Bruce Olson gives instructions on how to vote to residents attending the annual Town Meeting, Tuesday, March 5, 2024, in Elmore, Vt. Democracy takes many forms, and some are more direct than others. In Elmore, the tradition of Town Meeting is very direct and the business of running a town and participating in its administration was thrown open to everyone for the yearly meeting today. The nuts and bolts of town business and decision-making get done, and in the process something unfolds that doesn't happen everywhere in the republic these days — in-person politics that are civil, friendly and followed by lunch. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
