CHESTER — Voters on Tuesday rejected the adoption of a charter that would have changed the way the town is governed and had divided opinions among residents and within the local party.
Opposition to the charter received 1,624 votes, two-thirds of the referendum total. With this outcome, Chester will continue to be governed by state statutes based on a more than century-old government model of decentralized powers and a three-member Board of Selectmen. It will maintain the counterbalancing power of the Board of Finances, the Planning and Zoning Commissions and the Zoning Board of Appeals will continue to be elective instead of appointed as proposed.
John Chillock, one of the charter opposition leaders, welcomed the referendum outcome as the result of Chester neighbors organizing.
“This grassroots, bipartisan group came together for the good of Chester and the voters spoke loudly”, Chillock said. “It is now time for our town to move forward and continue with this bipartisan spirit.”
The Chester referendum had provoked a tense debate between supporters and opponents of the charter, which ended in a shouting match between neighbors and selectwoman Patricia Bandzes at Town Hall in the weeks leading up to the vote.
Front yards reflected that divisions – “Chester charter. Right time” and ”Don’t muzzle our mascot. No Chester charter.”
Peter Zanardi, an 83-year-old lifelong Chester resident and three-time selectman, told the CT Examiner in October that he had never seen the town so divided.
In 2023, the Chester Board of Selectmen appointed a commission to write a charter addressing the increasing complexity of local government, the problems of lack of continuity when elected officials changed and the low community involvement that made it difficult to get volunteers to fill the many town boards and committees.
An important precedent was that in the 2023 elections, none of the Board of Selectmen members sought reelection, which resulted in a loss of continuity in local government.
In response, the commission drafted a charter that included proposals that had generated controversy among some residents, such as eliminating the Board of Finance and replacing it with another board with less oversight power, partially ceding legislative power to the Board of Selectmen and changing some boards from elected to appointed. It also created a town administrator staff position
Converting Planning and Zoning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals — often the most contentious in local government — to appointed concerned neighbors like Aaron Zain.
“They can change the whole character of the town,” Zain, a Democrat and an alternate member of the Zoning Board of Appeals, told the CT Examiner in early October.
Supporters of the proposal believed the charter would have professionalized town management and strengthened resident participation in local government, something critics rejected.
Richard Strauss, one of the leaders of the commission that drafted the proposed charter, did not respond to messages and calls from CT Examiner requesting comment on the results.
Chester’s first selectwoman, Cynthia Lignar, was contacted by email by CT Examiner but has not immediately responded to a comment request.
Charlene Janecek, a former first selectwoman of Chester, was a moderator at Tuesday’s vote. She told CT Examiner that the high turnout reflected the interest provoked by the charter. She said she saw residents voting for the first time who asked her where the charter referendum question was on the ballot.
Leaving Town Hall after voting on Tuesday, Cormac Meehan, 38, told CT Examiner his vote was mainly motivated by the referendum.
“I am a Democrat and understand that Connecticut is going to go blue,” Meehan said. “What really brought me here was the Chester Charter and I voted yes on that.”
A few meters away, in the parking lot, Ron Amara was campaigning with signs for residents to vote against the referendum. Several residents gave him words of encouragement as they entered or left the building.
“I think if this charter does pass, Chester will be ever forever changed,” said Amara, who ran as a Republican first selectman candidate and lost in 2023.
Amara said that rejection in the referendum would not mean that the discussion was over.
“I think they’ll try to bring the charter back in two years, maybe next year,” he said. “I’m going to keep my signs in case we have to continue to oppose it.”
— Francisco Uranga
GREENWICH – Incumbent Ryan Fazio’s District 36 State Senate race was too close to call at 10 p.m. Tuesday, but he took the microphone at George Steakhouse in Greenwich to thank his supporters and tell them they had a long night ahead waiting for results.
The scoreboard on a restaurant wall had been stuck for 90 minutes at 53 percent for Fazio, a Republican from Greenwich, and 47 percent for his Democratic opponent, Nick Simmons, a Greenwich native who now lives in Stamford.
District 36 includes all of Greenwich, most of New Canaan, and part of Stamford. Nick Simmons is the brother of Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons.
Fazio told his supporters that it was too soon to call the contest, but he felt good about something.
“After the single most expensive legislative race in state history, I’m still standing,” he said to the cheers of supporters.
In the contest for District 36, Simmons raised nearly $500,000. Fazio opted for Connecticut’s campaign financing program, which required that he raise $17,300 from at least 300 individuals in order to obtain a $124,000 state grant.
Fazio said late Tuesday night that the funding discrepancy was damaging, but he has the benefit of “well-informed and highly engaged constituents” who recognized that he “worked hard and showed up as an incumbent.”
That is “more effective than campaign funding,” said Fazio, 34, a financial analyst.
After some additional results came in around midnight, Fazio appeared to be the likely winner, but neither he nor Simmons offered an official statement.
Fazio instead described what he learned on the campaign trail about constituents’ concerns, and the bipartisanship he’s found in the state Senate. He has represented District 36 since he won a special election in 2021.
The issues on the minds of constituents are local control of zoning, the cost of living, taxes, and rising electric bills, Fazio said.
“We have a lot of work to do to create more affordable housing – with local input,” he said. “Some of the leadership in Hartford have strong opinions, but most of the rank and file prefer local decision-making.”
He counts himself among those who seek compromise, Fazio said.
“My goal is to bring people together,” he said. “The key to being a good public servant is listening to people.”
In Hartford, where the Democratic Party controls the governor’s office and both chambers, lawmakers tend to work together well, Fazio said.
“Most Democrats and Republicans are open-minded, and much less ideological than you think,” he said. “There is some inertia in the leadership party infrastructure – that’s unfortunate. But there are respectful legislators on both sides. I really like my Democratic colleagues.”
Whatever the outcome of Tuesday’s election, Fazio said, “I feel so lucky to represent my home district, where I grew up. There are really good people in this district.”
— Angela Carella
DANBURY – State Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, who campaigned on helping working families, defeated her Republican challenger Michelle Coelho by a tentative vote Tuesday evening of 22,953 to 21,049.
Kushner, who won her fourth two-year term in the 24th Senate District, addressed her jubilant supporters at 12:06 a.m. Wednesday.
CT Examiner reached out several times to Coelho – who also lost to Kushner in 2022 – without success.
As Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves yelled “speech, speech,” Kushner told an assembled crowd of about 70 at the La Mitad Del Mundo restaurant in downtown Danbury that she was warmed by the reaction of her supporters and the city’s residents.
“I’m so proud of all of you, and me, for the efforts to make the 24th District a great place to work and grow,” Kushner told the crowd.
Kushner thanked the working families of her district, which includes Danbury and parts of New Fairfield and Ridgefield, saying “working families have a better life” because of laws she helped pass.
They include, she said, raising the state’s minimum wage for five consecutive years, creating a comprehensive paid sick leave package that requires most employers to provide five paid sick days per year; and passing the 2019 Paid Family and Medical Leave Act.
Kushner is co-chair of the Labor and Public Employees Committee.
Kushner thanked her husband and her staff and said the “room [at the restaurant] represents the diversity of this city.” Kushner, a former union organizer, also singled out the labor community, saying, “I wouldn’t be here if not for a strong and vibrant labor union in this state …. The working people in our state have been led by our labor movement.”
Many top Danbury officials spoke off-the-record over their disgust with the delay in getting the voting results in a timely manner. One official said, “Why can’t Danbury get their shit together.”
Kushner joked about it in her speech, saying, “It’s crazy how long it took to get your votes, but it’s worth it.”
Same day registration led voters to wait in line in Danbury City Hall for more than 2 ½ hours after the polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday evening, delaying the vote count in the city. Anyone in line at 8 p.m. was allowed to vote. In addition, a delay in counting absentee ballots and early voting ballots also contributed to the delay.
Danbury councilman Duane Perkins, who has represented the 5th Ward in the city for 10 years, told CT Examiner that Kushner represents what is best about the city and its residents.
“Julie’s care for the city goes beyond politics,” Perkins said. “She has always been supportive of the initiatives I have put forward whether that has been supporting the Danbury community or the Tarrywile Park Authority where I am a member. She has done so without hesitation …. You can’t do what Julie does without caring for the average citizens. She also spearheaded fair wages, sick time and medical and family leave just to name a few and those types of positive things resonate with the voters in the 24th District.”
— Robert Storace
MILFORD – MJ Shannon will be one of the youngest men to ever serve in the state House of Representatives.
Shannon, a 24-year-old LGBTQ man serving as a clerk for the legislature’s General Law Committee, won the 117th District representing Milford, Orange and West Haven by defeating Republican Raymond V. Collins III, 7,075 votes to 6,809 votes in unofficial results.
Both vied to replace longtime Republican State Rep. Charles Ferraro, 72, of West Haven, who served the 117th for five two-year terms before announcing his retirement on Feb. 6. Ferraro was notable for being one of the few Republicans elected in West Haven. He served on the General Assembly’s Energy and Technology, Human Services and Veterans Affairs committees.
Shannon is the first Democrat to win that seat in 12 years, said State Senator James Maroney, the Senate’s Deputy Majority Leader who represents the 14th District, which includes Milford, Orange and parts of West Haven and Woodbridge.
Shannon said he was humbled and thrilled to win an election on his first try.
“We have been working on it for so freaking long now. From the beginning, our mission was to put in this work, the groundwork, knock on every door, make every call we can to reach all the voters,” Shannon told the crowd at Stonebridge Restaurant. “That’s the only way to do it in this district, and we did it.”
“They saw me on their doorstep four times, and I thought they would be annoyed with me, but they got the message, and they understand,” he added. “I’m just so excited to get down to work now and actually be able to represent you guys, this community that I love so much.”
Shannon has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science with a minor in environmental sustainability from Plymouth State University. Maroney teased Shannon for having gone from being his clerk to his colleague and for speaking with his hands in a volatile Italian way.
The victory “is not because you’re young. It’s because you’re you,” Maroney said. “Right? And you don’t apologize for being you, and don’t ever stop being you, because we all love you.”
“Representation matters,” Maroney added, “and it matters for those students to see that hard work pays off and that if you care deeply enough about something and you want to make a difference, you can.”
When he assumes office, Shannon wants to tackle improving affordability and decreasing inflation, especially for working families and seniors, public safety with traffic flow and coastal resiliency and protecting against flooding, he said. He also wants to elevate the profiles of LGBTQ people in politics.
Shannon’s service as a legal clerk will be a big help, he said.
“I can just start from day one. I already know the process. My entire job revolves around taking the bills from concepts all the way to full blown laws,” Shannon said, “so I know step-by-step how it works, who to talk to, to get what done, which committee does what.”
“The biggest thing for me is just trying to make positive change.”
— Nick Sambides
MILFORD – Democrat James Maroney retained his seat in the 14th Senatorial District by defeating Republican challenger Steven Johnstone 28,753 votes to Johnstone’s 22,357 votes, according to the Connecticut Secretary of the State’s office.
Maroney, the Senate Deputy Majority Leader, will start his seventh year representing Milford, Orange, and parts of West Haven and Woodbridge having been first elected in 2019.
Johnstone, who promised that he would run a clean campaign focused on his legislative intentions without mudslinging, did exactly that, Maroney said.
Maroney was grateful for Johnstone’s pledge and called him “a great member of the West Haven community.” Maroney said that he looked forward to working with Johnstone on community projects of mutual interest.
Johnston has been a member of the West Haven City Council, where he served as Minority Leader and as the council representative of the city’s 10th District. A former semi-professional soccer player, Johnstone has served two terms as a council member.
Maroney, who was a state representative for the 119th District from 2012-14, said he looked to jump back into the fray politically by continuing to pursue several issues. Chief among them is affordability. Maroney hopes to combat “price-gouging” to help working families continue to make ends meet.
Early childhood education is another issue Maroney wants to pursue. He said that infant-toddler daycare in his district costs families about $20,000 annually, a high price.
Maroney also wants to focus on AI and helping its proponents continue to seamlessly make it available to Connecticut workers without costing them jobs.
