17 Year Olds May Preregister to Vote in Primary
Any U.S. Citizen 17 years old, who will turn 18 on or before November 3 and is a bona fide resident of Suffield, may “pre-register” to vote and be eligible to vote in a primary if they pre-enrolled in a political party that is holding a primary.
Democrat and Republican Primaries
Democrat and Republican Primaries will be held on Tuesday, August 14, at the Suffield Middle School Gymnasium, 350 Mountain Road. The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Who is eligible to vote in a primary? Only registered and pre-registered voters, enrolled in the political party holding the primary, are eligible to vote in their party’s primary.
Voter Registration Deadline is August 9 for mail-in and online voter registrations and party enrollments for new voters and party enrollment for unaffiliated voters. August 13, noon is the in-person deadline for new voter registrations, for unaffiliated electors to enroll in a political party and for party enrollment from qualified applicants.
Voter registration and political party enrollment may be done online at voterregistration.ct.gov or by mail or in-person at the Town Hall. The Registrars of Voters’ office will be open on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the Town Clerk’s office will be open Monday thru Thursday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Fridays 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. If you have questions please call 860-668-3850 or 860-668-3880.
You may check for your political party affiliation by using the Voter Registration Lookup Tool online at www.sots.ct.gov/sots/cwp/view.asp?a=3172&q=512796 or by calling the Registrar of Voters.
Note that there is a three-month waiting period, when switching from one political party to another, before attaining voting privileges in the new political party.
Voting Methods Available
There are several voting options available for Suffield’s voters. 1) Absentee ballot voting options available to eligible voters are: regular absentee balloting, supervised absentee balloting, emergency absentee balloting and the permanently physically disabled status absentee ballot process. 2) Polling place voting options are: paper ballots completed by hand at a privacy booth while standing or sitting, then processed through a tabulator; curbside voting for those temporarily incapacitated and allowed to complete their ballot in their car; and the ballot marking system using equipment in the polling place where ballot selections are made on a tablet or ballot may be heard and selections are made using a key pad, the ballot marking are printed onto a regular ballot and the ballot is processed through the tabulator.