d) [Repealed.]

    (e) For any nomination made under this section, the chair and secretary of the committee or caucus shall file the statement required by section 2385 of this title by 5:00 p.m. on the third day following the primary election. (Added 1979, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 36; amended 2009, No. 73 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. April 7, 2010; 2009, No. 98 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 10, 2010; 2013, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 18, eff. May 28, 2014; 2015, No. 30, § 8, eff. May 26, 2015.)