SOUTHBURY – Absentee ballots for the Aug. 11 Democratic and Republican state primaries are now available at the Town Clerk’s office, giving registered members of either party an opportunity to vote under the state’s new no-excuse absentee voting law.
Only voters enrolled in the Democratic or Republican Party are eligible to vote in the primary elections.
Primary: Tuesday, Aug. 11
Early Voting: Aug. 3–9
Absentee Ballot Request Deadline: Aug. 10
What’s on the Ballot
For local Democrats, a gubernatorial primary between Gov. Ned Lamont and state Rep. Josh Elliott is the first contested Democratic primary for governor in Connecticut in nearly 50 years. Lamont is seeking a third term, while Elliott forced the primary by winning 25 percent of delegates at the party’s May convention. The winner of the primary will face the Republican-endorsed State Sen. Ryan Fazio in the November general election.
For Southbury Republicans, the local draw is the primary in the state’s 5th Congressional District, where the party-endorsed candidate, Chris Shea, faces Jonathan De Barros for the nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes in November.
In neighboring Middlebury, Republican voters have their own additional contest in the form of a primary for the 71st State House District between party-endorsed candidate William Pizzuto and challenger Michael Grosso. Middlebury’s early voting and Primary Day polling both take place at the Shepardson Community Center, 1172 Whittemore Road.
How to Vote Absentee (for the Aug. 11 Primary)
Voters wishing to vote via absentee ballot no longer need to cite a specific reason, such as illness, travel, or disability, under Public Act 26-42, which was signed into law earlier this year.
Applications to vote via absentee ballot are now available at the Southbury Town Clerk’s office and on the town’s website. Voters can also apply online through the state’s portal, which opened on June 27.
The Town Clerk’s office is located at Southbury Town Hall, 501 Main Street South. Office hours are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and closed Fridays.
A signed and submitted application to the Town Clerk’s office is required for verification and to receive the absentee ballot. Applications may also be deposited in the ballot drop box outside Town Hall, after which an absentee ballot will be mailed to the voter.
Completed ballots can be returned by mail, dropped in the ballot drop box, or delivered in person to the Town Clerk’s office. All returns must arrive by the close of polls, 8 p.m. on Aug. 11.
Under a new state law, voters return their absentee ballots in one envelope rather than the previously used two-envelope system. Voters must sign their names on the outside of the return envelope, allowing Town Clerks to determine ahead of the election if a voter’s signature is missing, and to make an effort to contact the voter to correct, or “cure” the omission in person until the polls close.
By law, only the voter, an immediate family member living in the same household, or a designated caregiver, such as a doctor or nurse, may return a completed ballot for someone else. Town police officers and Registrar of Voters staff are also permitted to do so.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot is August 10. Voters who apply in person at the Town Clerk’s office on that day can be issued a ballot immediately.
The Record contacted the Town Clerk’s Office twice Tuesday morning after identifying conflicting guidance on the town’s website regarding how absentee ballots are issued. The website was corrected shortly afterward.
By Evan Triantafilidis
The Southbury Record 
