Voter Registration Information From Granby's Registrars of Voters

The seven-day in-person deadline to register to vote is Oct. 29 for municipal elections.  

The Granby Registrar of Voters will hold a special last day – all day voter registration session from 9 am to 8 pm at their Town Hall offices on Oct. 29.  Residents are encourage to stop in or call to verify their voter registration.  You can also check your voter registration online using the Secretary of State’s website: www.sots.ct.gov.  

Same day voter registration has been passed in Connecticut and debuts this November.  The State legislature has changed our state statutes so that US citizens who are 18 by November 5th can register to vote on Election Day.  To implement this huge change which is anticipated to increase voter turnout, unregistered voters will need to go to Town Hall (not the town’s polling site in the Community Gym) on Election Day to register.  They must bring proof of identity and proof of residence to vote.   If they are registered before 8 pm, they will get to fill out a ballot and then place it an envelope.  If their ballot is uncontested at 8 pm, then it will go to Granby’s polling site at the High School where it will be counted separately from the official ballots and the absentee ballots.  The Registrar of Voters strongly encourages everyone to register before Election Day, so you can directly place your ballot into the machine to be counted, and avoid any potentially long lines at Town Hall.  Unregistered voters in line at Town Hall at 8 pm will not be able to vote on Election Day.  Voters need to be aware that voter registration is NON-transferable.  If you moved from another town or state, you still need to fill out a new registration card, with your current address, in order to vote.

For the Municipal Election on Tuesday, November 5th, the polls will be open from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm. All major town boards have seats up for election/re-election: Selectman, Finance, Education, Assessment Appeals, Planning and Zoning, Zoning Board of Appeals and Town Moderator.  All of Granby residents will vote at the same location, in the Granby Community Gym, located in Granby Memorial High School in the center of town.  Traffic is anticipated to be light to moderate.  It is recommended that drivers access the Community Gym using the High School’s entrance off North Granby Road - Route 189, next to Public Works, and leave the polls from Salmon Brook Street - Route 10/202, next to the Middle School.  All Granby schools will be closed on Election day, but the Registrars strongly recommend voting between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm if you have the option to do so, as the heaviest voting will be between 6:00 am and 10:00 am, and the second rush will be between 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm

Homebound registered voters can arrange for transportation to the polls by calling the Social Services department at the Senior Center at # 860-844-5353.  The service is planned to be offered from 9:00 am to Noon on Election Day and it is strongly recommended that voters call now to arrange for a ride before November 5th. 

To check in quickly at the polls, please bring a photo ID.  Should you not have a photo ID on election day, but have previously proven your ID, either at the time of your registration or when voting previously, you will need to spend a few minutes at the Moderator table, as there is a state required form to fill out.  If you are a brand new voter, and your confirmation letter noted that you have not proven your identity, you MUST bring an ID to vote on Election Day, preferably a photo ID.  Provisional ballots are not available for Municipal Elections.

“Vote by Phone” technology will again be utilized for the upcoming Municipal Election on November 5th, 2013.  This system is designed to allow people with disabilities to vote privately and independently on Election Day at the polling site using a specially set up system.  To actually cast a vote, you need to be a registered voter and come to the polls on Election Day.  We encourage all town residents to try out this system by calling IVS.  At the time of this writing, the phone numbers for District 1 and 2 current ballots were unavailable for test voting.  However, you can vote on a generic test ballot, 24/7, using the IVS demo line:  1) Call 1-888-661-6366  2) When asked for poll worker ID, enter 1234.  When asked for ballot access ID enter 101 (township Addison).  4) Follow the voting instructions to make ballot selections.   It will take a little patience to listen to all of the information, but be aware you can vote quickly once you are familiar with this phone system, which allows you to skip past instructions or hearing the entire ballot. 

