September 2024

Q1: What are my options for voting in this presidential election?

You have three options: 1)You can vote at your normal polling location on Nov. 5, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Check your location here: https://portaldir.ct.gov/sots/LookUp.aspx 2) If you are unable to go to the polls on Nov. 5 due to being out of town or another approved reason, you can vote via Absentee Ballot. Contact the Town Clerk: spawluk@townofstratford.com. Approved reasons for an AB are listed here: https://portal.ct.gov/sots/election-services/voter-information/absentee-voting 3) Finally, you can take advantage of Year 1 of Early Voting in Connecticut. Go to the Baldwin Center, 1000 East Broad St. (adjacent to the library). We will have ballots there from all 10 voting locations in Stratford. You can vote there from Oct. 21 to Nov. 3, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. In addition, on Tuesday, Oct. 29, and Thursday, Oct. 31, hours are extended from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Q2: Why not just let everybody cast an Absentee Ballot if they want to?

There is a question on the Nov. 5 ballot that would allow universal mail-in ballots, in addition to voting in-person on Election Day or through Early Voting. So you can have a voice in helping to make that decision.

Q3: What happens if Stratford runs out of ballots on Nov. 5?

The short answer is that we can legally photocopy ballots and count them by hand, but we have never come close. We study turnout from past elections and over-order what we will need. It is challenging to project how many voters will cast a ballot on Election Day … or through Absentee Balloting … or through Early Voting, and the state requires that we report how many ballots were cast in each of the three categories. And while people will vote at the usual 10 polling locations in town, there actually will be 19 different ballots there because some town polling districts have multiple legislative races.

So we will order more than 100% of ballots needed for the town’s 34,000+ registered voters, all in hopes of avoiding the problem of running out. We also monitor how many people vote, each hour, at each of the 10 polling locations, to spot any areas that are running short on ballots.

Q4. I am physically unable to go and vote Nov. 5. Why can’t you just send me a ballot every year?

We do have Permanent Absentee Ballots available in Connecticut. You need to supply a doctor’s note. If interested, contact the Town Clerk: spawluk@townofstratford.com.

Q5. What happens if I am not registered to vote? Can I still cast a ballot Nov. 5?

We encourage you to check now to see if you are registered: https://portaldir.ct.gov/sots/LookUp.aspx .If you are not registered, you can do so online: https://voterregistration.ct.gov/OLVR You also can come to our office, Room 117 in Town Hall (2727 Main St.) and we can check on your status and be sure you are registered.

Connecticut does allow same-day registration on Election Day. The process can be slow, and the lines can be long. On Nov. 5 you can go to Town Hall, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., and both register to vote and cast a ballot there. But again, we urge you to handle the registration process ahead of time so that you can vote at your neighborhood voting location and avoid longer lines.