Judge expected to finalize primary results

MONTPELIER — A Vermont judge is expected to give the final OK to results confirming Progressive Party Chairwoman Martha Abbott as winner of the party’s gubernatorial primary.
Judge Robert Bent said that as of Monday afternoon, Abbott was leading environmental group leader Annette Smith by a margin of 381 to 340 with six ballots in dispute.
Bent is planning a hearing on Tuesday to review the disputed ballots and declare final results.
An election official says that should clear the way for general election ballots to be printed in time to meet a federal deadline of Sept. 22 for mailing them to military and other overseas voters.