On Town Meeting Day, students track democracy itself

Jordan Mitchell works at the Starksbroro town meeting. Photo courtesy of Center for Research on Vermont
A cohort of Vermont college students revived a decades-old Town Meeting Day tradition this week, examining dozens of Vermont towns to see just how democratic they really are.
Using a “democratic index” developed by longtime UVM political science professor Frank Bryan, the students sought to determine the most democratic towns by adding the turnout rate to the participation rate at