• Vermont’s 2024 general election will conclude with the announcement of unofficial results on November 12th.
• Unofficial election results will be available on the Vermont Secretary of State’s website after polls close at 7 p.m.
• A public audit of the election will be held on Dec. 3 to ensure the accuracy of the reported results.
• Vermont’s three presidential electors will convene on Dec. 17 to cast their votes.

Today is the 2024 general election, the day Vermonters will discover which candidates are likely to lead their local, state and national governments for the next few years.

Town and city clerks will report unofficial election results to the Vermont Secretary of State’s office once polls close at 7 p.m. The results will be posted on the secretary’s website at https://electionresults.vermont.gov/.

“Vermont is well-known for its free, fair, transparent, and accessible elections,” said Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas in a press release, adding that her office works hard to make sure the public has access to the unofficial results on election day.

When do election results become official in Vermont

Statewide results will remain unofficial until Tuesday, Nov. 12, when the Statewide Canvassing Committee is slated to meet at the statehouse starting at 10 a.m. to certify the results.

After the election, the Secretary of State’s office is posed to host a public, livestreamed General Election Audit at the statehouse on Tuesday, Dec. 3, at 9 a.m. Multiple towns and cities will be selected to have their reported results compared to their paper ballots to ensure there are no differences.

When does Vermont cast its Electoral College votes

Two weeks later on Tuesday, Dec. 17, Vermont’s presidential elector are set to meet at the statehouse at 10 a.m. to cast their electoral college votes. Vermont has three of the 538 electoral votes, just like six other states and the District of Columbia.

The results certification, general election audit and the meeting of the presidential electors will all be open to the public.

Megan Stewart is a government accountability reporter for the Burlington Free Press. Contact her at mstewartyounger@gannett.com.

The first quarter was a pretty great start to the season for the Missouri Tigers.

The second, third and fourth quarters … not so much.

The Tigers scored 20 points in the first quarter and 26 the rest of the game in a 62-46 loss to the Vermont Catamounts on Monday in Vermont, opening the season with a loss to the second-place finishers in last year’s WNIT.

It was Vermont’s first win against an SEC team in program history.

Missouri jumped out to a 6-0 lead when Laniah Randle drove for a layup for her first points as a Tiger then hit two free throws before turning a steal into a Grace Slaughter layup.

Randle ended with 11 points, five rebounds and two steals. Slaughter led the team with 16 points and three rebounds.

But turnovers started to plague the Tigers, allowing Vermont to come back to tie the game at 8 after Anna Olson scored the first of her game-high 18 points.

The Catamounts were able to take a 19-14 lead after a Keira Hanson 3, then led 23-17 before Ashton Judd hit a 3-pointer off a Tilda Sjokvist assist with 0:03 left on the clock in the first quarter to cut the lead to 23-20 at the first break.

Both offenses went quiet in the second quarter, with the teams combining for just 15 points after combining for 43 in the first quarter.

Vermont was able to extend as far as a 30-23 lead late in the second quarter before Angelique Ngalakulondi hit a layup with 1:31 left to create the halftime margin of 30-25.

A Ngalakulondi free throw with 6:32 left in the third cut the lead to 32-28, but Vermont used a 10-0 run to create a lead that would only keep growing.

Bella Vito hit a jumper with 10 seconds left in the third to send the Catamounts into the final break up 44-32.

Both offenses worked better in the fourth quarter, but Missouri never cut the lead to fewer than 15 while Vermont extended it as far as 20.

Missouri shot 6-of-10 overall in the first quarter, but just 12-of-30 overall in the game. The Tigers made 2-of-5 attempts from 3 and 20-of-25 at the free-throw line.

Vermont shot 26-of-51 overall, 6-of-18 from 3 and 4-of-5 at the free-throw line.

That shot disparity came from Missouri’s 26 turnovers to Vermont’s 19, leading to Vermont winning 30-18 in points off turnovers. Vermont also won the rebounding battle 25-22 with 10 offensive boards.

Missouri (0-1) will play Southern in the home opener at Mizzou Arena at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Head on over to the Tiger Walk to discuss this game and so much more.

While teen drug use has largely declined, the latest data from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health shows moderate differences by state. In Vermont, an estimated 9.4% of teens had used an illicit drug in the past month, making it the #8 state for teen drug use.

Read the national analysis to see which states had the highest rates of teen drug use.

Drug use is generally higher in some Western states, including New Mexico, where 13.7% of teens had used drugs in the past month. This is in line with larger trends, as New Mexico has had some of the highest rates of alcohol and drug-related deaths in the country for decades. A 2023 report from the state’s legislature found fewer teens are using drugs than they were a decade ago, but overdoses are on the rise.

Northeastern states including Rhode Island and Massachusetts also have some of the highest rates of teen drug use. Again, this is in line with larger regional trends, as New England has felt the outsized impact of the opioid crisis.

States with the lowest rates of teen drug use were Alabama and Utah, with both at around 5%. However, both states have experienced a rise in opioid deaths in recent years. In 2023, Alabama launched the Odds Are Alabama campaign to raise awareness and prevent fentanyl-related overdose deaths.

Story editing by Cynthia Rebolledo. Additional editing by Kelly Glass and Elisa Huang. Copy editing by Tim Bruns.

This story features data reporting and writing by Elena Cox and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states and Washington D.C.

This story originally appeared on Substance Use Treatment Facilities and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.