Lines Form Early; Absentee Ballot Confusion

Voters lined up — at safe social distances — before polls opened at 6 a.m. Tuesday, as this video from Davis Street School Ward 26 precinct shows. (Thanks to Hilary Grant for sharing it. ​“I don’t think we’ve ever seen this before,” she said)

Everyone’s asked to wear a a mask inside to keep both voters and poll workers safe.

And if you’re not sure your absentee ballot has been counted, and wonder whether you should show up in person to vote again … read on for advice.

It’s election day, and the polls open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Click to find out where you vote.

And if you’re not sure if your absentee ballot has been received and counted, you can show up at the polls to find out — and cast a ballot if it hasn’t. Because of a computer data processing lag, New Haven has left thousands of people in the dark on that question. (More on that later in this story.)

Connecticut has seen record early-voting and voter registration in the run-up to the election, as Christine Stuart reports here.

As in other communities, the longest lines seemed to materialize earliest in the morning, then dissipate by noon. The opening-polls line to vote stretched outside Hillhouse High School around to Sherman Avenue, for instance. The line started out long at the Bella Vista senior housing complex as well.

Richard Bell (pictured) joined hundreds of Bella Vista residents bright and early to cast their votes in person, as soon as the polls opened at 6 a.m. Bell, a Democrat who used to be a moderator in New Haven, said he trusts the people who count the ballots but this election is too critical for him not to vote in person.

“I have a problem with that in this election. They’re looking to disqualify people for any reason,” Bell said.

Voters at Bella Vista remained masked up while on the long early-morning queue. Security guards made several rounds up and down the line to remind everyone to stand six feet a part.

Dottice Barnes, who has lived in Bella Vista since 2009, said she approved of everyone in line adhering to CDC guidelines. She said that voting being available downstairs from where she lives is a bonus.

“Even if the voting wasn’t available here in this building, I would have driven anywhere in New Haven, because I’m very concerned about taking our government back,” Barnes said. ​“Trump is an idiot. He has been dividing people and encouraging violence. We need to get back to normal.”

Ward 7 voters began lining up outside the Hall of Records at 200 Orange Street at 6 a.m. For an hour and a half, the line stretched all the way down the block to Chapel Street. As the morning progressed, the line petered out; by 9 a.m., and there was no wait to vote.

The ward’s alder, Abigail Roth, said that about 1,000 absentee votes had already been cast from residents of her ward before Election Day. She also said she had noticed a few voters still submitting absentee ballots at the official ballot boxes posted outside the Hall of Records.

Shannel Evans, the city’s Democratic registrar of voters, has enlisted ​“roughly” 600 people to work the city’s 33 polling stations all those hours. That means they’ll be in contact indoors with as many as thousands of people at a time when Covid-19 has started spreading again in New Haven.

“We are asking everyone to be responsible adults and be respectful to everyone else and wear masks,” Evans said Monday.

If they arrive without masks? Poll workers will offer them one, Evans said.

If they refuse the mask? Then they will be asked to remain outside, where a poll worker will come and hand them a ballot to fill out.

Inside the polling stations, poll workers will wear masks all that time, while voters will be offered gloves and hand sanitizer when they vote, Evans said. ​“Voters don’t have to touch anything” besides their ballots, which they’ll fill out in a privacy booth and then feed into a tabulator. Each voter will also be offered a pen that no one else has touched. Checkers will instruct arriving voters to put their IDs on a table or hold them up for review. And greeters will wipe down the privacy booths.

The Covid-19 pandemic made it especially difficult for Evans’ office to find poll workers to put in those long hours this year. Poll workers tend to be older, and older people are more at risk for serious consequences if they come down with the coronavirus.

Also, thanks to gerrymandering — er, thoughtful map-drawing by politicians — the city technically has to staff 40 polling locations, not 33. That’s because some wards are divided into two separate state legislative districts. So polling locations like Truman School, for instance, legally require two separate teams of poll workers and moderators, even though they spend much of the day relatively idle due to low turnout.

A couple of poll workers have pulled out in the final days leading up to the election, including someone Monday who has come down with Covid-like symptoms, Evans reported.

So here’s an editorial/opinion/non-objective request: Please wear a mask at the polls.

Absentee Ballot Confusion

Thousands of New Haveners have already voted, through a record number of absentee ballots.

It’s unclear precisely how many have voted that way, because the city clerk’s office is still processing returned ballots, and the city reports delayed numbers to a state database. (Click for a story by the Register’s Mary O’Leary explaining why.) More than 1,000 New Haveners showed up downtown to receive and fill out absentee ballots this weekend alone.

New Haven sent out 15,851 absentee ballots to voters who requested them, according to state data. It reports receiving only 7,225 back, or 45 percent; but that’s because unlike other cities in Connecticut, New Haven’s city clerk’s office first uses a separate program to record receiving ballots, then re-enters that data into the state database that informs the public that those ballots have come in. The real number could hit 10,000 or more, based on experience of the other 16 cities and towns that sent out over 10,000 absentees: Bridgeport has already reported and recorded receiving 81 percent back, Hartford 83 percent, Stamford 88 percent.

