CONNECTICUT, USA — We are weeks away from the November election and many voters have questions about how this election season will proceed amid a pandemic.
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill says applications for absentee ballots are being mailed out this week to registered voters in Connecticut.
“This is not the ballot. This is merely an application for a ballot. A lot of people seem to think they have to vote absentee this year, that is not the case. All the polling places will still be open. This is an option,” said Merrill.
The actual absentee ballots won’t be mailed out until October 2. Once you receive yours it’s best to return it as soon as possible by mail or drop it off in your town or city’s ballot box.
“We’re suggesting the ballot boxes because there’s been so much concern about the capacity of the postal service with all their cutbacks. If you get your ballot let’s say, the middle of October, and it’s going to take 7-10 days to mail it to town hall, you’d be better off if you can, to pop it in the ballot box,” said Merrill. “When the clerk receive your ballot, they will check you off on the AB list and that will appear on our website on our lookup tool.” That tool can be found at myvotect.gov/lookup
Those absentee ballots are for voters who have already registered. If you haven’t registered to vote in November, the mail-in and online registration deadline is October 27. The in-person registration deadline is noon on November 2.
“Election Day registration will be in effect for every, it’s a statewide election and a national election, so on those years, we do have Election Day registration. It’s kind of a fail-safe, people should still register before then,” said Merrill. She said you will be proper ID to register the day of the election at your town hall.
Merrill is hoping the process runs smoothly and said the one good thing about this Election Day is there may be shorter lines at the polls.
“You can be sure that the polls are safe. We have provided PPE, people will have masks, we will be doing everything according to the CDC guidelines that we’re all familiar with now from grocery stores,” she said.
For voter information, visit myvotect.gov or click here.