Competitive Municipal Election in November

In contrast to previous recent Granby Municipal Elections where there was only one contested race, (or in one case no contested seats), in 2013 twelve races will be decided by the November 5th, 2013 Municipal, including First Selectman, and consequently Board of Selectman, Board of Finance, Board of Education, Board of Assessment Appeals, Planning and Zoning, Zoning Board of Appeals and Town Moderator.  On November 5th, voters will have the opportunity to vote for twenty-four open seats and, as in the past, a two-sided ballot is anticipated to include all of these offices.  In the past, the Board of Selectman race has caused some confusion.  All five seats are open every two years but voters can only choose one candidate for First Selectman and two candidates from those running for the board.  This year the losing candidate running for First Selectman automatically becomes a candidate for the Board of Selectman. This will mean, with a total of six people running for seats on the Board of Selectman, and only five positions to elect, that the person who receives the least number of votes out of all six candidates will not be elected.

Pollworkers are Needed for this November

Pollworker training will be done in October, and pollworkers are needed.  Please send an e-mail to the registrars at lwolfe.granby.ct@gmail.com or mwolf.granby.ct@gmail.com  if you are interested in participating or would like more information.  Volunteer pollworkers must be at least 15 years old and can choose to volunteer for a few hours, as desired to fit their schedules.  Town paid official pollworkers must be registered voters in town and need to work both at the polling place set up at 5 pm on Monday night, November 4th and all day on Tuesday, November 5th from 5:00 am to 9:00 pm.  This year for the first time part of the training may be done online using the Secretary of State’s newly launched online program.   The Registrar’s office is compiling an e-mail list for those who would like to be notified when and where training will be held. To save money during the current fiscal crisis, first priority is given to pollworkers who can donate their services to the town, but there are also some paid positions available. 

Curbside Voting

Physically disabled or handicapped voters can choose to vote using an absentee ballot through the Town Clerk (see below) before Election day.  For voters who have a temporary medical issue on Election day, such as a severe arthritis flare up, they can participate in a program called curbside voting.  This involves making a request at the polling site for help from two assistant registrars, a Democrat and a Republican, while the curbside voter waits in a designated parking space.  The assistant registrars will then check in the voter and get issued a ballot in a privacy folder that they will jointly carry to the car of the voter to fill out.  After filling out the ballot, the two Assistant Registrars will then jointly carry the completed ballot, in a privacy folder, to the optical scanner voting machine to be counted.  This service is not available to people who are not temporarily physically handicapped.

Calendar Review: 

Absentee Ballot Applications are being collected now by the Town Clerk for those who know they will be away from home on November 5th.or otherwise qualify for an absentee ballot  The application form is available at Town Hall or on the web at www.sots.ct.gov

Saturday, October 19th Voter Registration Session from 10 am to 2 pm at Town Hall

Tuesday, October 22nd  is the Postmark deadline for mailed voter registration applications

Wednesday, October 23rd Public Testing of the Optical Scanner Voting Machines at 1 pm at Town Hall

Tuesday, October 29th  All Day Voter Registration Session  - Special Office Hours 9 am to 8 pm  at Registrar’s office at Town Hall

Wednesday, October 30th Supervised Absentee Balloting at Meadowbrook Nursing Home

Monday, November 4th   Last Day to Register in person for brand new residents, military service and just turned 18 years old.   Special Office Hours 9 am to Noon at Town Hall.

Tuesday, November 5th  Municipal Election – Polls open 6:00 am to 8:00 pm at the Granby Community Gym, Granby Memorial High School

Tuesday, November 5th  Same Day – Election Day Registration and voting at the Registrar’s office at Town Hall.

Feel free to stop by to register to vote, figure out which is your voting district or make corrections in person at the Registrars’ Office in the Town Hall every Wednesday, our regular office hours are 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Please note, voter registration forms are also available at town halls, libraries, DMV offices and online at the Secretary of State’s website: www.sots.ct.gov

Questions?   Please feel free to contact the registrars, Laura Wolfe and Maureen Wolf, their office phone number/voice mail is # 860-844-5322 and e-mail addresses are: lwolfe.granby.ct@gmail.com and mwolf.granby.ct@gmail.com