Maroney, who serves as the co-chairman of the General Law Committee, has helped pass legislation aimed at protecting consumer data and a law governing state government use of AI.
He was also named to the Leadership Council of the Future of Privacy Forum Center for Artificial Intelligence.
— Nick Sambides
GREENWICH — Trailing his Republican opponent, State Sen. Ryan Fazio, Democrat Nick Simmons told supporters in Greenwich shortly before midnight that the election isn’t over.
“I’ll just say we don’t know yet. We’re still counting,” Simmons said. His campaign is still waiting for the tally of early votes and absentee ballots from Stamford and New Canaan.
“Obviously it’s a lot tighter than we would want it to be,” he conceded.
Despite his chances, the former deputy chief to Gov. Ned Lamont and brother of Stamford mayor Caroline Simmons said he has no regrets.
“I don’t think any door we knocked wasn’t worth it or the call that we made wasn’t worth it. I don’t think any event we hosted wasn’t worth it or the message that we got out,because at the end of the day, we just fought for what we believed in,” Simmons said.
— Meghan Muldoon
WATERBURY — Incumbent U.S. Congresswoman Jahana Hayes told friends and supporters that, while the race hadn’t yet been called officially, “the numbers look good.”
Hayes said that there were still people voting in Danbury, where there had been over 1,000 same-day registrations. She credited her supporters with growing her margin of victory in the rematch with Republican challenger George Logan. In 2022, Hayes won by just about 2,000 votes.
“You did this. You didn’t like that number from two years ago, and you opened it up,” Hayes said.
According to counts as of 11:45 p.m., Hayes was ahead by 1,657 votes, with some towns yet to be counted.
— Emilia Otte
FAIRFIELD – While unofficial vote counts put him ahead of his Democratic challenger, Republican State Sen. Tony Hwang said he would not declare victory Tuesday night.
“We won’t know the results tonight, and I’m not going to be presumptive,” Hwang told the crowd of Republicans. “But let me repeat again – today, with the outpouring and participation of voters, people won over politics.”
Still awaiting early voting and absentee ballot counts, an unofficial count of machine votes displayed by the Republican Town Committee at its election party report that Hwang has secured approximately 58% of 17,380 votes in Fairfield. While early voting has held up results, Hwang called called it a “remarkable positive” for voter engagement.
Heading into the Tuesday election, many in Connecticut anticipated that the Senate District 28 race between Hwang and Blanchard would be one of the tightest in the state.
Hwang said the state needed to “heal” following a divisive election.
“We have to do a [much] better job to heal, and part of the healing is to recognize that we are better united than divided,” he said.
Hwang thanked the three Republican State House of Representative candidates in town – Alexis Harrison, Melissa Longo and Chris Verras – for their support.
Stepping up to the podium after Hwang, Harrison, a Town Plan and Zoning Commission member, similarly urged the importance of public service and unity at the local level. “I will always serve our community. Whether I get elected today or tomorrow, I will always be here because I love our town, and that’s what it’s about,” she said.
EAST LYME– Democratic candidate Nick Menapace declared victory over incumbent Republican State Rep. Holly Cheeseman for the 37th district house seat by 89 votes.
At 10:25 p.m. Democratic State Sen. Martha Marx held Menapace’s hand up in victory as she introduced him as the district’s new house representative.
“We are very, very excited,” Menapace said to members of the East Lyme Democratic Town Committee at The Lyme Tavern. “I’m really excited to get up there and get to work.”
Menapace said Cheeseman had not formally conceded, but said he thanked her for her eight years of service in Hartford. And while 25 absentee ballots have yet to be counted, Menpace said he was already up by 89 votes.
He attributed his win to his campaign’s grassroots efforts, knocking on over 15,000 doors across East Lyme, Salem and Montville
Menpace also said he has received congratulatory calls from Speaker of the House Matt Ritter, Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz and State Rep. Jason Rojas.
Menpace said that one of things he’d like to accomplish in Hartford was making sure dispatchers are recognized as first responders— an issue brought up to him by a voter during the first time he canvassed doors during his first run for the seat.
Campaign workers at the polls on Tuesday told CT Examiner that they believed he would win because of the number of volunteers gathered behind him compared to his campaign two years ago.
Meanwhile, Republican candidates gathered at Flanders Fish Market in East Lyme to follow the vote count. They received data from the volunteers they had at the polling places, but ultimately left some cells incomplete on the whiteboards they used to count the votes.
Two and a half hours into the event, Cheesemann and Shaun Mastroianni, Marx’s opponent, gave brief speeches, but said they would wait for more data to come in.
“I don’t want to keep you waiting too late,” Mastroianni said.
Carney delivered a speech celebrating his victory while acknowledging his race had also been a close one.
“I did win,” Carney said as he stepped behind a podium.
— Ally LeMaster and Francisco Uranga
GREENWICH — At 10:30 pm, Greenwich Democratic Committee chair Christina Downey told the dwindling and subdued crowd at OG Social Club to stay positive despite the early results not looking promising for candidates Nick Simmons in his race to unseat Republican State Sen. Ryan Fazio, or for the reelection of State Rep. Rachel Khanna.
“I think we’re seeing tonight some of the forces that we’re going against but the fight continues,” Downey said.
— Meghan Muldoon
EAST LYME — Republican State Rep. Devin Carney won re-election and will hold the 23rd District state representative seat for a sixth term.
His opponent, Democrat Jane Wisialowski called after 10 p.m. to concede defeat and congratulate Carney.
According to numbers provided by Carney’s campaign, he won by 7899 votes to his opponent’s 7501. Data has not yet been posted on the Secretary of the State’s website.
By that vote count, the turnout would have been lower than in 2020, when he was re-elected with 8933 votes.
After the call, Wisialowski said in a press release that she was disappointed by the outcome but proud of the race.
“We knew it would be an uphill battle,” Wisialowski said. “But I believe we sent an important message to my opponent – the people of the district are watching how you vote and you need to better represent our values.”
Carney told CT Examiner that he was “thrilled” by his victory and said his opponent had run a very good race.
“This election was definitely closer than any election I’ve had before,” Carney said. “We are going to have to do a deep dive into what changed between this year and two years ago.”
— Francisco Uranga
The race is still too close to call, but that hasn’t stopped some Hayes supporters from partying on the dance floor.
When WFSB numbers come up on one of the two giant TV screens showing that Hayes is in the lead, the room erupts in applause. According to the channel, only 9 percent of the vote has been counted so far.
Data from the Secretary of the State’s Office shows George Logan in the lead by 12 votes. Only 13 towns have so far submitted their full election results.
— Emilia Otte
MANSFIELD — At 5:45 p.m., a poll worker named Terry counted 541 votes at the Mansfield Community Center on Eagleville Road. The line for same-day voter registration stretched down the sidewalk.
For many young voters in Mansfield, reproductive rights, the economy, and inflation were top concerns.
When asked what brought her to the polls, Tayla, a student at the University of Connecticut, said, “Women’s rights, our bodies as women, we don’t want someone controlling our bodies when we don’t have control ourselves.”
David, a UConn student, said, “I came to the polls because of life after graduation, trying to find affordable housing for a family one day.”
Other young voters in Mansfield said they were at the polls to fulfill their civic duty.
“I want to exercise my rights. Both of my parents come from different countries, and I wanted to vote for them and my family, who might not be as educated,” Nicole, a UConn student, said.
For many in line to register in Mansfield, it was their first time voting. “It’s my first time voting!” Hilary, a UConn student, said with a smile.
Democratic incumbent State Sen. Mae Flexer, running for re-election, campaigned outside the community center. Flexer said the number one issue on her mind was voter participation.
“I’m so pleased that Connecticut has made such progress in the last couple of years to make it easier for people to vote,” Flexer said, pausing to tell a passerby what time the polls close. “There’s an example of it! I’m thrilled to see such great participation today.”
Flexer, whose district includes UConn, also highlighted the issues she believes are on the ballot this election, including reproductive rights and higher education affordability.
“I represent more college students than any other member of the legislature,” said Flexer, “so fighting to keep public higher education affordable in Connecticut is really important to me, as is reproductive freedom, which is on the ballot every time people vote for their state senators and state representatives now. I’m proud to have been at the forefront of protecting reproductive freedom here in Connecticut, partly because of the leadership of UConn students.”
Flexer expressed optimism about the election.
“I feel good here in Connecticut. I think we’re going to have a good night, and I’m optimistic about the rest of the country, too. I think people don’t want to go backward, like the vice president says. We want to move forward,” she said.
Gregg Haddad, a Democratic state representative from the 54th District, was seen campaigning alongside Flexer in the community center parking lot. He said Mansfield voters were concerned with “quality-of-life issues.”
“In Mansfield, I feel like people are concerned with affordability, and I think the work Senator Flexer, and I have done on college affordability and free community college speaks directly to voters’ concerns,” Haddad said. “But I also think quality-of-life issues around healthcare are important. What happens if I get sick or a loved one gets sick? How do we take care of them? That’s why paid sick days and paid family leave have been so meaningful to voters here.”
Haddad also noted the impact of national politics.
“What’s surprised me this year is how this race is nationalized,” he said. “In the past, when I went door-to-door, people would talk about local issues. This year, people’s anxiety about what’s happening in the presidential race is really front and center.”
Republican candidate Aaron Bowman, running for state representative in the 54th District, was also campaigning outside the community center. Bowman said the main issues on his mind were Connecticut’s cost of living and accountability.
“Connecticut is too expensive for most people to live in, so the economy’s a big thing,” Bowman said. “The other big thing is accountability. A lot of people don’t feel like there’s accountability in Hartford anymore, and I’m trying to bring that back to Mansfield so people feel empowered.”
Bowman, who had been campaigning during early voting, said the response has been positive. “I’ve been out here for two weeks during early voting. It’s been great. I was the only one here, which was crazy. I got to talk to over 3,000 people. The vibe is very positive; people are ready for a change, and they’re ready for new leadership.”
Bowman also spoke about voter participation and said, “It’s nice to see the number of people coming to register. I think people working multiple jobs, trying to keep a roof over their heads and feed their families, really appreciate being able to vote on weekends.”
Chris Reddy, a Republican candidate running for the State Senate in District 29, campaigned near the community center. Reddy emphasized the importance of grassroots campaigning.
“I’ve spent every day since April knocking on doors. I’ve reached 7,000 doors in the past six months, and that made all the difference,” Reddy said.
“People want a representative that communicates with them and listens to their concerns,” Reddy added. Reddy said the “top three things that [he] heard were first the general affordability in Connecticut the cost of living, but as soon as the July Eversource bills came out, with the increase in the public benefits charge, that was all that people wanted to talk about,” Reddy said.
“We have a high number of motor vehicle fatalities that happen every summer. My background not as a politician but as a paramedic of 30 years in Connecticut, where I worked at Windham Hospital for 25 years, so I really saw it firsthand here. I started off in Bridgeport and Waterbury, where it was a violent crime, then I came out here, and it was horrible motor vehicle accidents,” Reddy said.
“It really comes down to enforcement of really simple things like speeding. If we can decrease and control speeding, you gonna see a decrease in every single other category of motor vehicle fatalities, just by letting the police do their job and enforce speeding, and it something that is really a problem around here because there really isn’t the same type of enforcement on speeding that we’ve seen in the previous years,” he said.
— Nina Gilbert
FAIRFIELD – Town Republicans announced around 9 p.m. that they’re not sure if Fairfield will have its election results tonight.
Soon after the polls closed, candidates and members of the Republican Town Committee gathered around a television at Local Kitchen & Beer Bar and watched the votes roll in after polls closed Tuesday night.
Still awaiting more than 16,000 ballots by way of early voting, absentee and same-day registration, event organizers said they heard from town registrars, who warned that Fairfield would likely not have election results until Wednesday.
“They have not tallied absentee ballots, they have not tallied same-day registration, they’re still trying to tally early voting with the tabulators. It does not look like this is going to be done tonight,” one organizer announced.
But a few minutes later, RTC Chair Laura Devlin walked the announcement back.
