From CT Secretary of the State Denise Merrill:
Hartford: Secretary of the State Denise Merrill today is reviewing final preparations for tomorrow’s municipal elections taking place in the vast majority of Connecticut cities and towns. Polls will be open from 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. for Connecticut’s more than 2,000,000 active registered voters to cast ballots for offices such as Mayor, First Selectman, selectmen, town and city council, board of education, board of finance, boards of planning, zoning, assessment and appeals, police commission and many other local offices. A complete list of active registered voters in Connecticut by party follows at the end of this news release. For the first time in state history, Election Day registration is available for any eligible voter in Connecticut. That means any citizen aged 18 or older not registered to vote who resides in Connecticut can go to their town or city hall on Election Day and–with the proper identifying documents–register and vote tomorrow. Secretary Merrill is also once again opening the Election Day Hotline with the State Elections Enforcement Commission, and also announcing that for 2nd time a group of volunteer attorneys from the Connecticut Bar Association are available to serve as designees on Election Day authorized to enter and review any polling place for compliance with state election laws.
“Once again I encourage every eligible voter in our state to make their voice heard in tomorrow’s elections, as decisions on very important issues in your community will be made by those on the ballot,” said Secretary Merrill, Connecticut’s chief elections official. “We are on the job for election day, and keeping an eye on things to make sure we will have an orderly election. We have the Election Day hotline up and running and we will be ready to respond if any problems arise. We will also once again have a corps of volunteer attorneys who can serve as the eyes and ears of my office should an issue at a local polling place require further examination. I also want to make sure Connecticut citizens know that even if you are not registered to vote, you can still go to town or city hall and register on Election Day, and then cast a ballot.”
Secretary Merrill once again released the Election Day Hotline in coordination with the State Elections Enforcement Commission which is 1-866-SEEC-INFO or 1-866-733-2463 in addition to an email hotline elections@ct.gov should voters encounter any difficulties at the polls. Secretary Merrill’s office will be conducting several coordination conference calls throughout the day with counterparts at the State Elections Enforcement Commission to monitor any potential irregularities or problems at the polls.
The designees will only be dispatched to a polling place if a particular problem is reported to the Secretary of the State’s office and Secretary Merrill determines it is necessary to receive independent confirmation of reported information. Designees have no authority in the polling place other than to observe the local administration of elections and report back to Secretary Merrill on the compliance with state election laws. The volunteer attorneys have been trained in election administration by the Secretary of the State’s office, and have signed an agreement that they will not act in a partisan way on Election Day.
As voters head to the polls tomorrow, Secretary Merrill urged voters to go online at www.sots.ct.gov to see where their polling place is located. The law enacting Election Day Registration permits anyone to register and vote in person on Election Day if he or she meets the eligibility requirements for voting in this state and is either: (1) not already a registered voter or (2) is registered in one municipality but wants to change his or her registration because he or she currently resides in another municipality. By law, a person is eligible to register and vote if he or she is (1) a U. S. citizen, (2) age 18 or older, and (3) a bona fide resident of the municipality in which he or she applies to register to vote. Those wishing to register and vote on Election Day must appear in person at the designated location at town or city hall and declare under oath that they have not previously voted in the election. They must complete the application for voter registration and provide documents to prove their identity and residence.
Once the new voter is properly registered, the Registrars of Voters must provide a special Election Day Registration (EDR) ballot and envelope to the voter and record its issuance to that particular voter. The voter must (1) declare under oath that he or she did not previously vote in the election and (2) sign an affirmation that is printed on the back of the security envelope. The new voter must secretly mark the ballot in the presence of the registrars or their designees, place it in the EDR envelope, and deposit the envelope in a secured EDR ballot box.
Secretary Merrill is also reminding voters to bring with them some form of identification when they go to cast a ballot. A driver’s license will suffice in all cases but if a voter does not have a government issued photo ID then a bank statement, utility bill, paystub, social security card or other forms of identification are also acceptable. Voters should go online at www.sots.ct.gov to see a complete list of acceptable forms of voter identification.
ACTIVE REGISTERED VOTERS IN CONNECTICUT AS OF 11/04/2013:
PARTY COUNT
A Better Future 6
A Brookfield Party 3
A Sentinel Party 23
Canterbury First 2
Chatham Party 10
Democratic 741,340
Enfield Taxpayers Party 1
Friends Of Saybrook 13
Green 1,725
Guilty 1
Independence For Montville 8
Independent 14,782
Independent Choice 1
Libertarian 1,684
Milford Independent Party 4
New Milford First 19
Norwich for Change 1
Open 8
Pro-Bethel 2
Realistic Balance 4
Reform 13
Republican 414,711
Simsbury Citizens First 1
South Windsor Citizens 1
Spring Glen Party 9
Swing 1
The Hampton Party 1
U-It 6
Unaffiliated 842,723
Unaffiliated (Conservative) 1
We The People 44
Winsted Independent 38
Working Families 264
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TOTAL 2,017,450
