As annual town meeting attendance dwindles, is secret ballot the way to go?
Towns that utilized a secret ballot for recent town meetings saw a larger turnout than those that stuck with tradition.
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Sidney resident Peter Beckerman addresses the crowd March 27 during the annual Town Meeting at James H. Bean School.
Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel file
Floor discussions may be a thing of the past at the annual rite of spring — town meetings.
While attendance dwindled at traditional town meetings during the coronavirus pandemic, towns that used secret ballot to vote on annual issues saw an uptick in participation in 2021.