“There is some confusion on the numbers,” Devlin told the crowd. “…It’s all a play it by ear. I don’t want you to think it’s over [or] we’re not going to know until tomorrow.”
According to machine count votes at 9 of Fairfield’s 10 voting districts tallied by event organizers, Republican State Sen. Tony Hwang is ahead of Democratic challenger Rob Blanchard by 2,474 votes in what is expected to be a tight race.
The party also reported that Democratic State Rep. Jennifer Leeper is ahead of Republican Alexis Harrison by 263 votes, Democratic State Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey is ahead of Republican Chris Verras by 648 votes and Republican challenger Melissa Longo is ahead of Democratic State Rep. Sarah Keitt by 207 votes.
Dan Ford, the GOP candidate for probate judge is also reportedly ahead of Democrat Kathy Caulfield by just 96 votes.
According to the Secretary of the State, 35.65% of Fairfield voters cast their ballots early.
Devlin blamed the uncertainty in part, on the sizes of the envelopes provided to election workers by the Office of the Secretary of the State. She said ballots cast before Election Day had to be folded into the smaller envelopes, delaying the count.
–Sophia Muce
WEST HAVEN — About 150 people were in line at City Hall to register to vote when the polls closed, and every one of them will get a chance to vote no matter how long it takes.
That’s the word from city polling officials on Election Day at the city Registrar of Voters office as they hunkered down for what looked like a very long evening.
Two police officers moved to the end of the line at precisely 8 p.m., when the polls closed, to ensure that no one else would get in line — all in compliance with state law, said Ellen Collins, the city’s deputy registrar of voters.
Those officers were there to prevent others from joining the line until the last person was served, West Haven Police Capt. Joe Romano said.
They turned away one person at 8:06 p.m., speaking quietly to the woman for a few minutes before she, smiling, turned and walked away.
Romano and four other police officers, in addition to several private security workers hired by the city, stood watch. The line was actually longer at previous elections, said Marci Yocum, who was working her first election as a volunteer. She was ensuring that registration forms were filled out correctly.
“Everybody has been very pleasant today,” Yocum said. “So far, so good.”
The line was half the size by 8:45 p.m. The police turned away one more person and the pace of registration and votes seemed to be picking up, although it wasn’t clear how many people had just given up and left.
Sheila Mullins said she would stick it out. The 36-year-old mother was in line in line at 5:30 p.m. but had to leave to drop her daughter off at home. She says she’s voted several times but failed to register when she got a registration form in the mail several weeks ago.
The state’s vast housing shortage prompted her to change her mind on voting, Mullins said.
“I’m not really a political person,” she said. “I’m mainly doing it for the help.”
Mullins hoped to cast a vote for someone could help bring more housing into Connecticut, she said.
— Nick Sambides
–Angela Carella
AVON — As election night drew to a close, a few voters trickled into the high school for a final round of voting.
Moderator Heidi Zacchea reported that by around 7:15 p.m., approximately 2,110 people had cast their ballots. She noted that while the day started off busy, there were a few lulls throughout.
Outside the polling station, Democrat Dana Barcellos-Allen, a former Democratic Town Committee member and field officer for U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes’ 2020 campaign for Congress, said they were feeling “super confident” about her chances of winning.
Barcellos-Allen praised Hayes’ record, saying she was impressed by the congresswoman joining the House’s agriculture committee.
“We get very caught up in the whole partisan thing, but … she’s out there learning everything she can about agriculture because she wants farmers in this district, regardless of whether or not they were her supporters, to be able to be successful,” she said.
Barcellos-Allen said Hayes has also been working to reduce the cost of medication and fund school lunches and breakfasts.
“My dad was a veteran. She’s always supported veterans affairs,” she said.
Margaret Bratton, the George Logan Avon team captain, said she supported the Republican two years ago and continues to support him this year.
“We don’t have any Republican representation in almost all of New England in Congress, and I think he has a great background,” she said, noting that Logan had a diverse family background, was an engineer and a business owner.
She mentioned that she had done a lot of door-to-door campaigning and received positive feedback on Logan’s policies regarding immigration, the economy and energy.
“I do know he’s the type who would try to work across the aisle. He’d rather get things done than get nothing done,” she said.
— Emilia Otte
STRATFORD — The telephone on James Simon’s desk was ringing so often that at times he could scarcely draw a breath.
“Registrar’s office,” he said. “What’s her address? Yeah. One second.”
Typing with one finger because the other was holding the receiver, Simon quickly punched the woman’s information into the voter’s database and got the data he was looking for.
“Yeah. She belongs over at Lordship,” he said. “Right. Bye.”
The surge of phone calls is due to recent voter redistricting, which changed the polling places for about 1,500 of the town’s 35,000 registered voters, Simon said. He was helping other polling station workers around town by providing the correct polling locations for those who had been displaced.
Two other workers in the registrar of voters office in town hall were handling about the same volume of calls.
“It’s always very hectic,” Simon said. “And this is my first presidential election, although i’ve been doing this for about four years now.”
Simon doubted that Stratford’s vote totals would be compiled by the usual time, which he said was between 9 and 10 p.m. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if vote totals weren’t done until midnight or 2 a.m. on Wednesday.
State officials want same-day verification of several voting types, including early voting, absentee and voters casting ballots after registering on Election Day. Those new strictures were likely to really slow things down, he said.
“We have to do that,” he said, “for all 10 districts.”
Four nearly empty boxes of pizza and two soda bottles sat on a nearby countertop, while another worker was on the phone ordering more food.
“It’s gonna be a long night,” Simon said, adding that voter turnout seemed surprisingly heavy given the early voting program.
— Nick Sambides
CHESTER — Ron Amara stood in the parking lot of Chester Town Hall holding a sign that read, “Save democracy, vote no, save Chester,” urging voters to reject the town charter in Tuesday’s referendum.
Election moderator Charlene Janecek said the charter referendum sparked the most interest among voters, and even led to some residents voting for the first time.
By 6:30 p.m., more than 950 people had voted. Combined with over 1,500 early voters and absentee ballots, this brought turnout to over 80% of registered voters, according to data from the Secretary of the State’s Office.
Cormac Meehan, 38, said he considered the Chester charter the most relevant issue in this election and voted in favor of the measure.
“I come from a background in human resources and talent acquisition. I understand the concept of appointment being an accountability matrix for the Board of Selectmen,” Meehan said. “I believe that’s important rather than certain positions being vacant or filled like a popularity contest.”
Amara said he would keep urging voters to oppose the charter until the polls closed. A former Republican candidate for first selectman in 2023, Amara argued that replacing the Board of Finance with a less powerful board poses an economic risk to residents.
Should the charter pass, Amara believes the issue won’t be over.
“I think they’ll try to bring the charter back in two years, maybe next year,” he said. “I’m going to keep my signs in case we have to continue to oppose it.”
— Francisco Uranga
EAST LYME — A local man, known for impersonating the first selectman’s assistant and being designated a “vexatious requester” by the state Freedom of Information Commission, was arrested at a polling place on Tuesday.
Democratic Registrar of Voters Wendi Sims said David Goubout, 61, visited his polling station at East Lyme High School. When asked by a worker to show a form of identification to vote, Godbout allegedly said the worker was trying to make him perform “an illegal strip search.”
Multiple individuals claimed Godbout then started yelling at a teenager outside the high school who was holding up a sign that read “Vote for my Future.”
Godbout later visited the community center polling station, where he entered the office of the local registrar of voters. He allegedly escalated the situation by getting “louder and louder” with staff when he refused to sign paperwork saying he satisfied voter identification requirements, according to Sims.
“I was afraid he’d swing at my co-worker,” Sims said.
Godbout then left once police became involved.
Democratic candidate Nick Menapace told CT Examiner that Godbout started yelling at him and State Sen. Martha Marx, who was standing outside the community center. According to Menapace, Godbout started calling people profanities, getting “too close” to Menapace and Marx and went on a rant “insisting that legislators shouldn’t be able to meet via Zoom.”
After a female officer asked Godbout to get back, he allegedly started getting very aggressive with her as well.
The Day reported that Godbout was charged with “disorderly conduct and violation of conditions of release,” and was later released on a $2,000 bond.
Sims said Election Day has otherwise gone smoothly in East Lyme.
“It’s been very, very busy,” she said. “There’s been a lot of same-day registrations.”
— Ally Lemaster
FAIRFIELD — Rob Blanchard, a Democrat running to unseat State Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, said he is “cautiously optimistic” about his chances.
“We think that our message has certainly resonated with people and turned out voters. We’re going to continue to try to pull people out and remind them of what’s at stake here in the election,” he said.
Many in Connecticut are expecting the 28th Senate District State race to be one of the tightest in the state.
While Blanchard said the national election has helped unify Democrats at the local level, he cautioned residents against voting based on party alone.
By largely avoiding national political rhetoric and focusing on local issues like affordability, Blanchard said he has convinced some Republicans in his district to cross party lines this year.
“I’ve [made] sure that I talk about state and local issues, which is why I talk to Republicans and unaffiliated voters,” he said. “The fact that they voted for Trump or Harris hasn’t deterred me from trying to address the issues.”
Blanchard was joined by fellow Democrats like State Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey in front of Stratfield Elementary School shortly before polls closed.
— Sophia Muce
FARMINGTON — Standing under a tent near the Irving Robbins Middle School polling place on Tuesday, Democrat Denise Connolly told CT Examiner she was impressed by U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes’ experience and that she’d passed many important bills in Congress.
She added that Hayes’ opponent, George Logan, had made “patently false” claims in his campaign ads, and that she didn’t really know what he stood for.
“Meeting [Hayes], I feel like she’s a real person. She really cares,” said Emily DeMicco, whose father, Mike DeMicco, is running for reelection to the state House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, Republican Town Committee member Phil, who declined to give his last name, said he supported George Logan because “he stands for the things I do.”
Phil said he’s particularly impressed by Logan’s belief in term limits for members of Congress.
“If we had term limits, we wouldn’t have any problems,” he said. “They’d have to go back and live in the world they created.”
About 2,143 voters voted in the two districts as of 6:20 p.m., according to moderator Neil Kelsey, in addition to about 3,100 people who took part in early voting. The total number of voters in the districts is 5,300.
“It’s a good turnout,” he said.
— Emilia Otte
STRATFORD — Around 6 p.m., nearly 50 people were lined up at Town Hall waiting to register and cast their ballots. The line moved slowly, but one woman remained even though she’d already voted.
“I think voting is absolutely essential,” said Jill Carafa, who stood in line with her son.
He was the reason they were there; the young man, appearing no older than 25, needed to register, and his mother was there to make sure he did.
“This is a very controversial election,” she said, adding that voters had on the ballot “a dictator wannabe,” referring to former President Donald Trump.
Another first-time voter was a 23-year-old, who said she was also looking forward to voting.
“I’m doing my part in the community,” said the woman, who identified herself as Diamond. “If you don’t vote, you can’t really make any changes.”
She admitted that she didn’t vote previously because she didn’t think she was knowledgeable enough.
“Now I’ve done my research,” she said.
The election moderator, who declined to give her name, said turnout at Town Hall was about average, noting that early voting had reduced the usual number of in-person voters.
— Nick Sambides
WESTPORT — State Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, D-Westport, who has represented the 136th House District for 14 years, was the only candidate standing outside Long Lots Elementary School around 4 p.m.
Thirty minutes earlier, no candidates were present at Saugatuck Elementary School, nor were there any at Greens Farms Elementary School 30 minutes afterward.
Other than Steinberg’s group, there were also no campaign workers from either party at the three locations.
Facing Republican John Bolton, a town Planning and Zoning Commission member, Steinberg said he’s not worried about his race.
“I’m less anxious about my own prospects this year because my anxiety has all been transferred into the national picture,” he said.
Steinberg said this year’s choices for president are “stark” and the ramifications are important.
The state representative said turnout across town has been slow but steady. He said he underestimated how many people would vote early. According to the secretary of the state, 36.57% of Westport voters cast their ballots through early voting.
— Sophia Muce
FAIRFIELD — Facing what is likely a close race against Democratic challenger Rob Blanchard, State Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, said he trusts his constituents in the 28th Senate District.
