Election Day: What to know about elections in Connecticut

Municipal elections are happening and voters from across the state will be casting ballots.

Here's what you need to know about Election Day and voting in Connecticut.

Voting in Connecticut

Polls in Connecticut are open until 8 p.m.

Any elector standing in line at the polls at 8 p.m. will be allowed to cast a vote.

Check with your town clerk for the hours of voting on a referendum, as they vary by town.

You can look up your polling location here.

What’s on your city or town ballot?

You can find the local ballots here.

Are you eligible to vote?

You are eligible to register to vote if you are:

• At least 17 and turning 18 on or before Election Day
• A United States citizen living in Connecticut
• Been convicted of a felony and have completed confinement Get more information here.

If you moved recently, you will have to update your voter registration to reflect your new address.

If you are a college student living away from home, you may choose to vote in one of two ways. Either complete an absentee ballot for the election in your hometown or register to vote in your college town.

How to check your registration

To ensure that you are registered to vote, check here.

Election Day Registration

Connecticut also has Election Day Registration on Election Day itself for voters who need it.

Election Day Registration is not available at your polling place but is available at a designated Election Day Registration location in each town until 8 p.m.

You will register and vote at the designated Election Day Registration location in your town.

Plan to arrive early in the day as there may be long lines. If you are in line at the Election Day Registration site at 8 p.m., you can remain in line to complete your registration and vote. You will need to provide proof of identity and residency.         

Learn more about Election Day Registration and Election Day Registration locations here.

Absentee ballots

Absentee ballots must be returned:

• By mail so that it is received by the municipal clerk no later than the close of the polls on the day of such election or
• Deposited into an official ballot box of the municipality no later than the close of the polls on the day of such election or
• Returned by the elector in person to said clerk by the day before an election or primary.

Election Day Hotline

The Election Day hotline at 866-SEEC-INFO (866-733-2463) and email address at elections@ct.gov will be available throughout Election Day for anyone who witnesses voting irregularities.

Notable Elections

While cities and towns across the state have elections, races in Bridgeport and Derby have gotten quite a bit of attention.

Bridgeport

A state judge has ordered a new Democratic mayoral primary to be held after the Nov. 7 general election is completed.

The decision comes after surveillance videos showed a woman stuffing what appeared to be absentee ballots into an outdoor ballot box days before the original primary in September.

NBC Connecticut has not independently verified the video.

Superior Court Judge William Clark determined the allegations of possible malfeasance warrant throwing out the results of the Sept. 12 primary, which incumbent Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim won by 251 votes out of 8,173 cast. Absentee ballots secured his margin of victory.

Ganim’s opponent, John Gomes, whose campaign obtained the surveillance video and released it publicly after the primary, sued city officials and demanded a new primary, or for him to be declared the winner.

Ganim denied under oath to ever discussing absentee ballots with a campaign volunteer who resembles a woman seen on surveillance video stuffing papers into a drop box multiple times ahead of the mayoral primary.

Under Connecticut law, people using a collection box to vote by absentee ballot must drop off their completed ballots themselves, or designate certain family members, police, local election officials or a caregiver to do it for them.

Ganim said in court that he was “shocked by what appeared in the videos” released by Gomes’ campaign shortly after the primary. However, he said he does not know if the woman who appears to be in the video actually mishandled ballots.

David Herz is on the ballot for the Republican candidate.

Gomes is on the ballot as an Independent.

Lamond Daniels is a petitioning candidate.

See the ballot here.

Derby

In Derby, Alderman Gino DiGiovanni Jr., who is facing charges in connection with his presence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is the Republican candidate for mayor.

DiGiovanni has insisted all along he did not do anything wrong.

He was in a primary race against the incumbent mayor, Richard Dziekan, who is running as a petitioning candidate.

Joseph Di Martino, who was unopposed in the Democratic primary, is the Democrat in the ballot.

Shirley McIvoy is an Independent on the ballot.  

DiGiovanni’s next hearing is scheduled for after the general election.

See the Derby ballot here.