Absentee Ballots Available for August 10 Primary

From the Office of the Secretary of State

Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz today reminded Connecticut voters that absentee ballots are now available for any Connecticut voters who will be out of town or otherwise unavailable to go to their polling place and cast a ballot in statewide primaries on August 10, 2010.  At the same time, Secretary Bysiewicz is also urging unaffiliated voters across the state to enroll with the Democratic or Republican Parties by August 9^th at 12:00 p.m. so they can vote in the primaries, since only registered Republicans or Democrats can cast a ballot on Tuesday August 10^th. 

“We are just three weeks away from one of the most competitive primaries Connecticut has seen in many years,” said Secretary Bysiewicz, Connecticut’s chief elections official.  “Since this is summer and many people are planning vacations around primary day, I am reminding all of Connecticut’s registered voters to go to their town clerk’s office and apply for an absentee ballot for the primaries Tuesday August 10^th.  Don’t wait until it is too late – make sure you have a say in who represents you in Hartford and Washington, D.C.  If you will be out of town or if there is a reason you cannot make it to your polling place on August 10^th – get an absentee ballot so your voice will be heard on Primary Day!”

To receive an absentee ballot, registered Connecticut voters can fill out a simple application at their town clerk’s office or download the application on their town’s website.  Applications for absentee ballots are also available on the Secretary of the State’s website www.sots.ct.gov and once an application is completed and turned in, the ballot will be sent to the voter in the mail within days.  They can be returned by mail or in-person to town offices up until 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday August 10, 2010 and still be counted in the statewide primary. 

Secretary Bysiewicz is also urging Connecticut’s 840,000 unaffiliated voters – the largest group of the state’s nearly two million active registered voters – to enroll with the Democratic or Republican parties so they can cast ballots on Primary Day.  To be eligible to cast a ballot in the August 10^th, 2010 Connecticut Primary Elections, an unaffiliated voter must enroll as a Democrat or Republican in person at his or her local Registrar of Voters office by Monday, August 9^th at 12:00 PM. Mail-in registration forms must be postmarked no later than August 5^th. New voters face those same deadlines if they wish to register with a party and vote in the primaries. 

Since the beginning of the year, more than 4,000 unaffiliated Connecticut voters have switched to the Republican or Democratic parties, making themselves eligible to vote in the August 10^th primary.  On Primary Day August 10, 2010 polls will be open from 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.

For more information visit http://www.sots.ct.gov