“I really trust the people and, if nothing else, we have raised the profile of what we have done for the past 10 years as state senator,” he said outside of McKinley Elementary School on Tuesday evening.
In 2022, Hwang won the district — which includes Fairfield, Easton, Bethel and Newtown — with 50.69% of the vote against Democrat Timothy Gavin. Many expect this year’s battle between Hwang and Blanchard to be one of the most competitive races in Connecticut.
Hwang has named affordability, public safety and education as key priorities, and Blanchard, a member of the Fairfield Representative Town Meeting, has emphasized the rising costs of utilities, health care and child care.
If elected for another term, Hwang said he hopes his campaign will serve as an example for how to run without negativity.
“You don’t need to smear, manipulate and negatively represent, but tell people what you’re going to do when you’re elected to solve issues,” he said.
— Sophia Muce
NEW BRITAIN — A long line snaked around the corner at St. Francis Church, where about 1,450 people had voted as of 5:30 p.m., according to election moderators.
Outside, members of the Democratic and Republican Town Committees were stumping for their respective candidates.
Mona, a member of the Republican Town Committee, said she supports U.S. House candidate George Logan and finds him “sincere.”
“He’s here. He’s showing his face,” she said. “I live in New Britain. I work in New Britain. I’ve never seen Jahana Hayes here once. … I think she’s totally detached from what’s going on in our area.”
Democratic Town Committee Secretary Annie Speyer said Hayes was a “very responsive congresswoman” and honest. She added that she supported the work Hayes had done on the farm bill in the House of Representatives’ agriculture committee, and on food programs for public schoolchildren.
“I’m a retired teacher from New Britain, and I live here, and that’s important to me. I know those kids need that food,” she said.
— Emilia Otte
NORWALK — Voters at Fox Run Elementary School in Norwalk faced many difficult decisions at the polls on Tuesday: Harris or Trump? Duff or Tagliaferro? Tagalongs or thin mints?
A Girl Scout troop representing seven different Norwalk elementary schools set up shop at the polling site at 9 a.m., and by 4:00 pm had sold over 750 boxes of cookies. They have been fundraising at the site every Election Day for the last several years, according to troop leader Elisa Noble.
Inside the school, poll workers cheered when college student Tyler Pils checked in at the registration table.
“First-time voter,” someone yelled. After submitting his ballot, Pils told CT Examiner he felt good about the experience.
Standing with his smiling parents, Pils admitted he had talked to them about the candidates and the issues before voting.
“I got some information from them. I don’t really know too much so I am just going off what they’re saying,” he added before purchasing a box of Girl Scout cookies.
For 82-year-old Elizabeth Klaschka, it was at least the 20th election she has voted in — a disappointing number for her.
“I haven’t voted in as many as I should have,” she lamented.
But Klaschka was eager to visit the polls, saying her choice for president was an easy one to make.
“As far as I’m concerned, there’s only one viable candidate and I just voted for her,” she said.
Klaschka said she’s cautiously optimistic about the current vice president’s chances.
“She’s going to win. I hope she’s going to but I wouldn’t put money on it,” she said.
She was willing, however, to put $6 toward a box of shortbread trefoils from the Girl Scouts before leaving the site with her daughter.
Moderator Susan Hatchman said 1,644 votes were cast at Fox Run by 3 p.m., which she described as a good turnout.
“There’s a lot more voters than I’ve seen in previous years, and I’ve been doing this a long time,” she added.
— Meghan Muldoon
DANBURY — State Rep. Farley Santos, D-Danbury, said he felt most city residents had already made up their minds before Election Day, so he focused on greeting voters and saying thanks at polling locations around the city.
Santos, 35, began Election Day at 5:45 a.m. at the Stadley Rough Elementary School polling station in Danbury. He was there until noon, had lunch with Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves, interviewed on a local Brazilian radio station, and said he expected to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening back at polling sites.
Santos, who is seeking his second two-year term against Republican challenger Brenda Hefferon, was tapped as an economic and community development advisor for the city earlier this year.
Santos shared that one conversation on Tuesday morning struck a chord with him: a local woman described how she had benefited from the state’s Time to Own program, which offers loans of up to $50,000 to qualifying residents in specific areas.
“That lady came to me [after she voted] with tears in her eyes,” he told CT Examiner. “She said that, for the first time in her life, she is going to be able to buy her first home. She is 58 years old and she thinks that, with the money she saved plus this program, she’ll be able to buy that home.”
Santos noted the Time To Own legislation was passed prior to him becoming a lawmaker, but that “we were able to get some more funding for it through the Bonding Commission.”
Moments like that one, Santos said, “makes it all worth it.”
Santos said he and his team knocked on more than 5,000 doors during the campaign, with the high cost of living and electric rates being key issues for residents.
Santos, a member of the Legislature’s Blue Dog Democrats — a group of about 20 fiscally conservative Democrats on budget and finance issues — said he favors working with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to “have a little more oversight over what Eversource is doing.”
Santos shared that he voted for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I think our Democracy is at stake, I really do,” he said. “Freedom is important to everyone in our country, right? It’s the founding principles that we are, that this nation came to be. So I worry about what kind of nation we are going to be if we have some autocratic rule [if Republican Donald Trump is elected]. … I fully believe in Kamala Harris’ message of freedom.”
Santos said he never expected to be a lawmaker.
“I came from a very low-income background,” he said. “I was an immigrant [from Brazil], an undocumented immigrant. … I came here when I was 7 years old and never thought anyone of my background would ever be elected to the state Legislature, and I’m the first Brazilian American to have done that in the state’s history.”
— Robert Storace
STRATFORD — An election moderator briefly stopped a CT Examiner news photographer from taking pictures at a polling place despite the practice being lawful.
The reporter had entered the polling place at Stratford High School on King Street and interviewed Assistant Registrar of Voters Seth Levine before he summoned election moderator Annie Christy, who said no photographers were allowed in polling places.
Generally, photographers are allowed at polling places and can, under state law, photograph elections if they do not disturb the voting process or crows voters. Christy and other officials called Town Hall for clarification before allowing the reporter to proceed.
“Personally, speaking for myself, I would be upset if someone took my photograph without permission, Christy said.
— Nick Sambides
OLD SAYBROOK — Campaign workers outside the town’s polling station said they are seeing more young people and first-time voters compared to previous elections.
And while over 3,600 people in town already cast their ballots before Tuesday, there was a steady line of people voting on Election Day.
Around 1 p.m., while taking pictures of Old Saybrook’s polling station at their high school, an election moderator asked CT Examiner to delete all pictures of poll workers because he feared for their safety.
“You should have asked for my permission, before you started taking pictures,” the moderator said.
After this exchange, CT Examiner left the polling station. State law allows reporters to shoot images inside of polling places as long as they do not interfere with the election. Images of Old Saybrook’s polling station were taken yards away from voters and poll workers.
— Ally Lemaster
MILFORD – Jeff Kelly said he voted for Donald Trump because he just doesn’t think foreign leaders are going to respect Kamala Harris.
“They’re not going to want to listen to a woman. Period,” Kelly said while standing in the Orange Avenue Elementary School parking lot. “It’s just not going to happen. They don’t feel the same way about women that we do. They are not going to listen, especially one who cackles.”
Kelly was also impressed that Trump had involved tech billionaire Elon Musk in his campaign. Two men that wealthy and smart, he said, went a long way in Kelly’s mind toward promising that the economy would do well if Trump were elected.
He also discounted Trump’s felony convictions in New York.
“That’s the Biden administration,” Kelly said. “That’s bullshit. That’s the way Biden does things.”
Another voter, Dominka Smaga, declined to say who she voted for, but happily explained why she voted.
“We’re voting to preserve our freedoms,” said Smaga, a first-generation immigrant from Poland, “for my kids and their children, too… for the future.”
State Rep. Kathy Kennedy, a Republican, was nearby with two of her campaign assistants shaking hands with voters. The 67-year-old is running against Democratic City Alderman Etan Hirsch for the 119th, which covers Milford and Orange.
Kennedy said the turnout looked good to her, steady and calm. Along with election moderator Carl Moore, she also spoke generally positively about the shift to early voting, for reducing crowding and inconvenience at the polls, which as of 3 p.m. had 1,225 votes case – a turnout slightly above what would usually come to a municipal election.
“The lines aren’t drawing a lot of traffic,” said Brendan Casey, a Democratic Party assistant registrar of voters. “People are getting in and out.”
Traffic averaged through the morning rush at 6 a.m. until noon about 150 people an hour, said Casey, not bad at all.
But Kennedy said she felt the 14-day period for early voting was too long, and expressed concern that some of the state’s 169 municipalities wouldn’t be able to handle the cost.
Moore instead expressed concerns that voters who erred in filling out ballots would see them disqualified more frequently with the drop-ins. Voters who wait until Election Day could get help with ballot questions or possibly have clerks discover ballots that could be re-cast instead of disqualified.
Any voter who discovers an error made before the ballot is placed in the ballot boxes would have registrars such as Casey, and a Republican registrar and a moderator, review the re-cast or new vote to ensure no tampering, Moore said.
Alderman Ray Vitali liked the new system as well. He cast a ballot at Orange Avenue.
“It took a lot of pressure off the polling places,” said Vitali, who expressed relief that Election Day was finally here.
“There’s been so much folderol through this thing that I am just glad that it is over,” he said.
— Nick Sambides
–Nick Sambides
WESTPORT – A lull fell over Saugatuck Elementary School around 3:30 p.m. as – unlike most polling places in Fairfield County – no campaign workers stood outside to greet voters.
One election official told CT Examiner that he blames the lack of energy on early voting. While it is great that 8,200 Westporters have already cast their ballots, he said, the new initiative has made for “a boring Election Day.”
The school serves as a polling station for two districts in town. Those in District 136-1 cast 486 votes and those in District 143-1 cast 674 votes before 4 p.m.
— Sophia Muce
NORWICH — At John B. Stanton School on New London Turnpike, voter turnout is strong and just keeps coming — 1,040 have voted by 1:57 p.m., according to polling worker Daphney Slopak with 25% of city-wide voters in Norwich having voted early.
In the school’s parking lot, Kevin Saythany, Chair of the Norwich Democratic Town Committee, is campaigning for the re-election of Derell Wilson for State Representative, Cathy Osten for State Senate, and Joe Courtney for U.S. Congressman.
“They have my vote because of integrity and fighting for our community, the working class; they know the pain and the feeling of what working-class families have to go through, despite what people are saying about Democrat parties in general not looking out for the little ones, they actually are looking out for the little ones, and they do pay attention to bread and butter issues,” Saythany said.
“They’re champions to me,” Saythany added.
Asked about the importance of local elections are important, Saythany said, “it goes both ways. Local elections can shape state and federal policies and vice versa. Federal and state policies also affect the local level. With local politics, it’s easier for voters to reach out to officials with concerns, ideas, or suggestions to improve the community. If I have any questions, Kathy is just a phone call or text away. She can provide me with the information I need to educate voters and help them make informed decisions in their community.”
Campaigning just feet away from Saythany, is Republican Nick Casiano, a candidate for the Connecticut House of Representatives in District 46.
When asked about the issues on the top of his mind, Casiano replied, “There’s between $80 billion and $88 billion in unfunded pension debt. To address that, we need to make conservative efforts to reduce spending. The governor and Democrats like to say, ‘We’ve had a surplus,’ but when you actually look at it, the surplus is largely due to increasing debt year after year, and a lot of it has come from COVID funds. The so-called surplus is actually being funded by debt. It’s like taking one credit card to pay off another and calling it a surplus. Taking cash off a credit card is not a surplus. What we really need to do is look at spending because that’s the problem and ask where we can be more efficient. Democrats don’t want to do that. When they see a surplus, they think, ‘How can we spend it?’ I disagree with Governor Lamont on a lot of things, but at least he used the so-called surplus to pay down the pension debt, which is something we really need to focus on,” Casiano said.
