Politics & Government

[Update] In Low Turnout, Primary Poll Consolidation Could Mean Savings

Karen Cortes, Simsbury's Democratic registrar of voters, is spearheading a state Senate bill that would give registrars permission to use fewer polling locations for presidential primaries.

Update 7:18 p.m.

By 6 p.m., 165 people voted at Roaring Brook School, 12.95 percent of registered Republicans in District 3.

As of 5 p.m., 96 voted at Town Hall, 13.5 percent of registered Republicans in District 2, and 233 (11.9 percent) voted at Avon High School, District 1. 

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

Registered Republicans, you have about 30 minutes left to vote before the polls close at 8 p.m.

Avon Patch will be posting the results as soon as they're available.

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

Update 4:37 p.m.

As of 4 p.m., 10.8 percent (213) of registered Republicans in District 1 voted at Avon High School.

As of 3 p.m., 75 people (10.6 percent) voted in District 2 at Town Hall and 100 people (7.8 percent) voted at Roaring Brook School.

Another count will be done at 5 p.m.

Original Story

Voter turnout for the 2012 presidential primary is likely the lowest on the books so far in Avon, according to Ann Clark, Avon Democratic registrar of voters.

Yet it is costing Avon roughly $6,550 to run three polling places – a common dilemma statewide.

Clark is one of several registrars backing a senate bill proposal her counterpart in Simsbury is pitching to save municipalities money in this situation.

Democratic Registrar Karen Cortes will meet with legislators on Monday to discuss Senate Bill 218, "An Act Concerning Polling Places for Primaries." The bill, which is co-sponsored with State Sen. Kevin Witkos, R-8, would allow registrars to operate fewer poling places when voter turnout is expected to be low. 

"I'm absolutely in favor," Clark said. "This would have been much easier to handle."

Cortes wrote in an email to Clark that New York, Rhode Island and Delaware, which also have primaries Tuesday, "allow Registrars to take this cost-saving measure." She also indicated that Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill, Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, Connecticut Conference of Small Towns, the Registrar of Voters Association of Connecticut and Town Clerks Association all support the bill.

"We've been working on this bill for three legislative sessions," Cortes told .

Avon has three polling places – Avon High School (District 1), Town Hall (District 2) and Roaring Brook School (District 3). Clark said the bill could have saved Avon about $2,000 this year in record low turnout – 5.1 percent townwide as of noon, or 202 people of 3,940 registered Republicans. She said that if Avon had been able to consolidate its polling places to one location, voting for the primaries would likely have been at the Avon Senior Center.

Costs for polling places include staffing, Avon Fire Police to monitor traffic flow, memory cards for voting machines, ballots and food for the workers.

As of noon, 97 had voted at Avon High School, the largest voting district, in comparison to 42 at Town Hall and 60 at Roaring Brook.

Republican presidential signs are scarce in Avon, besides some scattered Ron Paul ones on Route 44.

Though the silver lining to the low voter turnout is that it makes Cortes' proposal all the more relevant.

"This is the best medicine we could ask for," Clark said.

Clark urges anyone in favor of the bill to reach out to Witkos and State Reps. Tim LeGeyt, R-17, and Brian Becker, D-19, via email or writing letters.

The session closes in two weeks. The bill has already passed through the Government Administration and Election Committee in the state senate, as well as the Planning and Development Committee, Cortes said.

"It's on the Senate calendar waiting to be acted upon," Cortes wrote in an email to Patch.

The senate would need to approve it, followed by the state House of Representatives before Gov. Dannel P. Malloy could sign it, she said.

Editor's Note: At noon, voter turnout was at 5.1 percent for the Republican presidential primaries, not .05 as Avon Patch was previously told. The total amount of registered voters is 3,940, not 3,939 as Patch was initially told. The errors have been corrected.

If there's something in this article that you think should be corrected, contact Avon Patch Editor Jessie Sawyer at 860-356-6339 or Jessie.Sawyer@patch.com. Join in on the Avon Patch conversation on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AvonPatch) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/AvonPatch). You can also add your own announcements and events or apply to blog on Patch. To get daily Avon Patch updates in your email inbox, sign up for our newsletter.


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