Election 2012: Avon Registrars Report Most Registered Voters in Town History

The Nov. 6 presidential and local election is weeks away and Avon has the most registered voters it’s had in town history, according to Avon Democratic Registrar of Voters Ann Clark said.

The percentage of registered voters in town is about the same as four years ago and people seem to be standing firmly behind their parties, she said. The amount of new voters is at its highest too and many of them are choosing not to tie themselves to either the Republican or Democratic parties.

“We haven’t had a lot of party changes compared to (four years ago),” said Clark, who added that only 16 have changed major parties since the August primaries.

Of roughly 18,000 people in Avon, 12,318 are registered voters as of Oct. 18 – 4,016 Republicans, 3,431 Democrats and 4,871 unaffiliated.

Here are some deadlines to remember if you want to vote in the fall election:

• Oct. 23 is the deadline for mail-in voter registration cards, which must be postmarked by or on this date.
• Oct. 30 is the deadline for registering to vote in person. The Registrar of Voters Office will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. that day.

Presidential election years tend to draw more voters to the polls.

“I think it will be busy,” Clark said.  

Four years ago, many came to the polls to choose between Barack Obama and John McCain for president and vote in the local races. There was a long line at 6 a.m. that election, Clark recalled, but after that the flow of voters was steady.

Since the August local primaries for Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District and U.S. Senate, 409 new voters have registered in Avon. That includes 275 new voters who registered in October alone. As of Aug. 24, the week following the primaries, there were 11,909 registered voters – 3,023 registered Republicans, 3,339 Democrats and 4,647 who registered as unaffiliated.  

The amount of registered Republicans in Avon increased by 93 since Aug. 24 and the number of registered Democrats went up by 92. The biggest leap in the past couple months showed in the unaffiliated voting population, which jumped by 224. 

At least 125 Avon 18-year-olds will be voting in their first presidential election in November, Clark said.

Absentee ballots, which people have been submitting since they became available Oct. 5, will be accepted by mail until 5 p.m. Nov. 6. Applications will be available until the day before. Votes are not counted until Election Day, Clark said.

Presidential ballots – which only will include presidential candidates Obama and Mitt Romney – will be available in the clerk’s office up until Election Day for people who have never registered in Connecticut. They must fill out an application in the clerk’s office to be eligible for a presidential ballot.  

This is an option “for people who only want to vote for president and don’t want be a registered voter,” Clark said, noting the 180 people voted via presidential ballot in the 2008 presidential election.

Sometimes people don’t want to register to vote because they don’t want unsolicited calls or mail or are trying to avoid jury duty, Avon Republican Registrar Laura Hunt said. Clark said that jury duty used to be done strictly through registrars offices, but eligible candidates are now determined from driver’s licenses, the IRS and voter lists to get more of a diverse sample of people.

“Everyone who’s a citizen in the U.S. and 18 years of age (or older) is eligible to vote for president,” Clark said.

Your polling places are:

• Voting District 1: Avon High School
• District 2: Avon Volunteer Fire Department Company 1
• District 3: Roaring Brook School

The Registrar of Voters is located in Town Hall Building One and the Town Clerk's Office is in Building 2, both at 60 West Main Street in Avon. For more information, visit Avon's town website.