Asked for his gut instinct on the election’s outcome, Casiano replied, “Locally in Norwich, the results are going to be surprising because of the tax increase we saw locally. While it’s not a state-level issue, people vote with their pocketbooks. Seeing their property taxes rise by $1,500 to $2,000 and then looking at who is in charge and who voted for the policies that caused it, they’re going to vote Republican.”
After knocking on doors and talking to voters, Casiano said he’s found that most people agree on the problems, the difference is how they think they should be solved.
“When you knock on doors and talk to Democrats and Republicans, I’ve noticed there’s not a lot of difference. People see what the problems are; everyone agrees on the issues. The difference is in how to solve them. But just being able to have discussions with people isn’t what you see in national politics. I’m just your neighbor. We might have different opinions on certain things, but we all see the actual problems. We can work together on how to solve them,” Casiano said.
Rob Demsky, chair of the Republican Town Committee of Norwich, said these decisions need to be made on the local level.
“We’ve gotten so far from our original founding, where municipalities were supposed to handle 80-90% of the decisions made on behalf of the people because that’s where government is most accountable,” said Demsky. “Instead, we’ve set ourselves up for a situation where 150 million people may vote for one position that controls so much and should not. It should be here, at the local level, and that’s what we need to get back to. I only see one party looking to do that, and that’s us. We believe local government governs best, and that’s the number one thing. I don’t see anyone on the Democratic side talking about that, ever.”
— Nina Gilbert
PLAINVILLE — Voting has been steady at the Linden Street School, with about 1,100 voters as of around 2:30 p.m.
A woman wearing a Trump sweatshirt enters. Poll staff ask her to remove it – it’s prohibited to wear any campaign or candidate promotional materials within 75 feet of the poll site.
People wandering out of the poll site have different reasons for casting their votes.
“Me, personally, just not for Trump,” said a man wearing a green jacket with flowers on it and sunglasses. “Plain and simple – human rights.”
Several women say their biggest preoccupation is women’s rights and equality.
“I want to feel respected in my country, and I think the Democratic party is going to do that,” said voter Susan Fabrizio.
Fabrizio said she felt “threatened” by the rhetoric around women, and said she wanted her children and grandchildren to have the same rights as their predecessors.
“I don’t want us to revert back to when women were second-class citizens,” said Fabrizio.
But one man told CT Examiner he cast his vote based on “personal freedoms” and constitutional rights. He said that the right to abortion was not a right written in the constitution.
— Emilia Otte
OLD LYME — Through mid-afternoon voting was totally chill in Old Lyme. Police report it was weird not to see long lines. Moderators said traffic was steady after an early rush. As of 3:07 pm, a total of 1,276 votes were cast. Political parties featured refreshments in their booths stationed within sight of the voting entrance.
— Andy Thibault
MADISON—At 2:30 p.m., outside Walter Polson Middle School in Madison, Democratic incumbent State Rep. John-Michael Parker and his opponent, Republican Lisa Deane, campaigned side by side.
Deane celebrated a steady stream of voters arriving, even if Madison was one of the towns with the highest early voting turnout, at more than 48 percent of registered voters in the town.
John Rasmus, a Deane supporter, said the most important thing about the election was improving the balance in the state capitol between the two major parties.
“Local officials and state representatives affect your day-to-day life a lot more than on the national level,” Rasmus said. “They think we are so wealthy that we don’t need help with our education aid, but education is very expensive and property taxes are starting to creep up and force people out of town.”
The incumbent, Parker, also focused on the local level and said the campaign was a good time for voters to learn about what a state representative does and get engaged.
Parker was hesitant about how he felt about the national election.
“I feel,” Parker replied and maintained a few seconds’ silence, “hopeful.”
Barbara Miles, 84 years old, said she votes in every election and there was no particular issue that motivated her in this election.
“That is a pretty basic reason for voting,” Miles said. “I just like the fact that we have an opportunity to vote.”
— Francisco Uranga
GREENWICH – Despite standing on opposite sides of most issues, Democrats and Republicans outside Town Hall agreed – national politics are driving state elections.
“Chris Murphy said it best. The future of democracy is on this ballot,” said Stephen Selbst, a Democratic member of the Greenwich Board of Estimate & Taxation.
Backing Kamala Harris, Selbst said women’s rights and gun safety are top of mind for Democrats across the country. He said Greenwich’s local candidates have stressed those issues.
“Not only do we think they’re right, but they also resonate with the voters,” Selbst said.
Not far from the Greenwich Democrats tent, Republican Joe Kelly said the ideological differences between the two presidential candidates have steered undecided partisans away from their opposing parties on the state level.
Joining her husband, Jill Kelly said there was an attempt by local candidates to separate themselves from their state and national affiliations. Pointing to a sign for State Sen. Ryan Fazio, R-Greenwich, she said many have chosen not to include their party affiliations on their campaign materials this year.
“They’re not really putting out what party they’re with because people are just voting for party and not really even knowing what these people are representing,” she said.
While the parties may differ on the national level, Jill Kelly said that, for the most part, voters on the local level “want the same thing.”
“We just don’t want the divisiveness. We want to have civil discourse back,” she said.
As of 2:30 p.m., approximately 530 votes were cast at Town Hall. Some election workers attributed the fairly low turnout to the fact that the Town Hall served as the early voting location over the last few weeks.
According to the Secretary of the State, 27.15% of Greenwich voters cast their ballots through early voting.
–Sophia Muce
NEW CANAAN – By noon, 1,788 votes were cast at New Canaan High School, one of three polling sites in the town.
Moderator Jim Walsh said he was surprised by the “heavier than usual” turnout given a high percentage — about 40% — of voters had already cast their ballots during the state’s early voting period.
“I thought this would be quiet but it’s not. It’s constant,” Walsh said. “I don’t know, maybe because of the animosity.”
Outside the high school, New Canaan Democratic Town Committee member Stephanie Spoto was standing under a big “Harris Walz” sign offering baked goods and coffee to voters.
Spoto said she was feeling “great energy” from voters, especially the young ones casting their votes for the first time.
“A lot of young girls came through and this is their first presidential election and they are so psyched to do it. They come in groups, they vote. They’re so excited. It makes you feel good that the upcoming generation is excited to vote,” Spoto said.
Posing for photos with members of the 8th grade football team that he coaches, Republican State Representative Tom O’Dea, who is running for a seventh term against Democratic newcomer Jason Bennett, expressed optimism about his reelection chances.
“I’m proud of my twelve years of service and my bipartisan reputation and running the floor for the House Republicans. I’m good friends with the governor and with the speaker and the Senate president and the majority leader. I’ve been in town since 1998. I love this town with all my heart, raised all my kids here and it’s the honor of a lifetime representing New Canaan. I’m looking forward to getting two more years if the town wants me,” O’Dea told CT Examiner.
Although considered a Republican-leaning town, New Canaan went narrowly for Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. O’Dea said he is relying on voters splitting their votes between the Democratic candidates at the top of the ticket and the Republican candidates further down the ballot.
“I’m hoping that my bipartisan reputation and because of my years being in New Canaan I’m not going to have that problem of not getting split tickets. I think I’ve got broad based support so while I’m not counting on a victory at all, I’ve worked really hard in the campaign. I believe my record is a good one and I’m hopeful that the towns of New Canaan and Darien and North Stamford want me to continue,” O’Dea said.
O’Dea said he is also “comfortably optimistic” about State Sen. Ryan Fazio’s re-election. Fazio is in a tight race against Democratic challenger Nick Simmons, a former deputy chief of staff for Gov. Ned Lamont. Both are vying to represent Greenwich, North Stamford and portions of New Canaan and Stamford in the 36th district.
“Ryan has worked as hard as I’ve seen any candidate work. I’ve been involved in politics since the 90s and I will tell you, Ryan is as bipartisan as anyone up there and if anyone deserves re-election, it’s him,” O’Dea added.
But Spoto argued that Simmons’s efforts to connect with residents has made a positive impression, despite the town’s traditionally conservative leaning.
“Nick has knocked on a lot of doors and introduced himself personally and I think we don’t get that a lot in New Canaan,” Spoto said. “He’s a Democrat and this is New Canaan but I think that the fact that he made an effort here, I think it resonated with a lot of people.”
Maria Weingarten, who was manning the New Canaan Republican Town Committee tent, said she’s feeling good about Ryan Fazio’s reelection chances.
“Ryan’s done an amazing job and I think a lot of what we’re hearing is people really enjoy that he’s supported our community and they’re coming out to support him,” she said.
Weingarten said there seems to be more support this year for Republican candidates at the top of the ticket compared to previous years even though unaffiliated voters now outnumber registered Republicans.
“We used to be a Republican town. So it will be interesting to see how it goes,” she said.
–Meghan Muldoon
CHESHIRE — “First-time voter!” someone yells, and the room erupts into applause.
Alex, a student at Southern Connecticut State University, told CT Examiner that she was “happy she can have a say now” in the elections.
She said that she did a lot of research and fact-checking prior to making a decision.
“By the time I graduate, I want to have a more stable economy,” she said. “I want to buy a house in the next 10 years.”
Moderator Dawn told CT Examiner that Alex was about the 20th first-time voter who had arrived at the Artsplace to cast a ballot that day.
By about 1:30 pm, 923 people had voted in the two districts that are represented at the site. Dawn said that early voting really helped with the crowds — she said that in the first two days of early voting, over 1,000 people in the town of Cheshire cast a ballot.
Alex wasn’t the only student at the poll location. Christina Murphy, a student at Northwestern Community College, was serving as assistant registrar as part of a federal pilot program aimed at getting underclassmen into positions at polling locations.
Murphy said that as part of the NextGen Elections Program, she was trained through the Secretary of the State’s office to do everything from acting as a checker to being a moderator. As assistant registrar, her job is to change addresses if someone moved within the state of Connecticut.
Murphy, who is 23 years old and majoring in political science, said the program was offered as a paid opportunity for students. She said she felt the preparation was good, and that she’d seen “mostly polite and friendly people” at the site.
— Emilia Otte
GREENWICH – Asked why she supports Democrat Kamala Harris for president, Elizabeth Sanders Mills, a Greenwich voter, quoted her pastor Rev. Jesse Williams, Jr.
“I go to church in Manhattan and my pastor spoke about repentance on Sunday, and he said, ‘You cannot put your faith into an individual that can never admit they’re wrong, never apologize or never say sorry and really mean it,’” she said. “That says a lot. How could a person that doesn’t have integrity and values lead our country?”
Sanders Mills said she would much prefer to have a former district attorney to lead the country than a “felon.”
–Sophia Muce
GREENWICH – Hoisting a large banner for Donald Trump, members of the Greenwich Republican Town Committee urged voters in western Greenwich to vote red.
Signs in favor of the Republican presidential candidate, like “Trump or communism” were also scattered around the entrance to Glenville School.
— Sophia Muce
GREENWICH – Challenging incumbent State Sen. Ryan Fazio, R-Greenwich, in what many expect to be one of the tightest races in Connecticut, Democrat Nick Simmons said unaffiliated voters would play a key role on Tuesday.
October town data indicates that of the 40,581 registered voters in Greenwich, 39.7% are unaffiliated, 29.8% are Democrats and 28.9% are Republicans. Outside of Glenville School, Simmons told CT Examiner that he’s seen “a lot” of unaffiliated voters at the polls as of 1:30 p.m.
Simmons said he is hopeful that his common sense proposals have won over undecided voters.
“We’re feeling confident. We’re feeling optimistic,” the challenger said. “We feel proud of the big outreach effort that we’ve done. We’ve called or knocked over 180,000 doors.”
Fazio, who has also said he considers himself to be a moderate, won his 2022 race by just 89 votes.
Simmons urged civility between the parties.
“It’s been very civil with Ryan. We saw each other in New Canaan this morning and had a good, final conversation,” Simmons said.
— Sophia Muce
At New Canaan High School, members of New Canaan’s 8th grade football team show support for their coach and six-term incumbent State Representative Tom O’Dea who is running for reelection against Democratic newcomer Jason Bennett in the 125th House district which encompasses portions of New Canaan, Darien and North Stamford.
