Election Day is going to look different in the state of Connecticut this year.
Hamden recently received over $40,000 in grants for the upcoming election. Hamden is expecting a large number of voters through absentee ballots, leading this election down a path we have never seen.
The state of Connecticut has automatically sent absentee ballots to all registered voters because of COVID-19. Voters have the option of mailing their vote in through absentee ballot drop boxes located at Hamden Government Center.
Town Clerk Vera Morrison is in charge of overseeing the absentee ballots and making sure every vote gets counted.
“We’re working it out, we’ll do this somehow. It’s a volume that’s unprecedented,” said Morrison. “Normally in a presidential election we do 2,500 ballots in total. For this one, we issued 7,000 in less than three weeks.”
In addition to the ballot drop boxes located at Hamden Government Center, there will be another being put to use at the Keefe Community Center, located at 11 Pine Street, starting Monday.
Vera Morrison knows the number of ballots coming in will continue to rise as Election Day nears. She has already taken steps to prepare for this with the grants the state gave to Hamden.
“We have hired additional personnel. I call them the ‘AB Vault Squad.’ I’m planning to hire additional technologically adept people to help with scanning the ballots,” Morrison said.
The additional funds Hamden has been provided will aid the town clerks and their “vault squads” when it comes to counting votes. Allowing all voters to have the option of using absentee ballots makes it easier for people like Hamden resident Sarah Forman, who does not know if she would have made it out to the polls had the state of Connecticut not granted absentee ballots to everyone.
“My partner has Parkinson’s disease and you can never tell from one day to the next if he’s going to be able to go out, so that could hold up both of us from voting,” Forman said.
Although Forman will not be voting in person on Election Day, she still believes people going to the polls is an important part of the election process, and a valuable backup plan in case someone forgets to submit their ballot.
“It seems good to have them both available. You have to have the absentee voting, and the polls is a long-standing tradition,” Forman said. “I think it’s good because a lot of people will remember that it’s election day, but the day before they wouldn’t have mailed their ballots.”
There will still be voting happening in person happening on Election Day, and Town Clerk Vera Morrison believes the grants Hamden has received will help keep the voters and poll workers safe.
“The polls are following CDC guidelines. There’s all kinds of equipment and sanitation equipment to make sure the polls are safe,” Morrison said. “Masks are required in the polls, and gloves if people want them. The Registrar told me they will use disposable golf pencils so no one else handles them”
These guidelines are in place to help to keep everyone safe who goes to the polls on Election Day, but they also could mean it takes longer to cast a vote.
“They have to be prepared to admit as many people that want to vote in person. That’s their right and if they have to stand six feet apart and it goes more slowly then they just have to stay there until everyone’s had a chance to vote,” Forman said.
For those who may be skeptical of voting through an absentee ballot, Vera Morrison urges you to believe in the hard work the town clerks are putting in.
“Everyone is so concerned about their vote not being cast. And we as election officials will do everything we can for them,” Morrison said. “People need to know their vote is secure and the town clerks will take care of it.”