Secretary of State of Vermont
Sarah Copeland Hanzas
Secretary of State of Vermont (since January 2023)DINCUMBENT
- Race
- Secretary of State of Vermont
- Election
- 2026-11-03
- Opponents
- H. Brooke Paige (R); Rachel Shaw (Progressive)
- Research
- Basic
Party linenone
No recorded floor votes — not a current legislator in our records.
Said vs. did1 statement · 0 votes
it would have the effect of making it harder for a lot of people who have been voters their whole life to be able to vote
Require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote
Compare statements with votes ›On the ballotSecretary of State
2026-11-03
| Sarah Copeland Hanzas D | incumbent |
| H. Brooke Paige R | challenger |
| Rachel Shaw Progressive | challenger |
Renominated in the August 11 Democratic primary.
Said vs. did
Each documented position next to the recorded floor votes we map to the same issue. Votes are compared one at a time; no overall stance is inferred from them.
it would have the effect of making it harder for a lot of people who have been voters their whole life to be able to vote
Asked in a Vermont Public interview whether a state law like the SAVE Act, requiring proof of citizenship to register, would benefit Vermont, she said she did not see a benefit.[4]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Biography
Sarah Copeland Hanzas is the incumbent Democratic Secretary of State, seeking a third two-year term. Before her election in 2022 she served nearly two decades in the Vermont House. In office she has overseen replacement of the state's election-management IT systems and civic-education programs, and she and the Attorney General won dismissal of a Department of Justice suit demanding Vermont's unredacted voter list.[1][2][3]
Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.
Sarah Copeland Hanzas was born in Illinois and moved to Vermont in 1971.[5] She graduated from Oxbow High School and the University of Vermont, where she studied history and geology, and completed her teaching certification at the Upper Valley Educator Institute.[5] She taught secondary science in public schools and at Valley Vista in Bradford, and her 2021 legislative biography says she owned a small business, The Local Buzz Cafe, on Main Street in Bradford, where she lives with her husband and their three young-adult children.[5] She has described herself as an educator, a youth coach, a small business owner and a state legislator.[6]
Copeland Hanzas served 18 years in the Vermont House of Representatives, sitting on the Health Care Committee and later chairing the Government Operations Committee.[6][5] She also served on the executive committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures.[5] She won the election for Secretary of State in November 2022 and was sworn in on January 5, 2023, as the state's 39th Secretary of State, succeeding Jim Condos after his 12 years in the office.[6] In her welcome message she said she planned to bring a renewed focus on civic education and engagement, and she was re-elected in 2024.[3][6]
On the record
Official actions: bills, executive acts, filings and court records.
- legal2026-09-17 · With Attorney General Charity Clark, issued a joint statement after a federal judge dismissed on September 17, 2026 the Department of Justice's lawsuit demanding Vermont's unredacted voter list; the Secretary said Vermont law bars sharing the full voter file with the federal government.[7][4]
- actionWith Governor Phil Scott, announced in August 2026 that the state had removed nearly 900 people from the voter rolls who had been registered through the Department of Motor Vehicles without intending to register; she said none of them had voted.[4]
- action2026-08-18 · Said that the 2026 primary results were processed on a new election-management computer system without the snags of 2022 and 2024.[8]
In their own words
Priorities
- Civic education, including the Kid Governor program (classrooms in all 14 counties this year) and Vermont Civic Connect, a partnership with businesses and nonprofits offering employers a toolkit on how, where and when to vote.[4]
- Election administration: completing the replacement of aging IT systems and, per her interview, a closer collaboration with the Department of Motor Vehicles on voter-registration data transfers.[4]
Campaign moneyNo FEC filing summary matched — state candidates file with their state, not the FEC.
Profile: /people/sarah-copeland-hanzas
Compare all 3 candidates side by side ›
Sources cited in this profile
- 1.2026 election interviews: Vermont secretary of state · Vermont Public (Vermont Edition) · 2026-10-05 News report
- 2.Attorney General Clark and Secretary of State Copeland Hanzas Applaud Court's Dismissal of DOJ Lawsuit · Vermont Attorney General · 2026-09-17 Official record
- 3.Vermont 2026 General Election · The Green Papers Reference
- 4.2026 election interviews: Vermont secretary of state · Vermont Public (Vermont Edition) · 2026-10-05 News report
- 5.Representative Sarah Copeland Hanzas · Vermont General Assembly Official record
- 6.Welcome from the Secretary · Vermont Secretary of State Official record
- 7.Attorney General Clark and Secretary of State Copeland Hanzas Applaud Court's Dismissal of DOJ Lawsuit · Vermont Attorney General · 2026-09-17 Official record
- 8.Panel certifies Vermont primary results · WCAX · 2026-08-18 News report