Photos by Toby Talbot / AP

A voter casts his ballot at the Town Meeting, March 6, 2012, in Strafford, Vt. People across Vermont are headed to their town halls, school gymnasiums and other locations to decide issues big and small. Tuesday is Town Meeting Day in much of Vermont. Across the state more than 50 towns are voting on whether to urge Congress to pass a constitutional amendment to declare that corporations are not people.

Maria Cabri, left, and Eva Behrens chat before the Strafford Town Meeting on Tuesday.

From Vermont’s Secretary of State website: On Vermont’s Town Meeting Day, the first Tuesday in March, citizens across the state come together in their communities to discuss the business of their towns.  For over 200 years Town Meeting Day has been an important political event as Vermonters elect local officers and vote on budgets.  It has also been a time for neighbors to discuss the civic issues of their community, state, and nation.

Town meeting also serves a social function. It brings people together who might not otherwise know each other.  This can strengthen social ties within a town and help people work together to tackle community problems.

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