More than 40% of registered voters in West Hartford took advantage of the opportunity to vote early in the 2024 general election.

By Ronni Newton

When Connecticut’s 14-day period of early voting f0r 2024 ended at 6 p.m.  on Sunday, Nov. 3, more than 40% of West Hartford’s registered voters had already cast a ballot.

Republican Registrar of Voters Beth Kyle said late Sunday that a total of 17,225 had voted early in West Hartford. That number includes 394 Same Day Registrants, who registered when they arrived at Town Hall to vote, as well as 16,861 who were already registered. When early voting began, West Hartford had 42,242 registered voters.

West Hartford had been leading all other Connecticut municipalities in early voter turnout throughout much of the 14-day period, but ultimately had the second-most number of residents who voted early. Both West Hartford and Norwalk had more than 17,000 early voters, but the Fairfield County city had reported 17,668 early voters as of 5 p.m. Sunday, according a spokesperson from the Secretary of the State’s Office. Norwalk, however, has nearly 30,000 more residents than West Hartford.

In 2023, Gov. Ned Lamont signed “An Act Implementing Early Voting,” making Connecticut the 47th state in the country to implement early voting. West Hartford’s Town Council approved the use of Town Hall as the sole polling place for early voting, which was also held on a smaller scale for the Presidential Preference Primary in April 2024 and for August 2024 primaries.

Absentee ballots are not included in the reported totals. As of last Thursday, Town Clerk Leon Davidoff said 3,464 absentee ballots had been issued in West Hartford, including supervised ballots. There had been 2,726 completed ballots returned as of Thursday – a 78.7% return rate.

According to Davidoff, Monday, Nov. 4, is the last day that the Office of the Town Clerk will process absentee ballot applications.

All absentee ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5. That means the ballots must either be deposited in one of the official ballot drop boxes (at the main entrance to Town Hall or in the parking lot of the Faxon Library) or dropped off in person at the Town Clerk’s Office at Town Hall, 50 South Main Street, Room 313. Mailing the ballot is not recommended at this point because the completed ballot must be delivered – not just postmarked – by 8 p.m. on Nov. 5 in order to count.

The bottom line is, Davidoff said, “Ay voter in possession of an absentee ballot – and who has not voted during the Early Voting period and who does not plan to vote in person on Election Day – should return their absentee ballot as soon as possible.”

Election Day, Nov. 5

The general election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, and traditional voting will be held at eight different polling places throughout town with the polls open from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m.

The polling places are listed below, and if you aren’t sure if you are registered, or which polling place you should go to, that information can be found on the Secretary of the State’s “Look Up” site here or call the West Hartford Registrars of Voters at 860-561-7450.

Polling places are:

• District #1-1 and 1-2 – King Philip Middle School, 100 King Philip Drive
• District #2 – Bristow Middle School, 34 Highland Street
• District #3 – West Hartford Town Hall, 50 South Main Street
• District #4-1 and 4-2 – Charter Oak International Academy, 425 Oakwood Avenue
• District #5 – Conard High School, 110 Beechwood Road
• District #6 – Sedgwick Middle School, 128 Sedgwick Road
• District #7 – Bugbee Elementary School, 1943 Asylum Avenue
• District #8 – Hall High School, 975 North Main Street

Map of West Hartford Voting Districts. Photo credit: Ronni Newton (we-ha.com file photo)

For more information about early voting and the location of polling places in West Hartford, click here.

Any additional questions can also be addressed by contacting the Office of the Town Clerk at 860-561-7430.

Those not yet registered to vote but who are eligible to do so may register to vote and vote via the Same Day Registration in Room 400 of Town Hall on Election Day.

For information about documentation needed for Same Day Registration, see the Registrar of Voters webpage.

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