CT absentee ballots already breaking records
Six weeks from Election Day, many of Connecticut’s town clerks have already processed more requests for absentee ballots than during usual presidential election years.
Of course, 2020 is anything but usual, with a contentious campaign for the White House during the coronavirus pandemic that has forced many town and city halls to limit public access, along with a new law that allows more and more voters to choose mailin balloting.
Ansonia Town Clerk Beth Lynch’s office opened up more ballot requests on Monday - about 600 - than it does during an entire election cycle.
Assistant Town Clerk Christina Resto of Bridgeport is bringing in extra staff that has been working longer days, opening application envelopes until 8 p.m., just to try to stay up to date with the daily deluge.
Hamden Town Clerk Vera Morrison, whose office has handled more than 4,750 requests, brought mailing labels home and asked her family to help out, while watching a movie.
And the statewide computerized registration system has been slowing down because of the extra work load, the local officials said.
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill on Tuesday reported that more than 115,000 requests for absentee ballots have been processed by town clerks, who have received additional federal funding to handle the extra work. Merrill’s office mailed out about 2.1 million ballots to all registered voters, who in turn should send them to their local town clerks if they want to vote by mail.
"This election will be the first election in Connecticut history where every voter is allowed to vote by absentee ballot, and we are expecting a record number of absentee ballots to be cast,” Merrill said Tuesday. “Please send your application in as early as possible, use the secure drop box outside your town hall to deliver your application and your ballot, and remember that polls will still be open on Election Day if you would rather vote in person. Your vote is your voice - make your voice heard.”
Danbury’s Assistant Town Clerk Jeffrey Dunkerton said that in less than four full working days, about 2,670 ballots requests were opened with the likelihood of 3,000 to be completed by the end of the day Tuesday. “During the last presidential election, in 2016, we processed 2,049 total.” Dunkerton said an additional dozen workers have been hired to help process the flood of request from people who would rather vote by mail than head to the polls on Election Day.
Several town clerks on Tuesday said they would like voters to know a couple of things. First, when applying for a ballot, check off the reason why you want to vote by mail-in, or absentee. That was made easier by the recent special session of the General Assembly, which allows those voting by mail to include concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
Next, the clerks want voters to know that under state law, the actual ballots won’t be mailed back until Oct. 2.
“So far we’re keeping up with it,” said Lynch, stressing that the 600 requests for absentee ballots that arrived in the mail on Monday were more than the usual 300 to 400 her office receives in a typical election year. The ballots requests are on top of the usual town clerk functions, including recording property transactions and issuing dog liceneses.
Clerks on Tuesday complained about the speed of the online state voter registry, likely stuttering from the extra work as local clerks verify individual voter eligibility.
“The system is very slow today,” Budkins said, adding that four years ago, Greenwich received about 5,000 absentee ballots. This year, the town might have 15,000 mailed in. “We only have a small staff, with three full-time and two part-timers.”
Statewide, the town of Westbrook reported the largest receipt of requests, at 7,854 as of Tuesday. Norwalk processed 5,737; Branford has handled 2,270 requests; Danbury, 1,684; Fairfield, 2,100; Greenwich, 1,666; Middletown, 808; Newtown, 1,697; Ridgefield, 2,415; Shelton, 1,814; Westport, 1,225; and Stamford, 744.
“We’re very busy,” Resto said from Bridgeport City Hall. “We’re plugging away.” With a typical election in the city attracting about 2,000 absentee ballots, that total was surpassed by Tuesday morning. kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT