Absentee Ballots Available Now For April 26 Budget Vote

Town Clerk Debbie A. Aurelia has issued the formal announcement confirming that there will be a referendum on the following question: “Shall the sum of $106,626,075 be appropriated as the Annual Town Budget for the 2011-2012 Fiscal Year?”

The referendum will be held on Tuesday, April 26, from 6 am to 8 pm, at the Newtown Middle School Gymnasium.

Pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes Section 7-6, any person who is a registered voter in the Town of Newtown or who is a US citizen who is assessed at least $1,000 for the real estate or motor vehicles on the 2010 Grand List for the Town of Newtown is qualified to vote at the referendum.

Absentee ballots are available for the referendum during office hours Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm, and the town clerk’s office, in the Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street in Fairfield Hills, will have special hours on Saturday, April 23, from 9 am to noon, for the sole purpose of absentee ballot voting on the above question. 

Any qualified person who meets any of the following criteria may vote by absentee ballot:

*active service in the Armed Forces,

*absence from the town during all the hours of voting,

*illness,

*physical disability,

*religious tenets which forbid secular activity on the day of the referendum, or

*duties as a referendum official at a polling place other than your own during all the hours of voting.

As per Connecticut General Statutes Sections 9-140 and 9-369c, for a referendum held with less than three weeks notice, you may obtain an absentee ballot by applying at the town clerk’s office in person or designating one of the following to be your designee:

*a person caring for you because of your illness, including but not limited to a licensed physician or a registered practical nurse,

*a member of your family,

*a police officer in the municipality in which you reside, or

*a registrar of voters or deputy registrar of voters in the municipality in which you reside.

Absentee ballots can be returned in person to the town clerk by 4:30 pm Monday, April 25, or by mail or designee before the closing of the polls on referendum day — that is 8 pm on April 26.

Any questions should be directed to the town clerk’s office by phone at 203-270-4210.