News Flash

The method you choose to vote this November is not an easy choice. Below are some details to help make your decision.

In Person Voting

Woodbridge will have in-person voting on November 3^rd at The Center Gym at 4 Meetinghouse Lane as usual.  Polls open at 6 am and close at 8 pm.  CDC guidelines will be followed to provide staff and voters as safe an environment as possible during this COVID epidemic.

Masks are required in line and in the poll rooms. Hand sanitizer will be available and voting booths will be cleaned after every voter. Single use pencils will be provided.  You may bring your own black or blue pen if you wish.  6-foot distancing will be the norm which means that fewer voters will be in the polls at one time so there may be longer lines outside.  We ask for your patience if this occurs.  Peak times in the past were 6 am to 8 am and 5 pm to 8 pm.

There will be three lines at the polls, one for the 14^th district, one for the 17^th district and one for EDR (Election Day Registration – more information below). To facilitate the lines, please be prepared to know the district you reside in as Woodbridge has two districts with different ballots. A list of roads in the 14^th district (which is on the east side of town near Orange) can be found on the Town’s website.  All other roads are in the 17^th district. A poll worker will greet voters and will also have a street list. If you need assistance, let the greeter know and you will be helped.

When you enter the poll room and are at the correct checker table, announce your street, then house number, then last name.  This will speed up the process.

Absentee Ballot Voting

Due to the COVID pandemic, everyone in Connecticut is eligible to vote by absentee ballot this year. You must be an active registered voter. If you choose to vote by absentee ballot, you can do several things to ensure your vote is counted.

• Complete your voter application early and submit it to the Town Clerk – you can put this in the drop box at town hall (please put it in the return envelope first). Ballots will be available October 2^nd and will be mailed to you.
• When you receive your ballot there will be instructions included in the packet but here are some simple rules.  If you do not follow these steps, your ballot may be rejected.
• Complete your ballot
• Put ONLY your ballot in the inner envelope (if two ballots are in the inner envelope, one will be rejected!
• Seal the inner envelope
• SIGN the inner envelope
• Put the inner envelope in the outer envelope
• Mail or come to town hall and put your vote in the Absentee Ballot Drop Box

You may return your ballot in the Drop Box on election day but please return it as soon as you can.

We have had very few ballots rejected in the past, most because they were not in the inner envelope or the voter did not sign the inner envelope.

You can check your registration and the progress of your absentee ballot at myvoter.ct.gov.

The process for handling absentee ballots is very rigid and double checked to ensure your vote is counted.  The Town Clerk enters name of the received voter into the Central Voter Registration System and a red A is automatically entered on the checker books that go to the polls.  If you decide to vote in person and go to the polls on election day and there is a red A on your name, you already voted and cannot vote again!  If you wish to withdraw your absentee ballot and vote in person on Election Day, the CT legislature modified the law and you now must withdraw your absentee ballot before 5 pm on November 2^nd.  Otherwise, you have voted and cannot vote twice (which is a felony crime).

After the absentee ballot is logged by the Town Clerk, the Registrars staff checks the ballots against the official checker book which goes to the polls and verifies that a red A has been inserted for the voter.  On election day, the Town Clerk delivers the ballots to the central counting area at 6 am.  This counting area has an official Moderator who oversees the ballot opening team which is comprised of members of both parties (we anticipate 18 counters this year due to ballot volume). A Registrar will assist the Moderator (again two different parties) in completing the process by inserting votes into a tabulator.  All counting processes are done within full view of the counting teams and the public.  At the end of the night the tabulator tape is brought to the in-person polls to be read to the public by the election Moderator along with the tape from the in-person tabulator.

Location of the Central Counting will be announced on the Town Website a week before the election.

EDR – Election Day Registration

EDR will be available to Woodbridge resident s who are eligible but to vote but not yet registered.  This will be held in the Senior Cafeteria in The Center, 4 Meetinghouse Lane.  To register on election day, you MUST bring:

• Proof of Identity (something with your name and signature or your picture and signature) a valid driver’s license will be good (any state)
• Proof of Woodbridge residency (a utility bill within 30 days, an insurance bill, a tax bill, etc.)

You will complete a voter registration card and your information will be entered into the Central Voter Registration System.  You cannot vote until this step is done.

A staff member will call your prior Connecticut Town Registrar to determine if you already voted there.  If that town does not answer our call, your vote will be put in a pending box until we have contacted the prior town.  If we have not heard back by 8 pm, your vote will be processed as normal and will go to the tabulator in the main poll room.

Anyone IN LINE by 8 pm will be processed and will vote (a change to the state statute).  If you arrive late, this will hold up the final count of the vote so please come early or register before election day!

Remember the last day you can register online is Wednesday October 28^th.  There will be in-person registration on November 1^st at Town Hall by appointment only for anyone who moves to town, becomes a US citizen, or turns 18 after October 28^th.

14^th District Addresses

STREET NAME                            SIDE           RANGE                      CON           SEN           ASM            D/P