Wild Weather Aside, Newtown Prepares To Vote

A tropical storm may have sidetracked the Newtown Labor Day Parade, and an early snowstorm may have postponed the annual Main Street Halloween celebration, but everyone from Secretary of the State Denise Merrill to Newtown’s local Registrars of Voters are determined to hold local elections Tuesday, November 8.

The registrars report the polls will be open from 6 am until 8 pm.

Individuals can determine if they are a registered voter or find their voting location for Tuesday by visiting the Secretary of the State’s website at www.sots.ct.gov, under the “news and announcements” tab, click on “voter registration and polling place finder.”

See each district’s local ballot in this week’s Newtown Bee, online at Newtownbee.com or under the “Nov 8th, 2011 Municipal Election Town Ballots” at sots.ct.gov.

According to the registrars, voters are welcome to bring a “cheat sheet” to the polls with notes compiled beforehand; however, “any paperwork must be concealed in a pocket or pocketbook for example, until voters are inside the actual voting booth,” said Democratic Registrar LeReine Frampton. “Once you are in the booth, you may bring out your paper and fill out your ballot. After you finish filling out your ballot, you must conceal your paper. Your paper cannot be visible in the polling place or anywhere within the 75-foot zone.”

Regarding the ballot, the registrars state that as long as one oval is filled in, a ballot will go through the tabulator.

“We realize that this is a long [two-sided] ballot,” Ms Frampton said. “But please remember that the citizens on the second side have put themselves out and are volunteering to serve our community, too.”

Those living in District 3-1 and who vote at Head O’ Meadow School may need to follow alternate directions to their polling place because Boggs Hill Road is closed near the intersection of Route 302/Sugar Street.

The town has several detours marked to go around the bridge work on Boggs Hill Road. Anyone coming from 302 can use Head of Meadow, Key Rock, or Hattertown Roads. There is also a detour using Brushy Hill and Palestine Roads.

District 1 voters must report to Newtown Middle School Gym A; District 2 voters must report to Reed Intermediate School Cafetorium; District 3-1 voters must report to Head O’ Meadow School Cafetorium; and District 3-2 voters must report to Edmond Town Hall in the Lower Meeting Room.

The Edmond Town Hall polling place is most easily accessed by using the door on the side of the building by the General Store.

Any qualified individual who is not yet registered may register to vote in person until noon on Monday, November 7.

The local registrars remind residents that they have the most say in our local government. “Your vote is the strongest during a municipal election,” Ms Frampton said. “Please check out the candidates and make an informed decision on Tuesday, November 8.”