–Meghan Muldoon
CHESHIRE — Two nurses – one Republican, one Democrat – are standing on opposite sides of a walkway in front of Cheshire High School, calling out to voters as they pass.
Rosemary, who is wearing a red shirt in support of Elain Cariati, the Republican State Senate candidate challenging incumbent Democrat Jan Hochadel, said that her work as a nurse is one of the reasons she is so strongly in support of Republicans like Cariati.
“I work as an emergency room nurse, so when people say there’s no fentanyl, there’s no sex trafficking — people are oblivious to what really happens in this world. An 8-year-old pediatric patient who is addicted to heroin — you tell me why?” she said, pointing out that New Haven is a sanctuary city.
Rosemary said she believed it was a “crime” that leaders hadn’t kept the country safe with stricter policies on the border.
“I’m not saying that we shouldn’t let people into the country. I think that we should vet them appropriately,” she said.
Rosemary said she’s also very hopeful that George Logan, the Republican challenger to U.S. Congresswoman Jahana Hayes, wins the race this year. She said she supports his position that there should be term limits for federal legislative politicians.
“Not these career politicians that get in. Once you get in, you’re good, you’re good for years. Blumenthal, Lamont, Murphy — what are they doing for Connecticut families?” she said.
But Lois Sadler, a member of the Cheshire Democratic Women’s Club said her work as a pediatric nurse also informed her decision to support Jahana Hayes and the Democrats. She said Hayes had worked hard to address maternal mortality and is in favor of women’s reproductive rights.
“I’m a nurse, and in my practice, I’ve worked with folks who have had all knids of complications from various reproductive health issues, not just pregnancy. And it’s not a simple situation, it’s not a simple one-size-fits all,” said Sadler. “There’s so many implications and its so complex and decisions need to be made by people … who have the training, have the education, practice with evidence-based protocols and care, and have the freedom to give the care that they need to be able to give to save lives and to keep people healthy.”
Inside, the moderator, Jane, says that a little over 1,000 people have voted as of around 12:30 p.m, in a district of about 5,000 registered voters. She said that combined with early voting, the number was considerable — perhaps higher than she’d ever seen.
“The turnout is amazing,” she said.
Up near the high school, two adults and two teenagers are selling baked goods to benefit boys soccer. Pat, a Southington resident and one of the women working the table, says the economy is the major issue for her.
“I don’t care about women’s rights,” she said. “I just don’t think it’s that important.”
She noted that she lives on a fixed income.
“I don’t like going to the grocery. I don’t like getting gas,” she said.
She also said border security was an important topic for her.
“I don’t like the fact that we have to support people who shouldn’t be here when we can’t support our veterans and our elderly,” she said.
— Emilia Otte
By noon, 1,788 New Canaan residents had voted at New Canaan High School, one of the town’s three polling sites, according to moderator Jim Walsh.
Walsh said he was surprised by the “strong turnout” given that 5,666 residents, 40% of registered voters, had already cast their ballots during early voting. “I thought this would be quiet. It’s constant,” he added. “I don’t know, maybe it’s because of the animosity.”
— Meghan Muldoon
GUILFORD – By 1 p.m., about 975 people had voted at the Abraham Baldwin School in Guilford.
Outside the school, Peter Colburn, Kathleen Croce and Betty Bonus Mannes held signs for Democratic candidates Christine Cohen for State Senate, Moira Rader for State House and the Harris-Waltz presidential ticket.
“The main concern is to protect democracy,” said Colburn, 65, who retired from the plastic industry. “There’s a possibility we could be putting someone back in the White House that really frankly doesn’t deserve to be there.”
Croce, a 73-year-old psychologist, said her main motivations were defending democracy, women’s rights and education.
“Whatever affects the national election affects the local towns,” Croce said, “and our ability to have freedom in this country.”
Bonus Mannes, 74 years old who used to work as a nurse at Abraham Baldwin School, said the most important issues for her are medical health care for all and the rise of racism in the country.
“I think there’s a racist script in the Republican Party, particularly from the presidential candidate,” Bonus Mannes said. “I think he should not even be allowed to run because of his background.”
Mike and Laura Stockdale, a married couple, said they vote in every election to fulfill their civic duty.
“You can’t complain if you don’t vote,” Mike Stockdale said. “Even on a national level, with the electoral college, the way that works, it’s still important to vote, to make your voice heard.”
Natalie Feingold, a voting moderator, said she was pleased with the strong turnout in Guilford.
“It’s a long day,” Feangold said, “but you feel like you’re doing your fair share for democracy.”
— Francisco Uranga
ANSONIA — It’s lunch time in the city’s sixth ward and the polls at Prendergast School are dead quiet.
As of 11:30 a.m., three hundred and seventy nine voters had their cast ballots, an unusually low number, the poll workers said, attributing the drop to the impacts of early voting.
About 23% of registered voters in town had taken advantage of early voting.
Voters came through 1 or 2 at a time over stretches of two or three minutes. A half dozen people in lawn chairs sat in front of the school, talking quietly. The sixth ward consists only of a few thousand people, with seventh ward voters going to Mead School, which is only a half mile away.
— Nick Sambides
PAWCATUCK– As of 9:48 a.m., a polling worker in Pawcatuck counted 390 votes at the Board of Education District Office, located in the former Pawcatuck Middle School on Field St.
“I think about 42% of voters voted early or absentee, so it’s reduced the number of people coming here, which is really a benefit,” the polling worker said. “This is much better than during the referendum earlier this year when only 156 people voted all day. It could be hectic with all 3,000 voters here, but it’s been steady.”
Outside the office, two neighbors and Pawcatuck residents, Kathryn Taylor and David Brown, who had never spoken to each other before today, stood side by side campaigning. Kathryn was supporting Harris, while David backed Trump.
“I’m campaigning for Harris because I have two daughters, and I fear abortion becoming a nationwide ban. And also, I love her!” Kathryn said.
“I support Trump because I think we were better off economically four years ago — gas prices, inflation, a secure border. I think he can bring that back,” David said.
David laughed, adding, “She doesn’t like Trump’s character.”
“I don’t like a lot of his character either,” David admitted.
David then asked if a photo could be taken of him and Kathryn holding their campaign signs. “I’m gonna post that on the Republican Facebook page!” he said.
“Ugh!” Kathryn sighed.
“And I’m gonna say look at that, two people of totally opposite viewpoints on who is running can actually stand together and have a conversation. You don’t see that very often,” David said.
“Definitely totally opposite, it’s been interesting,” Kathryn said.
David shared a story about a passerby from earlier today who asked him why he is voting for Trump, “I started to tell her why, and then she asked me about Jan. 6th, and I started to say, well, it wasn’t Trump’s fault, and she turned around and said, ‘I don’t wanna hear it.’”
“She wouldn’t talk to me. “They won’t have a discussion. And, um, none of us are completely right. I mean, it would be nice if we could at least discuss it. We need more of this,” he said while gesturing towards Kathryn.
“I think Harris has said that she will include Republicans at the table, and I believe her,” Kathryn said.
When asked about their gut feelings regarding the election results, Kathryn was confident: “Oh yeah, Harris is winning,” she said.
David replied, unsure, “I don’t know. Trump is traditionally under-polled. Like, at this time, four years ago, he was 7 or 6 points behind Biden on Election Day, and he almost won. He was 3.5 points behind Hillary in 2016, so he’s in the best position polling-wise. In 2020, it was supposed to be a big red wave, but that never happened. So, I don’t necessarily put a lot of stock in the polls. We’ll know within a few days.”
“But it’s been fun standing here as a Harris supporter. The women are just incredibly enthusiastic,” Kathyrn said, describing female passersby with their thumbs up, beeping their horns, rolling down their windows, and shouting, ‘We got this!’ “Some of the young men, too. So there’s enthusiasm for Harris, and I think that will translate,” she added.
“I find that the Democrats are very difficult to talk to. They don’t wanna have a discussion. They won’t discuss with a Republican why I support Trump. And so I find that to be a real problem,” said David.
“I think the problem is that your candidate is Trump and Vance. I think people have a strong visceral reaction to those two because if you talk about the local candidates, you won’t find that animosity, but we’re scared,” Kathryn said.
“But, there’s no reason. That doesn’t mean we can’t talk about it. It’s like you completely shut off,” David replied.
“Did you find that before Trump was a candidate?” Kathryn asked David.
“No! No, I did not,” David replied.
“No, I didn’t think so, so it’s a reaction to Trump,” Kathryn said.
David responded, suggesting, “It’s okay to hate Trump, but if you’re not willing to listen, what are you supposed to do? I think whatever happens if Trump wins, he’ll be impeached in the first month, no doubt on my mind, and it’s four years. He can’t run again. Once Trump is out of the way, this is all going to go away. You’re right.”
“I wish [the Republicans] had a different candidate because the Republican party isn’t strong.”
“We’ll see, I never agreed with anything Obama said, but I never hated the guy, I never hated anyone, any politician, I disagree with policies, but I try not to hate people,” David said.
When asked about assumptions they had about each other upon seeing the candidate they endorsed, Kathryn replied, “I have to say that I always get sad when someone I like has a Trump sign.”
“See, that’s a visceral reaction. You can’t overcome that,” David said.
“Nope,” she replied.
“Then that’s a problem,” David said.
“But we had some good conversations outside of politics,” Kathryn said.
“Yeah, at least we are able to talk, but you’re not gonna ever get through that. It’s just not gonna happen; that’s just too bad,” David replied.
— Nina Gilbert
Stamford neighbors Rich Prowse, left, and Jim Ziolkowski met late Tuesday morning at the Dolan school polling site and realized they stand on opposite sides of the national political fence.
“I didn’t know until he pulled up his sweatshirt just now,” Ziolkowski said of Prowse’s Donald Trump T-shirt. Ziolkowski was working to get out the vote for Kamala Harris. They asked someone to take their photo to show there is no reason for the “terrible political division” gripping the nation. “You can disagree; just do it peacefully and intelligently,” Ziolkowski said. And, Prowse said, “Stop with the childish name-calling. We have to live like neighbors.”
— Angela Carella
FAIRFIELD – Facing incumbent State Rep. Jennifer Leeper, D-Fairfield, Republican challenger Alexis Harrison hesitated offer her odds.
“I always act as if I’m 20 points behind. I don’t know,” she said.
In the 2022 election, Leeper beat Republican Brian Farnen with just over 55% of the votes. And in 2023, Harrison narrowly secured a two-year term on the Fairfield Plan and Zoning Commissioner with just over 50% of the vote.
Standing outside the local senior center, Harrison said she thinks the Independent Party’s endorsement of her campaign will help her odds.
“I think that’s refreshing because I’m not a party pleaser,” she said. “People want someone who’s not bound by their party, or senior leadership or lobbyists. I’m just very independent, and that’s what I would bring to Fairfield and Southport.”
While door knocking for the last four months, Harrison said some in town refused to talk to her as they already decided to vote for local Democrats. She said that she is not running to serve Donald Trump or any Republicans at the national level.
Harrison named affordability and housing as top issues for voters in her district. As of 11:30 a.m., approximately 730 residents voted at the senior center.
STAMFORD — Two boys about 12 years old riding their bicycles down Toms Road in Stamford paused for half a minute in front of Dolan Middle School, a busy polling place with a long line winding outside the building. The boys appeared to be Dolan students. One cupped his mouth and shouted, “Hey, voters, thanks for going to school today!” Yeah, said his friend, “so we don’t have to.”
— Angela Carella
SALEM — Shaun Mastroianni, the Republican candidate running against incumbent Democratic State Sen. Martha Marx for the 20th district seat, was talking to voters outside of Salem Town Hall around 10 a.m. on Tuesday. “We’ve put in the leg work,” Mastroianni told CT Examiner.
Mastroianni said he has worked to engage with the community by talking with residents and knocking on doors.
Asked if he was looking forward to the election results Mastroianni said, “If you look at the history of the district, it’s a close race. It’s going to be decided by a small margin.” H
e added that race comes down to each candidate’s “reputation.”
