October 2024

Q1: I tried Early Voting on Oct. 21 at The Baldwin Center. I liked it. How is it going?

You were one of 931 voters who cast an Early Voting ballot at the Baldwin Center on Day 1, or one every 35 seconds! On the first three days, a total of 2,487 of your neighbors tried it out. There has been a short line of voters waiting at 10 a.m. when we open, but no substantial line after that until we close at 6 p.m.

Early Voting seems to be popular with the voters who have tried it. Some Republicans told me they like being asked to present an ID before casting a ballot; some Democrats seem to like it because it provides more options for voting. Everyone praised the Baldwin Center as the ideal spot, with its central location in town and substantial parking behind the library.

EV continues daily through Nov. 3. Hours are posted on the town web page.

Q2: Does Early Voting look like regular Election Day voting?

When you arrive, instead of crossing your name off a paper list of eligible voters, we electronically record that you used Early Voting, preventing people from trying to vote a second time on Nov. 5 or via Absentee Ballot.

We then print out your name and address on a sticker, which we place on an envelope. On a regular ballot, you mark your favorite choices as usual, then place the ballot in the envelope and seal it. You sign your name and date, place it in a white Ballot Drop Box, then get your I VOTED! sticker. That’s it.

Q3: What do you do with these ballots? Do you count the votes on the same day?

We open the Ballot Drop Box every night after voting stops at 6 p.m. Two poll workers – one Democrat, one Republican — count the ballot envelopes. We place the ballots in a locked container, with a numbered seal, and store them in a secure location until Election Day.

On Nov. 5, the Registrars of Voters hire ballot counters from both parties to beak the seals, open the envelopes, and feed the ballots into the same kind of tabulator machines used at the polling locations.

Q4: How does Early Voting differ from Absentee Ballot voting?

You must separately apply to the Town Clerk for an Absentee Ballot; email spawluk@townofstratford.com. The Clerk confirms you are a registered voter, then mails you a ballot. You fill it out at home, then you need to get it back to the Town Clerk by 8 p.m. sharp on Nov. 5. You can mail it back. Or you (or an immediate family member) can drop it into the white Ballot Dropbox, on the side of Town Hall along Main Street. There are two cameras trained on the Dropbox, and the box is emptied twice a day. So in Early Voting, you are filling out the ballot at home. In EV, you do it at the Baldwin Center.

Q5: Will Early Voting lead to shorter lines on Nov. 5?

Other states with Early Voting find that about 20% of voters use it, and it leads to reduced reliance on Absentee Ballots and day-of-voting.

But there is little evidence, from other states, that adding Early Voting actually increases turnout. So we expect the overall percentage of people voting (75%-77% in Stratford in a presidential year) to remain about the same in 2024 despite the addition of EV.