Rep. Cooper’s Election Win Confirmed by House

MONTPELIER – The Vermont House has affirmed Jonathan Cooper’s narrow election victory in the Bennington-1 House district race over Bruce Busa, who had appealed to the Legislature to make a determination after voter checklist errors were identified in Pownal.

“I am very appreciative of the depth of completeness of the attention the House Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs gave to this extremely difficult situation, and the nonpartisan focus the group had on the matter before them,” Cooper said after the House voted Friday to affirm the race outcome.

He added, “Having my status as a member of the House of Representatives finally resolved settles an issue that brought uncertainty and distraction to me and to the residents of the district. I am glad that we all can now focus on the matters that shape our future, and the legislation that can help us get where we want to go. I very much enjoy that work and take the opportunity to do it very seriously.”

Cooper, a Democrat and Pownal resident defeated Busa, a Republican from Readsboro, in the November 5 election by a 25-vote margin. That total was later certified after a recount as a 23-vote difference.

Busa then filed his appeal to the Legislature.

Although a revote was discussed at the time, Superior Court Judge David Barra, who oversaw the November 18-19 recount, determined that the House had been cited in a 1983 Vermont Supreme Court ruling to be the final arbiter of disputed House election results.

Busa had asked Barra to schedule a revote of his race in Pownal only, but the judge denied that request.

The judge referred in his decision to the Vermont Supreme Court’s determination that the Vermont House has the final authority under the state constitution to determine the election and qualification of its members.

“I am requesting the House of Representatives to exercise its constitutional authority to judge the election,” Busa wrote in his request, citing errors in the Pownal voter checklist that resulted in a number of voters receiving Bennington-5 House ballots on election day.

Busa’s appeal was referred in January to the House Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs, which heard testimony from a number of officials and from parties to the election before voting to recommend to the full House that Cooper’s victory be affirmed.

In a report to the full House, the committee stated that it “considered the request of Bruce Busa for the House to judge the election and qualification of its member in House District Bennington-1. The committee affirms the certified election results and finds that Representative Jonathan Cooper of Pownal was duly elected and is qualified to represent House District Bennington-1 as a member of the House of Representatives.”

The House voted Friday to accept that recommendation, with 91 voting in favor and 42 voting against. Cooper abstained during the roll call vote.

Cooper has been serving since the beginning of the legislative session as the Bennington-1 representative.

Busa could not be reached Friday for comment.

Checklist errors

As he was considering an election recount request and reviewing the November 5 vote tallies, Busa said he and the Pownal town clerk noticed that some Bennington-1 House district voters were incorrectly listed on the checklist in the Bennington-5 district, which includes sections of Pownal and Bennington. Those voters were therefore given the wrong ballot on election day.

The Bennington-1 district includes part of Pownal and Woodford, Stamford, Readsboro and Searsburg.

More than 50 voters who should have been listed in Bennington-1 were determined to be listed in Bennington-5 – an error that dates back to after the statewide reapportionment to align updated district populations with the results of the 2020 federal census.

The same errors are believed to have been in place during the 2022 Bennington-1 House race, when Busa narrowly lost to former Democratic Rep. Nelson Brownell, D-Pownal, in a race that also included a recount.

However, officials said in November that the time frame for appealing the 2022 race result further had passed before the errors were discovered. The errors were identified after the 2024 election and later confirmed by the Secretary of State’s office.

Brownell did not seek another term in November.

Acknowledging that there were differences of opinion on how the House should decide the race — including some calls for a revote — Cooper noted that he will be meeting with residents in Readsboro and Stamford on Saturday to discuss issues or concerns.

He will be at the Readsboro General Store from 10 to 11:30 a.m., he said, and at the Stamford Public Library from noon to 1 p.m.

Courtesy Bennington Banner
Jim Therrien can be reached at therrienjim76@gmail.com or by phone at 413-281-2646. Twitter: @BB_therrien