Stafford, CT – September 5, 2024
Over the past few months, First Selectman Bill Morrison has been discussing reducing the number of polling places in town. After the state required towns to provide early voting, the costs associated with elections increased, and much of that has been borne by town budgets. Many towns, including Stafford, have been looking for more funding to offset costs, but Morrison has suggested that consolidating polling places could help Stafford save money in the meantime.
Sue Armstrong, Democratic Registrar of Voters, and Eleanor Canestrari, Republican Registrar of Voters, attended the most recent Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting to discuss some of the issues surrounding this topic.
Morrison has repeatedly said that this move is not meant to suppress votes but to help the town save on the costs of having seven or 14 days of early voting and then operating three polling places on election day. He has also noted that no change would happen before this year’s presidential election and that it would hopefully prevent some confusion on streets like Furnace Avenue, where you have different polling locations depending on where you live.
Armstrong told the BOS that while there could be some cost savings, moving from three polling places down to one would mean they would need more staff at that one location (though it would still be fewer people than are needed for three locations). She also noted that any savings would likely be eaten up by early voting, though that seems to be the point – offset costs of voting in one place, to cover the costs of mandated early voting.
Canestrari said, “There are lots of reasons not to do it,” and she would prefer to see State Representative Kurt Vail (who is also a Stafford selectman but was not at the meeting) and State Senator Jeff Gordon amend the state statute to have primaries in one voting location. She felt that there would be other costs associated with consolidation that would not be worth inconveniencing voters.
The registrars also pointed out that the state is working to expand absentee voting. In fact, CT Public reports, “Connecticut voters will be asked in this year’s election whether the state constitution should be amended to allow all voters to cast their ballots by mail.” The results of that vote could ultimately inform this conversation as it could become easier to vote without ever stepping into the voting booth, and the number of people voting in person could decrease significantly. The conversation will continue at an informational public hearing, to which the registrars asked the selectmen to invite Senator Gordon.
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