Newtown Voter Turnout Among Best In State

By John Voket

Registrars of Voters Karin Aurelia and LeReine Frampton believes a statewide honor Newtown is set to receive next week should be shared with, and celebrated by, every voter who turned out to the polls on Election Day

Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz said Newtown had the highest voter turnout in the state among towns its size for the Presidential election, and joins three other state communities as winners of the 2008 “Democracy Cup.”

“I think this past year the voters in Newtown have learned complacency does not have any place in elections or referendums,” Ms Frampton said upon learning of the award.

“Many thanks to all our workers and all involved for making this award possible,” Ms Aurelia added.

Ms Bysiewicz announced the state’s top four towns for percentage of turnout in their respective sized categories are: New Hartford (94.78 percent), Avon (95.65 percent), Newtown (88.97 percent), and Stamford (81.65 percent).

“This year’s election was the most exciting in a generation,” said Ms Bysiewicz, who announced the awards November 24. “Scores of new voters — young and old — went to the polls to make their voices heard. I congratulate these four towns for doing the best job this year of getting voters out to the polls. The involvement of citizens in the democratic process is the cornerstone of our civic life and this year the voters of Newtown...proved they are leaders.”

Co-sponsored by the East Haddam Civic Association since 2000, the Democracy Cup was created as a way to encourage voter participation in each year’s elections.

Under Democracy Cup criteria established by Secretary Bysiewicz, towns with fewer than 5,000 registered voters are considered small; municipalities with between 5,000 and 14,999 and voters are considered midsized, towns with 15,000 and 49,999 registered voters are considered large towns. 

This year, for the first time, cities with more than 50,000 registered voters are their own category.

“All Connecticut communities should be proud of their voter participation this year, but none more so than our big cities; especially Stamford,” said Scot Mackinnon, co-founder of the Democracy Cup and East Haddam Civic Association member. “While suburban Avon’s astounding 95.65 percent was the best turnout overall, Stamford’s 81.65 percent is amazing for a city with so many active registered voters.”

He said typically, while smaller municipalities have an easier time getting voters to the polls, urban centers, like Stamford, New Haven, and Hartford, are gaining ground.

“This is a trend worth celebrating,” Mackinnon added.

As part of her effort to increase voter registration in Connecticut, Secretary of the State Bysiewicz implemented an aggressive voter registration program that registered more than 3,000 high school students in 2008. The office also registers new citizens to vote at naturalization ceremonies and other events across Connecticut.

The Office of the Secretary of the State recently concluded the first-of-its-kind statewide effort to increase Latino voter registration in Connecticut.  More than 21,000 Latinos registered to vote as part of the “¡Tu Voto Si Cuenta!” campaign. 

Between January 1 and the October 28, 2008, voter registration deadline more than 300,000 Connecticut residents registered to vote.

Newtown also experienced a glut of new voters signing up in the weeks before the election, which helped the local registrars plan for the successful administration of polling places, which helped make the voting experience as painless as possible on Election Day, Ms Frampton said.

“We planned for an even bigger turnout trying to make sure that the voters were not inconvenienced by long lines like those we heard about on the news,” she said.

Each winning town will be able to host and display a Democracy Cup trophy through next year’s November elections. Newtown’s trophy presentation ceremonies are planned for Wednesday, December 3, at Edmond Town Hall.