The Town Meeting Day tradition

Tuesday is a huge day in national politics, but it's also a big day here in Vermont with Town Meeting Day.

Since 1762 there have been town meetings happening in Vermont. In fact, the Vermont Republic wasn't established until 15 years later, and it didn't gain statehood until 1791.

Since then, the first Tuesday in March has become a time for town residents to come together to discuss issues great and small. Many communities still meet in person to decide about things like school budgets, road maintenance and non-binding resolutions.

It's a New England tradition and throwback to a time before local government ceded much of its power to state and federal authority. A tradition that continues now, more than 250 years after it first began.