Therefore, many New Haveners aren’t sure if their absentee ballots have been received and counted — or whether they still need to go to the polls to vote.

Here’s what to do if you’re in that situation, based on information from City Clerk Michael Smart and secretary of the state spokesperson Gabe Rosenberg:

• Start by going to this page and entering your information. That will tell you whether or not the state has recorded your ballot as received and counted. If it has, then you’re done.

• If not, Smart asks that you call this number to find out if the city has processed the ballot and just hasn’t finished getting that information to the state: 203 – 946-6400. He said a staffer will let you know.

• If that doesn’t work, Rosenberg said, you can show up at your polling place Tuesday and check in, asking if you’re marked down as having voted. You may be marked down as having voted. If not, you can get a ballot and fill it out there. If it later turns out that your absentee ballot was in fact received and tabulated, the state will disregard the absentee ballot and count the one you fill out in person on Election Day, according to Rosenberg.

Phew. Now on to … how to make your decision about how to vote!

Voter Guide

We don’t have any advice about whom to vote for. But we’ve written a lot about the candidates running, as well as a ballot referendum. Here’s an updated look at what’s on the ballot and links to some of our articles, where you can find background:

17th State Senate District

This is expected to be the closest state legislative race in the season, if not the state. Republican State Sen. George Logan faces a return challenge from Democrat Jorge Cabrera for the seat, which represents parts of Hamden, Naugatuck, and Woodbridge, and all of Derby, Ansonia, Bethany, and Beacon Falls. Logan beat Cabrera two years ago by 77 votes. This story recounts their recent campaign debate. This article details the candidates’ clashing views on the role government.

U.S. Congress

Incumbent Democrat Rosa DeLauro faces challenges from Republican Margaret Streicker and Green Justin Paglino. The three candidates debated Thursday night, Oct. 22; read about it and watch the debate here. Click here to read about Streicker’s endorsement by New Haven’s police union and other police organizations, and here to read about her nomination. Click here, here and here to read coverage of some of DeLauro’s recent issues events in town. Click here to read about Paglino’s platform, which includes support for ​“Medicare for All” legislation and ranked-choice voting. Click here for a story about the rise of ​“new tribalism” in American politics as seen in this race. Click here and here to read about what DeLauro and Streicker had to say in events in New Haven this final campaign weekend.

Registrar of Voters

Believe it or not, this is the most hotly contested New Haven race. Democrat Shannel Evans and Republican Marlene Napolitano will automatically win reelection due to a state law (written by Democrats and Republicans). This year two third-party challengers — Working Families Party candidate Sergio Rodriguez and Green Party candidate Paul Garlinghouse — are seeking to win a third spot in the office. They make their case in this article. Read about the incumbents’ work preparing for this election here and here.

Peace Referendum

New Haven has a nonbinding referendum on the ballot. It calls for the federal government to move money from the military budget to address city-level priorities, including education, employment, and sustainability. Read about it here and here.

11th State Senate District

• Here’s a story with interviews with all three candidates: Democratic incumbent Martin Looney, Republican Jameson White, independent Alex Taubes. And here’s a story of a debate they had on Oct. 21. (You can watch it in the above video.)

10th State Senate District

Click here for a story about a debate between incumbent Democrat Gary Winfield and independent challenger Jason Bartlett, or watch it above. (A Republican, Carlos Alvarado, is also on the ballot in the 10th State Senate District race. He declined numerous invitations to participate in the debate, including an offer to propose a date and time that is convenient for him. He said through his campaign manager that he was too busy.) Click here to read about their final days’ campaigning in Beaver Hills.

96th State Representative District

Click here to read about the rematch between Republican Eric Mastroianni and incumbent Democrat Roland Lemar. The sprawling district includes Downtown, East Rock, Cedar Hill and Wooster Square, as well as portions of Fair Haven, Bishop Woods, and the town of East Haven.

97th State Representative District

Click here to read about Republican Erin Reilly’s challenge to incumbent Democratic State Rep. Al Paolillo Jr. to represent New Haven’s east side in the legislature.

88th State Representative District

Click here to follow incumbent Democrat Joshua Elliott and Republican challenger Kathy Hoyt on the doors, including the different ways they address the issue of police defunding.

91st State Representative District

Click here to read about Weruché George’s independent challenge to incumbent Democrat Michael D’Agostino in this Hamden district.

Oh, and President …

Plenty has been written about the Republican and Democratic candidates, neither of whom has campaigned in Connecticut. Here’s a story as well about a visit to New Haven by Socialist Party candidate Gloria La Riva. Here’s an interview with Libertarian vice-presidential candidate Spike Cohen during a visit to town.