MERRILL REMINDER: VOTERS HAVE UNTIL NOON ON TUESDAY TO REGISTER FOR WEDNESDAY PRIMARIES
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill is remind- ing voters in 23 cities and towns, including New London, that voter registration deadlines are fast approaching for municipal primaries taking place on Wednesday.
Registered Democrats in New London will be able to go to the polls between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. Wednesday for the municipal primaries that feature Democratic mayoral candidate Michael Passero facing incumbent Democratic Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio.
Video streams of The Day’s editorial board interviews with Finizio and Passero, as well as the candidates’ debate, can be found at http://www. theday.com/section/MEDIA01.
One or both will face Republican mayoral candidate Bill Vogel on Nov. 3. Passero has petitioned his way onto the November ballot should he lose to Finizio.
Voters also will choose which seven of the eight Democratic candidates for City Council will reach the Nov. 3 ballot.
The Democratic candidates for City Council are: Efrain Dominguez, Martha Marx, Anthony Nolan, Erica Richardson, John Satti, Michael Tranchida, Don Venditto and Ryan Henowitz.
Eligible voters wishing to register in communities holding a primary had until Friday to register by mail or online.
The final in-person deadline to register to vote in order to cast a ballot in the primary is noon on Tuesday at the local Registrar of Voters office.
Only registered Republicans or Democrats can vote in their local party primary.
Unaffiliated voters have until that same final deadline of noon on Tuesday to enroll in a major party in person if they want to vote in the primary.
The 2015 municipal primaries take place on a Wednesday this year instead of the usual Tuesday due to the occurrence of Labor Day on Monday and the coincidence of the following Tuesday with the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah.
Connecticut state law prohibits a primary from taking place the day after Labor Day, and also bars a primary from taking place on a religious holiday which the tenets of a religion forbid secular activity, directing the primary to occur the following day, according to a statement from Merrill’s office.
Absentee ballots are now available, and in order to be counted for the municipal primary, they must be received by the town clerk’s office no later than 8 p.m. on Wednesday.
Voters can go to the Secretary of the State’s website, www.sots.ct.gov, to see if they are registered to vote and where their polling place is located.
New London’s polling places include: District 1, New London High School, 490 Jefferson Ave.; District 2, Harbor School, 432 Montauk Ave.; District 3, Nathan Hale School, 37 Beech Drive.