To the Editor:

We would personally like to thank the 2,823 voters that showed up to vote at the polls and the 57 voters that voted by absentee ballot at the last referendum.

We would like to also thank public works for putting out our ten A-frames all over town and then picking them up once the referendum was over. Public works also supplied the workers that moved the equipment on Monday and picked it up on Wednesday. This saves us from hiring outside firms at a much higher cost.

Thank you to our school maintenance staff. They are responsible for making sure our workers can get in at 5 am to get the polls ready for the voters. They supply the flags and garbage cans. They seal the rooms once they are set up and at the end of the night. They make sure the lights are on for the workers and voters. They are great and so easy to work with.

Our poll workers are great. They have to be there before 5:15 am and can’t leave until everything balances about 8:30 pm for the referendum, much later in November. They attend a training session and work a very long day. They have very strict laws to follow and unfortunately take a bit of abuse at times.

Our wonderful IT department helps us with the computer connections for the day and keeps our printer going to print the ballots (this is only allowed for referendums but saves us a lot of money).

Our office staff has to work 9 am until 8 pm the Tuesday before the vote. They work 9 am until 5 pm the day before the vote and 5 am until at least 9 pm on referendum day (at least midnight for November elections). We create and test the ballots and test the voting machines and the handicapped accessible machine. We have to coordinate all the supplies and signage needed at the polls and around town. We coordinate with all the other town departments that help us. We work with the town clerk’s office for absentee ballots.

If we forgot anyone, we apologize. We don’t think voters realize how much work goes into a voting event. It doesn’t just happen. There are a lot of rules to follow and people to coordinate. We are the Gatekeepers of Democracy and take our jobs very seriously.

We should all thank the brave men and women that defend our country and our right to vote.

Sincerely,

LeReine Frampton and Carey Schierloh

Registrar of Voters

3 Primrose Street, Newtown         May 2, 2019