DANBURY — There’s an Election Day dispute about whether the name of a deceased Connecticut city councilmember should still appear on the ballot.
After longtime Danbury City Councilman Gregg Seabury died on Saturday, his fellow Republicans have decided to leave his name on Tuesday’s ballot. Republican Mayor Mark Boughton tells the News-Times there was “no way” to change more than 20,000 ballots before voters went to the polls.
But Secretary of the State Denise Merrill’s office contends state law is clear. If a candidate dies between 24 days and 24 hours before an election, they can be replaced with another candidate. If not, the ballots should be re-printed or the name blocked with a blank sticker or blacked out.
Merrill’s spokesman says all local election officials should follow the law as written.
