Politics & Government

Voter Registration Up Slightly for Tuesday's Primary

All four polling locations will be open on Tuesday.

Voter turnout could be higher this year due to a slight increase in registration before Tuesday's primary.

With just a few days left to register for the primary, both Republican and Democratic Registrars have seen a few more faces at town hall.

"They've been coming in pretty much every day," Republican Registrar Marge Diachenko said.

Find out what's happening in Simsburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

There are currently 4,678 registered Democrats and 5,099 registered Republicans in Simsbury. There are also 5,546 unaffiliated voters and 67 listed as "other," but only registered Democrats and Republicans can vote in Tuesday's primary.

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On the Democratic ballot: Chris Murphy and Susan Bysiewicz for U.S. Senate race and Chris Donovan, Elizabeth Esty and Dan Roberti for U.S. Congress.

On the Republican ballot: Linda McMahon and Christopher Shays for U.S. Senate and Andrew Roraback, Justin Bernier, Lisa Wilson-Foley and Mark Greenberg for U.S. Congress.

Diachenko and Democratic Registrar Karen Cortes were hoping for the passage of Senate Bill 218, which would have given the town the ability to use just one polling location rather than four when low turnout is expected.The bill was passed but vetoed by Gov. Dannel Malloy.

The following polling locations will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on August 14:

  • - District #1
  • - District #2
  • - District #3
  • - District #4

The registrars are expecting only 15-16 percent of registered voters to participate because of the time of year.

The deadline to register a party change by mail is Thursday, August 9. After Thursday, those who need to change parties must do so in person at Simsbury Town Hall. The deadline to change from Unaffiliated to a party is Monday, August 13 at noon.

Absentee ballots must be returned to the town clerk by Tuesday to be included in the first count.

"We're hoping for a good turnout," Diachenko said. "We're keeping our fingers crossed."

For more information, visit the Simsbury Registrar of Voters website.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the deadline to submit absentee ballots was August 13 at 5 p.m. Ballots sent by mail must be received by Tuesday, August 14.


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