Vermont amendments raise question of existing rights

What voters will decide

Vermont voters will see two proposed constitutional amendments on the statewide ballot in November 2026. Proposal 3 concerns collective bargaining, while Proposal 4 concerns equality of rights.

The case against the proposals is that existing constitutional guarantees already cover both subjects. The Vermont and U.S. constitutions protect equal treatment under the law, and workers already have the right to form labor unions. Under that view, adding language to the state Constitution would repeat protections rather than create them.

The proposals would still have a legal purpose: They would place specific language on collective bargaining and equal rights directly into Vermont’s governing document. The ballot decision is therefore not limited to whether the underlying rights currently exist. Voters also must decide whether the state Constitution should name those protections more explicitly.

The amendment process

The Vermont Legislature passed both proposals through the constitutional amendment process, sending them to voters for the final decision. Gov. Phil Scott cannot veto a proposed constitutional amendment and has no formal control over whether voters approve it.

Scott has urged Vermonters to study the proposals before casting their ballots. Approval or rejection rests with voters in the statewide election.

Arguments over Proposal 4

Opposition published in a VTDigger letter focuses especially on Proposal 4. The letter argues that the equality measure is unnecessary because equal protection already exists and contends that the proposal could produce broader legal and financial consequences.

Those claims frame one side of the ballot debate. The measures themselves ask voters whether to add the proposed protections to the Vermont Constitution, regardless of rights that already exist under current state or federal law.