2022 Vermont Proposal 2

Proposal 2

November 8, 2022 (2022-11-08)

Slavery Prohibition Amendment[1]
Results
Choice
Votes %
Yes 238,466 88.71%
No 30,335 11.29%
Valid votes 268,801 92.07%
Invalid or blank votes 23,154 7.93%
Total votes 291,955 100.00%

County results

The 2022 Prohibit Slavery and Indentured Servitude Amendment, officially titled the "Slavery Prohibition Amendment", and listed on the ballot as Proposition 2, was a legislatively referred constitutional amendment that was adopted on November 8, 2022, by a landslide majority of 88.7% of voters. It clarified the state's ban on slavery to include involuntary servitude and all other forms into the Constitution of Vermont. It was signed into the constitution by Republican governor Phil Scott on December 13th, 2022, along with Proposition 5.[2]

Background

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Vermont was amongst the first territories in the United States to ban slavery in 1777, prior to its admission as a state in 1791. However, there were notable exceptions for those bound by consent or law to repay debts or fines.

Text

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To see if the voters will amend the Vermont Constitution by amending Article 1 of Chapter 1 to read:
Article 1. [All persons born free; their natural rights; slavery and indentured servitude prohibited]
That all persons are born equally free and independent, and have certain natural, inherent, and unalienable rights, amongst which are the enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety; therefore no person born in this country, or brought from oversea, ought to be holden by law, to serve any person as a servant, slave or apprentice, after arriving to the age of twenty-one years, unless bound by the person's own consent, after arriving to such age, or bound by law for the payment of debts, damages, fines, costs, or the like slavery and indentured servitude in any form are prohibited.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "2022 General Election Constitutional Amendment Question". Vermont Secretary of State. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  2. ^ "Proposal 2 and Proposal 5 signed into law in Vermont". WPTZ News. December 14, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2024.