Preparing for an Election Day unlike any other
As Election Day approaches, all eyes have been on the presidential contest between Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. But Connecticut voters will also cast their ballots for Congress, the state legislature and some local offices. Despite a record number of absentee ballots that have flooded into election offices across the state, local officials feel confident that they’ll be able to report some results on Tuesday night. It remains to be seen when the presidential contest will be called.
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The big story
An Election Day unlike any other: Tuesday’s election will look markedly different than years past, with voters, wearing masks, queuing up 6 feet apart as they wait to cast their ballots. And while presidential elections bring higher turnout than state and local contests, there may be fewer people showing up to the polls because of the record number of absentee ballots that have been requested — nearly 700,000 and counting as of Thursday evening. At the top of the ticket, Biden is a lock to defeat Trump in Connecticut. The state’s five Democratic congressional incumbents are also favored to win their races. As far as the state legislature, it’s expected that Democrats will retain control of the state House of Representatives and state Senate. For those who do show up to vote in person, election officials are promising that it will be safe despite the continuing coronavirus pandemic. If you haven’t sent your absentee ballot in the mail yet, it’s advised that you instead place it into one of the ballot boxes that have been installed outside of town and city halls across the state. Law enforcement officials say they will be on the lookout for any potential voter intimidation at the polls, and that anybody who interferes with someone’s ability to vote will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Five things you may have missed
Voter registrations break record in Connecticut: More than 2.3 million Connecticut residents have registered to vote ahead of Election Day, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill announced Thursday, a record. Among the 2,308,177 active, registered voters, there are 850,046 Democrats, 480,026 Republicans, 939,679 who are unaffiliated and 38,426 committed to other parties. There have been 729,811 new registrations since the 2016 election, a 59% increase from the number of new voters who signed up between the 2012 and 2016 presidential contests. Voters ages 18-24 made up 185,391 of the new registrations, up from 125,497 from 2012-2016 and 78,156 from 2008-2012. “We are poised to see the largest number of voters participating in a Connecticut election ever, despite the 2020 election being held under the most challenging circumstances in a century.” Eligible voters who have not yet registered may do so on Election Day, usually at their city or town hall.
Election officials promise polls will be safe for in-person voting: With Connecticut’s coronavirus infection rate continuing to rise and with 30 cities and towns on “red alert” status based on their rates of new cases, election officials said they are taking all steps necessary to make sure polling locations are safe for in-person voting on Tuesday. While a record number of voters have cast absentee ballots, hundreds of thousands more are expected to show up to vote in person. To help prepare, Merrill’s office issued grants to cities and towns so they could stock up on protective equipment, hand sanitizer and anything else they might need. Many locations will use disposable pens and one-time use pencils, as well as frequent cleanings. While the state can’t require voters to wear masks into a polling location, they will offer them to anybody who shows up without one.
Mysterious mailing shares voters’ participation records: Anonymous mailers arrived in Connecticut voters’ mailboxes recently with the following message: “We’re sending this mailing to you, your friends, your neighbors, your colleagues at work, and your community members to publicize who does and does not vote.” Contained at the bottom of the mailings are lists of nearby voters and information about if they participated in recent elections. The letters, an apparent attempt to boost turnout on Election Day, warn that the sender will expose voting records again after the election so the recipient’s neighbors will be aware of whether they voted. While who somebody voted for is private, whether somebody voted in an election or not is information that is publicly available. The letters were purportedly sent by the Connecticut State Voter Project, but state election officials said they have never heard of the group. “We don’t know who sent it,” Gabe Rosenberg, a spokesman for Merrill, said.
Republican state chairman won’t seek reelection: Connecticut Republican Party Chairman J.R. Romano told party leaders Tuesday he won’t seek reelection when his term ends in June. Leader of the state party since 2015, Romano has been a vocal defender of President Donald Trump. His decision comes two months after some top Republicans called on him to resign, saying he mishandled allegations of domestic violence involving a Republican candidate for Congress. Romano inherited a state party that was chronically underfunded and held no statewide offices or seats in Congress. He sought to broaden the party’s appeal and found success capturing votes in blue collar parts of the state, such as eastern Connecticut and the Naugatuck Valley. A highlight was the 2016 election, where Republicans won 18 seats in the state Senate, tying for control of the chamber with the Democrats. But that success was short-lived as Democrats in 2018 regained control of the Senate and expanded their House majority.
Sacred Heart poll shows Biden trouncing Trump in Connecticut: A new Sacred Heart University poll shows Biden with a commanding lead over Trump in Connecticut, though a sizable portion of respondents said they hadn’t yet made up their minds as to which candidate they’d be supporting. Thursday’s poll had 51% in favor of Biden, 26% supporting Trump and 20% who were not sure or undecided. Trump’s favorability rating was only 30.7%, and only 28.8% of respondents said they approved of how the president has handled the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Ned Lamont, by contrast, got high marks in that category, with 71% of state residents approving of his approach to the public health crisis. His overall approval rating was 53.5%, up from 41% in April. The survey of 1,000 Connecticut residents was conducted from Oct. 8-21 and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
Odds and ends
David X. Sullivan, a New Fairfield Republican challenging freshman U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes in Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District, was the benefactor recently of more than $50,000 in spending from a conservative super PAC that was used to send mailers labeling Hayes a “radical” politician who is too extreme to represent the state. The No Socialism PAC was formed in mid-October shortly before the mailers were sent. Hayes has condemned the mailer’s claims, saying her voting record is “actually pretty moderate.” The 5th District includes most of western Connecticut. … Margaret Streicker, a real estate developer from Milford and the GOP challenger to longtime U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, recently poured an additional $1.15M of her own money into her increasingly combative campaign against the 15-term incumbent. Streicker has been using her personal fortune to finance aggressive television ads that DeLauro’s campaign has said are inaccurate. It’s unclear if the strategy will work; DeLauro has not had a close race in decades. … U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy traveled to Pennsylvania on Thursday to campaign for Biden, who holds a narrow lead over Trump in the key swing state, according to recent polls. “Crazy — it’s 45 degrees and pouring rain and windy here in Harrisburg … and still 40 people showed up to go door knocking for @JoeBiden!,” Murphy tweeted. He was joined by U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa … Dave Yaccarino is on the ballot as a Republican running for state representative in North Haven. Dave Yaccarino is also on the ballot as a Democrat running for state representative in nearby East Haven. It’s not a mistake, but rather a father-son duo who are both seeking office albeit from different political parties. “I looked nationally,” the younger Yaccarino said. “It’s pretty uncommon.” The elder Yaccarino is a five-term incumbent while his son is a first-time candidate. … UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma gave an impassioned speech during the Big East women’s basketball media day Thursday, urging people to get out and vote on Election Day. He didn’t mention Trump or Biden by name, but Auriemma said that “You can’t make a vaccine for some of the nonsense that’s been going on in this country. The only thing you have for that is your vote. That’s it.” The coach said the team will gather at his home in Manchester for dinner to mark Election Day.