Stratford is Holding Primary Elections on August 13, 2024

Ask the Registrar-Stratford, CT

Your place for answers about voting and local elections in Stratford

By James Simon (D)
Registrar Of Voters

Are you eligible to vote?

1. All registered Republicans can take part in the GOP primary election to choose the party’s candidate for U.S. Senate. All 10 usual polling locations in Stratford will be open.
2. Only registered Democrats in state Senate District 23 can take part in a primary election to choose the Democratic candidate for a contested state Senate seat. The Senate District includes only some of the voters who usually cast ballots at Stratford’s D1 (Lordship School), D3 (Johnson House) and D4 (Franklin School).   To check on your eligibility, go to https://portaldir.ct.gov/sots/LookUp.aspx and supply your name and address. You also can e-mail us at  Registrars@townofstratford.com and we will confirm your voting status.      Eligible voters can cast a ballot on Election Day, August 13th …  or during seven days of Early Voting, held at the Baldwin Center August 5-11 … or by seeking an Absentee Ballot from the Town Clerk (spawluk@townofstratford.com)   If you are currently an Unaffiliated voter (not a member of any formal political party), you can switch to the Democrats or Republicans and take part in that party’s August 13th primary election if you act by noontime on Friday, August 2.   You can switch parties here:  https://voterregistration.ct.gov/OLVR 

Who is on the ballot?

• All registered Republicans town-wide can vote in a primary to help decide which GOP candidate should oppose Democratic incumbent U.S. Senator Chris Murphy:  Beacon Falls First Selectman Gerry Smith, who was endorsed by the GOP vs. challenger Matthew Corey. That is the only office on the GOP ballot; again, every registered Republican is eligible to vote, in Stratford and statewide.

• For the Democrats, it’s complicated. Really complicated.  If you live in state Senate District 23 — which includes parts of Stratford’s District 1 (Lordship School), D3 (Johnson House) and D4 (Franklin School) —   yes you can vote on August 13th for one of two Democratic candidates: the incumbent Democratic state Sen. Herron Gaston, or challenger Ernest Newton III, who once held the seat. Newton gathered enough petition signatures to force a primary.

Again, that is the only office on the Democratic ballot. Turnout is going to be extremely light in both primaries.

How do you know if you live in state Senate District 23? The state does not make it easy to check. You can go to https://portaldir.ct.gov/sots/LookUp.aspx and supply your name and address. In the middle of the screen, you will get your polling location, followed by your state Assembly District number and then the state Senate District number. For example, my own information says:

So, I vote at Chapel Street School. My state Assembly District is 120. My state Senate district is 21.  So, I am not eligible to vote in the August 13^th  Democratic primary since it is only for Democrats in Senate District 23.

There are 1,265 Democrats in District 1 who may want to vote, but only 67 Democrats  from D1 are in Senate District 23 and therefore eligible. The numbers are better in District 3, where 1,683 Democrats out of 1,817 are eligible. And in D4, 617 of the 1,270 Democrat are eligible. 

Again, if you want to know your status, try to web site listed above. If you are still having questions, e-mail us at registrars@townofstratford.com and we will look up your voting status and let you know.

ELECTION  QUESTIONS? SEND THEM TO STRATFORD REGISTRAR JAMES SIMON:

jsimon@townofstratford.com. This is not an official publication of the Town of Stratford.

James Simon   
Registrar of Voters (D)   
Town of Stratford, 2725 Main St.   
Stratford CT 06615   
203 385 4049; jsimon@townofstratford.com 

• To register to vote; change your name, address and/or party affiliation; or enroll in a political party: https://voterregistration.ct.gov/OLVR      
• To check on your registration or voting location: https://portaldir.ct.gov/sots/LookUp.aspx 
•  Our ROV website for additional information: http://www.townofstratford.com/content/39832/39846/39935/default.aspx  
•  Apply for an absentee ballot:   Connecticut Online Absentee Ballot Request Portal