Voting has been steady through the morning across the state’s 37th district. Campaign workers at polling places across Montville, Salem and East Lyme have reported a steady stream of voters from early to mid-morning. Only Niantic Center School in East Lyme reported having a line of voters waiting when polls opened. But even those lines, they said, were nothing compared to previous elections.
Salem has reported that roughly 45% of registered voters cast their ballots early, while Montville sits at 34.6%. Registered Democrats held onto a narrow majority of early voters in Montville and Salem. Democrats also seemed to have more volunteers canvassing at polling places across the district than Republicans.
Around 8 a.m., incumbent State Rep. Holly Cheeseman-R, stood outside the East Lyme Community Center to talk with voters. Although most of East Lyme’s early votes were also cast by registered Democrats, Cheeseman said this does not worry her. “There’s lots of crossover between parties, that’s how I win my district,” Cheeseman told CT Examiner.
She said the 37th district race against her Democratic opponent, Nick Menapace, comes down to the hard work she’s put in over her eight-year career as a legislator in Hartford.
“I look forward to tomorrow morning’s results,” Cheeseman said.
MERIDEN — There has been a steady stream of voters at most of the polls. Over at John Barry School, waiting in line, people described their concerns about the election outcomes.
“I couldn’t sleep the last two nights,” one person admitted.
“Let’s say it turns out Kamala wins — are we going to have civil war tomorrow?” another asked.
A third said they doubted that there would be another January 6.
Jarnell Cotto told CT Examiner that while the economy was important, the work of one president doesn’t even take effect until he or she is out of office. A self-described independent voter who has voted for both parties, Cotto said there was one issue that struck a particular chord with him.
“I have a daughter and I have granddaughters, and it matters that they have control over their bodies,” he said.
Another voter, Cindy, who is transgender, said that the transgender community is “the first community that Trump and the Republicans are going to go after.”
Cindy praised Harris’ economic plan to bring down the cost of rent and food. As an employee of Trinity Solar, Cindy also expressed support for investing in renewable energy.
According to the moderator, about 186 people had voted by 10 a.m.
Standing outside the polling place, Elmer Gonzalez was campaigning for State Senate candidate Elain Cariati, a Republican. He said that as a tax consultant, he regularly looked at people’s finances.
“It’s devastating,” he said. “I see people who are just living paycheck to paycheck. People are already dipping into retirement money that they are putting away and they are tapping into things just to survive. And I’m including myself in that number.”
He said that the current people in power needed to consider putting “at least $2,000 a year more” back into the pockets of citizens.
Yvette Cortez, a Democratic member of the Meriden City Council, said that she was impressed by the work U.S. Congresswoman Jahana Hayes had done for Meriden.
“She’s really helped get some projects off the ground, and she’s advocated and fought … she’s somebody who is clearly looking at the communities who are most in need and fighting and advocating to support us.”
Current State Sen. Jan Hochadel, D-Meriden, who was campaigning outside the polling place, said that if re-elected, she wanted to take another look at the fiscal guardrails and make sure they could fund the non-profits, as well as supporting the ability of senior citizens to age at home. She also said she believed Connecticut should be a model for affordable housing throughout the country.
Over at Platt High School, a woman with curly blond hair who said she had voted in Meriden for years said that inflation was the most important issue for her — she said she’s had to work 1.5 times as hard as in the past to save up for retirement. She added that the government needed to do more to support seniors and veterans.
— Emilia Otte
FAIRFIELD – Aside from one incident, State Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey, D-Fairfield, said voters and campaign workers have been cordial at the polls on Tuesday morning.
Around 10:15 a.m., McCarthy Vahey, who represents eastern Fairfield and a slice of western Bridgeport in House of Representatives District 133, said she had been standing outside Fairfield Warde High School for the last couple of hours. While she said she spent the majority of the morning having pleasant conversation with voters, she noted that there had been a disturbance outside the polling place.
According to the state representative, a voter walked by the Democratic volunteers and began recording them with his phone, calling the group “the cancer.”
“It was just kind of disappointing to see that. But for the most part, that’s the rare exception,” McCarthy Vahey said.
McCarthy Vahey attributed the incident to the growing political divide on the national level.
“It’s OK to feel angry about issues. There’s nothing wrong with anger. Anger motivates us to change. It’s how we express that towards one another and how we engage in conversations,” she said.
Still, she highlighted productive conversations she had with voters, who she said named housing and expensive electric bills as top priorities.
During CT Examiner’s conversation with McCarthy Vahey, a mother stopped by to tell the state legislator that it was the first time her daughter had voted. The voter said she and her daughter were both backing the Democratic candidate.
As of approximately 10:20 a.m., 659 residents cast their ballots at Fairfield Warde.
— Sophia Muce
WATERBURY – The top of the ticket was at the top of the minds of voters in Waterbury Tuesday morning.
CT Examiner spoke to six voters who cast ballots at the Chase Elementary School and – to a person – it was the candidate running for president that swayed them to get out and vote.
Five of those people said they voted for Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, while one man said he was casting his ballot for former Republican President Donald Trump.
Everyone interviewed said they had strong feelings for both presidential candidates. Most voted along party lines, deciding not to split their ticket.
The vitriol against the former president was strong among those voting for Harris. The Trump supporter, on the other hand, had glowing praise for the former president.
Debra McQuarrie echoed the sentiments of many interviewed at the Chase School – and the views of many nationwide – in saying issues surrounding women’s rights got her to cast her vote for Harris.
“Number 1 – women’s rights. Number 2 – Donald Trump has always disgusted me,” McQuarrie said. “I’m a believer in abortion rights. I want that right to be there. She [women] should be able to have that right,” McQuarrie of the abortion issue, which has divided the populace. Trump is pro-life, having nominated three conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court which in 2020 voted down Roe v. Wade. Harris, on the other hand, has made reproductive rights a cornerstone of her campaign.
McQuarrie also told CT Examiner that Harris “was not my first pick, but she’s okay” saying it was the Trump factor that really got her to drive to the Chase School Tuesday morning.
“It’s definitely because of Trump,” McQuarrie said of the reason she voted. “When he was on the Apprentice, I heard his voice and turned off the TV. [Republican Vice Presidential hopeful] JD Vance is worse; just the way he talks about women.”
Those sentiments were shared by Waterbury resident Erma Brown, who told CT Examiner that she voted “Democratic all the way down…. She [Harris] is trying to do something positive for everyone in this country where Donald Trump is tearing people apart… A woman can do any job a man can do.”
In addition, Brown said: “How is he [Trump] able to run if he is a convicted felon? He is running so he doesn’t go to jail.”
Danny Padin, a corrections officer and the lone Trump voter interviewed here on Tuesday, said the candidate “did a phenomenal job with the economy the last time [he was president].”
And, Padin said, Trump shares his values across the board.
“It’s his values,” Padin said. “I’m a Christian and he has the same values as me. I can’t vote for a candidate who is for abortion.”
Asked whether the vitriol aimed at Puerto Ricans by a comedian at a recent recent Trump rally had affected his vote, Padin who is Puerto Rican, said no. Padin said the comedian did not speak for Trump, and that Trump has always had the backs of Puerto-Rican Americans.
Waterbury resident Diamond Upshur said he voted for Harris because “She’s for the people, for us, for the middle class…. My family decided together [to vote for Harris].”
Trump, Upshur told CT Examiner, “rubs me the wrong way. He is giving rich people tax breaks.”
Ashley Malbin said she voted for the Democratic ticket across-the-board because they share her concerns and have her priorities.
“I’m a woman and I believe in women’s rights,” Malbin said. “Every woman I know is voting for Kamala.”
Malbin said she was not sure whether she would have voted if Democratic President Joe Biden would have been on the top of the ticket, but, she said, Harris made the decision of voting an easy one.
State Rep. Michael DiGiovancarlo, D-Waterbury, is running unopposed but said he felt he still needed to campaign for votes. DiGiovancarlo was camped out at the Chase School with about six supporters, speaking to voters as they walked in and out of the polling location.
DiGiovancarlo, also a Waterbury police officer, told CT Examiner that “certain areas of Waterbury are more moderate and more conservative and will lean toward the Republicans.” But, he said, “in the end, I think it will be a great day for Democrats .… Under Gov. [Ned] Lamont we’ve been on the right path; people are happy with the Democrats in charge. We are fiscally responsible at the state level and are pulling down our debt from the pensions.”
A spokesperson for the Waterbury Registrar of Voters told CT Examiner that – as of about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday – about 12 percent of registered voters in the city had cast a ballot. That spokesperson said early voting needs to be taken into consideration, but, “it’s maybe a just a little lower” turnout than usual.
— Robert Storace
.
LITCHFIELD — As of 10:17 am, a total of 567 people voted at the Litchfield firehouse today. Girl Scouts Emma Moore (L) and Ailyn Tiul said they were having fun interacting with people of all ages, noting the cookies seem to make people very happy. They expect to sell 250 boxes to raise money for an educational trip.
— Andy Thibault
NEW HAVEN — When U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro arrived to vote at the New Haven Free Public Library at 9:15 a.m., about 30 people had voted before her.
DeLauro said at the polling place door that she knew there were more security measures in place this election but for her it was a normal day.
“I feel safe,” DeLauro said. “I don’t feel threatened.”
She also offered support for Kamala Harris
“There’s a contrast,” DeLauro said. “She understands what’s happening to families in this country and that’s where she’s focused her attention.”
Turnout had been low in the early morning, according to Jose Resto III, one of the moderators. But Resto said he didn’t expect a quiet day, and predicted it would pick up by 11 a.m. Joining him was his father José Resto Jr, a 60-year-old retired bus driver, and his mother Ilsa Otero Resto, a 59-year-old nurse. The family is Puerto Rican in origin.
“We have come to other elections with my son, but this time I asked my husband to come because, with everything happening in the U.S., you don’t know what to expect,” Otero Resto said. He said it was the first time she had seen police outside the polling place.
At the corner of Elm Street and College Street, a group of DeLauro supporters were holding signs when a man passing by on the street yelled at them and said the congresswoman had never done anything for people like him.
Brandon Jones, a 39-year-old Black man, wanted to vote at 8:45 a.m. but couldn’t because he wasn’t registered. It was the first time he had come to vote in eight years. Jones thought they would let him register there but he was sent to Town Hall.
“I wanted to vote for the lady to see if the society would be a better place afterward versus a man being in office,” Jones said.
Joaquin Fernandez Duque, a 21-year-old Argentinean and a political science student at Yale said he was opposed to Donald Trump because of what he saw as a disrespect for democracy.
“I don’t think she is the perfect candidate, but she is far better than Trump and in the last few months she has changed how I feel,” he said. “Sometimes it is hard saying I’ll vote for her for the war in Gaza. That’s an occupation and I don’t think any American politician would have a chance of winning the election if they told it like it really is.”
New Haven is one of the towns with the lowest early voting turnout this year, with less than 13 percent of registered voters. It was behind only Hartford and Waterbury. In other towns, early turnout was above 40%.
— Francisco Uranga
FAIRFIELD – Supporters of State Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, said they are confident the incumbent will win what most expect to be a tight race.
Standing beside dueling Democratic campaign workers outside McKinley Elementary School around 9:30 a.m., Republican Mike Rinaldi said he believes Hwang’s long-standing community connections will win him the election.
“He’s the one candidate I’ve seen at everything. He’s always out and about, even if he doesn’t have a reason to be there,” Rinaldi said. “I didn’t even know he was a politician at first.”
Hwang, a 14-year legislator representing the 28th Senate District, is facing Democratic challenger Rob Blanchard on Tuesday. The seat has been named one of the key races to watch by many in Connecticut this election season.
After moving here with his family in 2022, Rinaldi said his wife, Tracey, successfully ran for the town’s school board last year. By proxy, he said he has recognized a growing political divide in town.
“She certainly has confided in me and told me about the difficulties that they face and, unfortunately, even the school board has become a little politicized,” he said. “If people that were on your party on the school board don’t want to put funding towards something, then they’re all going to pull back even when it’s probably what’s best for the town, and vice versa.”
Rinaldi said he hopes incoming politicians will listen to those in town who are most knowledgeable about key issues like housing.
