Opinion: A Pitch For Party Politics

(Opinion) If you are a Hamden resident and want to influence this year’s mayoral election, you need to be a registered Democrat on Sept. 14.

As all Hamden voters know, party affiliation and party loyalty are major features of American democracy.

Sometimes we affirm them loudly, sometimes we keep them to ourselves. Many of us argue about the politicians and policies of the two major parties and some of us even come to blows or worse. 

But party affiliation isn’t just a state of mind or an opinion, it’s a tool — and it’s a tool that we all should use with all possible skill. 

In general elections each November, all registered voters can go to the polls and vote for any candidates they choose, with nobody looking over their shoulders. You can support the candidates of one party during vehement discussions at the dinner table the night before the election but, in the privacy of the voting booth, no matter what your registered party affiliation and no matter what you said the day before, or ever, you can vote for whomever you choose.

Since party registration is irrelevant in general elections, registered Republicans can, for example, vote for Democrats and registered Democrats can vote for Green Party candidates, if that is their preference.

Primaries are, however, a different kettle of fish.

In Connecticut, voting in party primaries is restricted to party members.

Thus, in Hamden, only voters who have formally registered as members of a particular party can vote in that party’s primary election. 

In Hamden, too, because of the overwhelming majority of Democratic voters in town, the winner of each Democratic mayoral primary has invariably won the general election a few months later. 

Thus, the results of this year’s Hamden’s Democratic mayoral primary on Sept. 14 will very likely determine the winner of the mayoral election in November. 

Unfortunately, too few voters are aware of this very important fact.

Furthermore, since registered Republicans and unaffiliated voters cannot participate in the Democratic mayoral primary, their votes will hardly count in the outcome of the actual mayoral election in November which, in all likelihood, will be won by a Democrat.

So, if you are not already a registered Democrat and if you want to have your vote count as we determine Hamden’s future direction (and you know we’ve been going in the wrong direction for two decades), I encourage you to register as a Democrat, even if only for this year’s Democratic mayoral primary. 

Moreover, I encourage you to register as a Democrat for the upcoming Democratic primary, no matter which party has your loyalty, no matter whom you voted for last November — and, indeed, no matter which party you plan to support in November.

If you are registered as a Republican and want to influence Hamden’s choice of mayor this year, the last day for switching parties officially is June 14.

The deadline for registration by mail (postmark) for new voters and, also, for unaffiliated voters who want to register, online, with a party is Sept. 9.

The deadline for in-person party registration of new voters and for unaffiliated voters switching to a political party is noon on Sept. 13.

You can confirm these details on the Facebook page of Hamden’s Registrars of Voters here.

If you care about Hamden’s future, use party affiliation as a tool to influence that future.

Register with the Democratic Party so that you can vote, on Sept. 14, when the Democrats will choose their mayoral candidate and also, perhaps, some of their candidates for the Legislative Council and the Board of Education.

The chosen Democratic candidates will be on the ballot in November, as will candidates with other political affiliations. Then, in the privacy of the voting booth, when party registration is irrelevant, you can vote for whichever candidates you prefer.

After the Democratic primary, if you are not happy being a registered Democrat, you can change your party affiliation to Republican or unaffiliated, knowing and satisfied that you have influenced the outcome of Hamden’s municipal elections and that your vote has not only been counted but has also counted.

Ann M. Altman was a member of the Hamden Legislative Council from 1999 to 2005, and is the former chair of the Hamden Planning and Zoning Commission.