Guilford voters are invited to join the Guilford's Democratic caucus to nominate candidates for Justice of the Peace. This caucus will be held on line via Zoom. To get access to the Zoom link, please contact John Hagen at hagenjohn@mac.com. In addition to nominating Democratic candidates for JP, we will also be discussing Get Out the Vote efforts for Guilford, so please consider joining us.
If you are interested in serving as a Justice of the Peace, and you would like a nomination from the Democratic Party, please contact Andy Burrows at andy@prolinguaassociates.com prior to the meeting.
The duties of justices of the peace can fall into five categories of responsibilities:
1. Elections. Justices of the peace are members of the board of civil authority (BCA). Members of the BCA serve as election officials at town elections by Australian ballot and statewide elections. Justices also are responsible for delivering absentee ballots to voters at election time.
2. Tax Abatement and Appeals. Justices of the peace sit as members of the town board for abatement of taxes to determine whether a taxpayer's tax obligation should be forgiven under certain circumstances. Justices of the peace also serve an important role in the town's tax appeal process. As a member of the board of civil authority, justices sit to hear and decide appeals when citizens do not agree with the final decision of the listers.
3. Marriages. Justices of the peace may also solemnize marriages in Vermont.
4. Oaths and Notary. Justices of the peace may also administer oaths in all cases where an oath is required, unless a specific law makes a different provision. A justice of the peace is a notary public ex officio and has all the acknowledgment powers of a notary public. However, the justice of the peace must file with the county clerk in order to act as a notary public (but the fee is waived).
5. Magistrate. Justices of the peace may also serve as a magistrate when so commissioned by the Supreme Court.
Additional information can be found in the state's Justice of the Peace Guide (https://sos.vermont.gov/media/zaalj01i/jp-guide-2019.pdf)
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