Erin Lopez, a Democrat supporting Blanchard and Democratic State Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey, said she believes housing and affordability are top of mind at the local level, while abortion and healthcare have dominated the national stage.
Lopez similarly said she feels confident in McCarthy Vahey’s chances to win as her opponent, Republican Chris Verras, “didn’t really campaign.”
“He didn’t qualify for CEP,” Lopez said. “Our focus was on turning out the vote and helping to get Rob elected.”
Lopez said turnout at McKinley has been steady despite about half of the expected voters coming out for early voting. In the last two weeks, more than 35% of Fairfield voters cast their ballots through early voting.
As of 9:45 a.m., 459 district residents voted in person.
— Sophia Muce
DARIEN – At 8:15 a.m., voters at Town Hall were greeted by a line of colorful campaign signs and smiling candidates, including both candidates for Darien’s only seat in the state House of Representatives.
Democrat Sheila Quinn is challenging one-term incumbent Tracy Marra for the job. Quinn said she feels “great” about the turnout and believes that her hard work during the campaign is going to pay off in a victory.
“I knocked on so many doors that I recognized people coming to vote. Like ‘hi, I know you’ and that’s what you have to do to win. I have to knock on the doors and I did,” Quinn said.
Quinn reported a “steady stream” of voters at town hall and predicted the turnout will be higher this year than the last Presidential election in 2020 in which Connecticut boasted a 79% participation rate.
According to the Secretary of State’s office, 45 percent of Darien’s more than 15,000 registered voters cast their ballots during the state’s early voting period.
Republican Tracy Marra expressed confidence in her chances for reelection to continue representing the 141st district in the General Assembly.
“I have a lot of people that are coming out that I get thumbs up from. They appreciate me representing local issues. I think that’s what a lot of people here want. They want our voice heard in Hartford. They don’t want Hartford’s voice heard here. I think that’s a huge difference,” Marra said.
The incumbent expressed excitement about the high voter turnout and noted a strong sense of enthusiasm among residents. She said campaigning has positively shaped her while helping to raise awareness about local issues.
“It’s been a long season but I think it’s made me a better candidate and I think the process was a good way for people to understand some of the issues we have in town,” Marra added.
With temperatures expected to reach a high of 72 degrees in Darien today, the candidate expressed gratitude for the pleasant Election Day weather.
“We’d be out here, rain, snow or shine but certainly, the mild weather makes it much more pleasant and I think everybody out here appreciates it,” Marra added.
— Meghan Muldoon
BRIDGEPORT – Stopping for breakfast at a busy local market, State Senate candidate Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox pressed the importance of state politics and local connection amid the fierce presidential race.
After greeting voters at Black Rock’s Harborview Market, Gadkar-Wilcox, the Democratic candidate for Trumbull, western Bridgeport and southern Monroe’s 22nd Senate District, said her 8:30 a.m. breakfast is not actually a break from campaigning.
“Harborview almost feels like a polling location. Everyone’s here, gathering, talking. It’s fantastic. That’s what brings me here,” she said. “Also, breakfast.”
Vying to take the place of retiring State Sen. Marilyn Moore, D-Bridgeport, Gadkar-Wilcox won the four-seat Democratic primary race over former Bridgeport Mayor and State Sen. Bill Finch, Bridgeport City Councilman Scott Burns, former City Councilman Tyler Mack this summer.
While the presidential election is at the top of the mind for many in Connecticut, said Gadkar-Wilcox, a Quinnipiac University professor, she said she hopes that the local connections she’s created while campaigning for the better part of the year will inspire focus on her state race.
“Understandably, everybody’s focused on the federal election. I just also try to remind people – and maybe this is because I’m a professor of constitutional law – that we do have two jurisdictions in government, and what happens at the state level day-to-day, is much more important,” she said.
On the state level, Gadkar-Wilcox said she plans to focus on education funding if elected. As municipalities must allocate the federal funds given to them under the American Rescue Plan by the end of the year, she said the state must prioritize fully funding its public schools, especially in Bridgeport.
— Sophia Muce
STONINGTON—At just after 8 a.m., the parking lot was filling up, in Stonington, with voters making their way in and out of the Stonington Fire House on Main St., this morning to cast their votes.
When asked about voter turnout thus far, Katherine a pollworker, smiled and put two thumbs up. “There have been about 178 voters thus far, it’s been steady.”
One voter, Jan MacGreggor, a retired submarine engineer and member of the Stonington Republican Committee, had been campaigning outside the firehouse since 6 a.m. for the “Republican party in general” as well as candidate Mike France for the 2nd District Congressional Seat.
When Jan arrived at the firehouse he said, “every parking space was taken except for one or two, I would have to say, that there is a lot of interest and the turnout is excellent.”
When asked why he is campaigning for France he said, “I happen to know him. He’s a Christian, he has good values,” Jan paused to wave with one hand, holding France’s campaign sign in the other, at a passerby who yelled from their car, “Go France!”, “And to see there are nice moments like that,” he said.
“So in the sense [France] represents not just a politician but rather has a broader, I think desire, to restore and continue America in a way that I think is important,” Jan said.
When asked about what issues are on the ballot for him, MacGreggor said, “for me personally, it is about whether or not the United States can continue to be a country the way that it has historically been or whether we’re in for a transformation that’s detrimental to all of us.”
— Nina Gilbert
DURHAM —Views on the economy are very different between the town’s two local parties. And yet, it’s a key issue for both.
“If we’re all destitute or worried about where are next check is going to go to make ends meet, it’s all irrelevant,” said Philip Augur, the chair of the town’s Republican Town Committee.
Augur told CT Examiner that mortgage rates were “absurd” and said he’d had to refinance his own mortgage at a 7 percent interest rate.
“That’s real money,” he said.
In contrast, Chris Balay, Deputy Treasurer of the town’s Democratic Town Committee, said the economy has done “really excellent things” over the last four years. He said he disagreed with former President Donald Trump’s plan to increase tariffs on imported goods.
“I work for a manufacturer. Tariffs are things that we have to pay as manufacturers, not that other countries pay,” he said.
Meanwhile, on the state level, Lisa Deane, a Republican Candidate for State Representative, told CT Examiner that she was concerned for small business owners because of the increasing minimum wage.
She also said she wanted to do more to address fentanyl, having lost her son to fentanyl poisoning in 2018. She said that loss was what spurred her to run for office.
“The state’s not doing enough in terms of fentanyl education,” she said. “We have a fentanyl crisis… I’ll be working with law enforcement to make sure the drug dealers get much stiffer penalties.”
She said she also wanted to appoint a commissioner on drug policy, and institute a mandatory curriculum in the schools.
About 537 people had voted in Durham by 8:45 a.m. Moderator Pam said that, along with the early voting numbers, this represented about a third of Durham’s registered voters.
— Emilia Otte
Many of the races already have a pretty big head start year with early voting…
MIDDLEFIELD --- 169 people have voted at the town’s single polling place by about 7:40 a.m. Moderator Allison told CT Examiner that while turnout has been steady all morning, a lot of people decided to take advantage of early voting --- turnout, she said, was around 40 percent.
Allison said the early voting was a big help, since Middlefield has a history of high voter turnout.
According to numbers from the Secretary of the State, 927 people voted early in the town.
Voters are being asked to approve a large school consolidation project as well as vote for local and federal candidates --- about $76 million for the renovation of Memorial School is on the ballot. Not all voters are in support.
Parent Jess, who teaches in another district, said she voted against it --- she said she found it “a little crazy” to close a school when enrollment levels ebb and flow in communities, and there was a possibility of needing to eventually open a new school to manage increased numbers of children.
The most important issue for her in the general election?
“Women’s rights,” she said. “I have two daughters.”
-- Emilia Otte
BRIDGEPORT – As a line of voters formed inside Black Rock School, State Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, attributed “brisk” turnout to national politics.
“There's very few people showing up to the polls who are undecided at this point. I think there's certainly an anxiety in terms of what's going to happen, not even necessarily locally, but more what's happening nationally,” Stafstrom said.
A representative for western Bridgeport’s House of Representatives District 129 since 2015, Stafstrom is facing Republican Francis Kalangala in the Tuesday election. The legislator easily won his 2022 race against Republican Louis Savino with 78% of the votes.
While early voting has been available to Black Rock voters for the last two weeks, Stafstrom said he expects turnout to remain “brisk” this morning. He said he previously attempted to vote early twice in the city and left after seeing a line out the door.
In Bridgeport, 13.51% of voters have already voted early, and 2.28% have submitted absentee ballots. As of 7:30 a.m., approximately 270 voters cast their ballots in-person at Black Rock School – over 100 votes more than last Election Day morning.
Following the city’s absentee ballot scandal and amid a legal battle with United Illuminating, Stafstrom, chair of the legislature’s Judiciary Committee, advocated for increased funding for the State Elections Enforcement Commission and helped to pass a bill reforming the utility project approval process.
If elected for another term, Stafstrom said he would continue to push for smart criminal justice policy, property tax reform, increased economic development in Connecticut’s urban centers and lowering utility costs for ratepayers.
“I've already heard from a number of people this morning that electric bills are high on their mind, and that is something we really need to look at,” Stafstrom said. “The Republicans pushed for a bailout of Millstone several years ago, which led to a spike in electric bills over the summer, and we're going to have to fix that issue.”
Along with the 2017 buyout of Power Station in Waterford, the state’s only nuclear plant, many in Connecticut have attributed the rise in electric bills to a four-year moratorium on service shutoffs implemented by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.
-- Sophia Muce
MIDDLETOWN --- Just over 50 voters had cast ballots at MacDonough Elementary by 6:50 a.m, a number that moderator Wallace Collins said was a pretty steady turnout. He noted that they had rolled out a new automated system for checking people in --- no problems there.
Besides the headline-grabbing presidential question, the ballot in Middletown also includes a request for $48 million to renovate and expand MacDonough, whose main building dates back to the 1960s.
Inside, a group of MacDonough parents who are selling baked goods to support the school, explained why the renovations are sorely needed.
Carrie, a mom of two kids, a first grader and a fourth grader, said the facility also houses the YMCA preschool, the family resource center, a School-Based Health Center
“A school anyway is more than just a school, and I think people forget that. It’s like a community center,” said Carrie.
She also noted that the school’s electrical system couldn’t keep up with the technology needs.
Another parent, Paige, who has sent 3 children through the school over the last 12 years, said that earlier this year, something went wrong with the boiler, and the children were sitting in class sweating.
“It’s hard to as it is, I think, to keep the kids focused,” said Paige.
Another parent pointed out that, in order to enter the building and walk to the office, you have to pass the Kindergarten classroom.
“We just need something safer,” she said.
-- Emilia Otte
EAST LYME— Voters are “dribbling in” to polling places the morning of Election Day as a little over 50% of registered voters had already cast a ballot in the early election. The long lines that people are accustomed to seeing on Election Day have been replaced by a steady stream of people entering and exiting their polling place at the East Lyme Community Center.
Many East Lyme residents chose to vote early this election, with 50.6 % of registered voters already voting before polls even opened at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, according to Democratic Registrar of Voters Wendi Sims.
According from data from the Secretary of State’s office, of the 6,277 early voters 2,439 were registered Democrats and 1,357 were registered Republicans. When the polls opened this morning, voters were “dribbling in" 2 or 3 at a time.
Registrars of voters in the surrounding towns told CT Examiner they believed Tuesday would be a slow day for voting. Republican incumbent State Rep. Holly Cheeseman and Democrat Nick Menapace are vying for the state’s 37th district house seat in what many predict will be a close election.
Menapace campaign manager Arianna Tsiktas, told CT Examiner on Monday, they were “cautiously optimistic."
-- Ally LeMaster
STONINGTON— Just before 7 a.m. a handful of people trickled in to vote at a Stonington Rd. polling place.
“It hasn’t been as busy as early voting was the first day, but it’s been a slow but steady stream. I’d expect it’s going to stay that way most of the day because it is a presidential election,” a polling worker, Doug, said.
When asked what brought her to the polls today, a voter named Amelia said, “I’m an American, it’s the right, right?”
-- Nina Gilbert