The Secretary of the State, Stephanie Thomas, spoke about the highlights of the first week of early voting in Connecticut at a press conference this Monday. As of 10 a.m. Monday, 313,550 voters had cast early ballots in the state, according to a State of Connecticut press release and spreadsheet.
Thomas reported a successful and well-received voting system, also acknowledging election workers for their role in the process, according to the press release.
“I am proud to share that voters around Connecticut report a smooth roll-out for the first ever early voting period for a general election,” Thomas said, as stated in the press release. “60% of voters wanted early voting. They got it. And it’s been inspiring to see how well received and utilized it’s been.”
Of the state total, Mansfield, Conn. received 1,835 ballots, according to the spreadsheet. The towns that received the highest numbers of ballots as of Monday morning were West Hartford and Fairfield, with more than 7,000 ballots each.
Also as of Monday, 8,770 Mansfield residents were registered to vote in the town, according to another State of Connecticut spreadsheet.
Mansfield has two locations open for early voting: the Mansfield Town Hall and the University of Connecticut Bookstore. Just as with the state’s other early voting locations, the hours of operation for both Mansfield locations will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 30, Friday, Nov.1, Saturday, Nov. 2 and Sunday, Nov. 3. Hours will be extended from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31.
The bookstore polling location is moderated by Anne Greineder, who works as the town’s Democratic registrar. Greineder spoke about the turnout of early voting and registration process at the bookstore Tuesday.
“It started out slowly. [The numbers have] steadily increased as people have told their friends, and we’ve also had staff and faculty,” Greineder said.
According to Greineder, a majority of voters have taken advantage of the on-site registration option offered at the bookstore.
“Almost all of them are [filling out] new registration,” Greineder said of the voters. “They register and then they vote. Most of them are changing registration from their hometown.”
Greineder noted that many students have spoken of the convenience that comes with an on-campus polling location.
“A lot of students have said how happy they are that [the polling location] is here, that it is very convenient, that they didn’t want to go home or didn’t want to go to the town hall,” Greineder said. “This, they could do in between classes sometimes.”
According to Greineder, the town of Mansfield hoped the early voting period will reduce the numbers of people coming to the polls on Election Day Tuesday.
“We’re hoping that it will cut down on the number of people that come to register on Election Day,” Greineder added. “That has always been a large number for [Mansfield], and it’s always very slow [with] long lines. And so, it really makes more sense to do this here so that we can get it done early. It helps us, it helps [the voters], and they don’t have to stand in long lines.”
Students that live on campus or off campus in Mansfield can register to vote at the bookstore, though they must present proof of residency in the town. Students can do this by showing a poll worker their student ID, or by showing their address in MyHousing or Student Admin, according to Greineder. For students living off campus, a lease will also serve as sufficient proof, and it can be shown on a physical document or electronically, such as on a mobile device.
The last day of early voting is Sunday, Nov. 3. The bookstore location will not be open for voting on Election Day. Any Mansfield residents looking to vote on Tuesday should vote at their assigned voting location.