To be eligible to vote in the presidential primary on Tuesday, April 28, you must be registered as a Democrat or Republican. Voters are encouraged to check their party affiliation online at portaldir.ct.gov/sots/LookUp.aspx. It is available nearly 24/7. In Connecticut those who are currently 17 years old but will turn 18 by Nov. 3, can participate in the primary if they register with a party by the cutoff dates listed below. For all primaries in Connecticut, you MUST be a party member of the party you wish to vote for; state party rules prohibit cross voting in another political party’s primary. Unaffiliated or Independent voters are NOT allowed to vote in primaries. In Granby, 39 percent of voters are currently Unaffiliated, 31 percent are Republican, 28 percent are Democrats and one percent are minor party members.
To gain party affiliation, go to voterregistration.ct.gov/ and fill out a voter registration, checking the box marked “party enrollment change” and write in a political party. The website is available 24/7 until the postmark and online deadline to register to vote on April 23. The in-person deadline is noon on April 27; the registrar’s office will be open from 9 a.m. to noon. FYI: Party membership does not cost anything, nor are party members obligated to vote along party lines. The deadline to switch from one party to another has already passed. There is a 90-day waiting period for those switching political parties to attain party privilege, so anyone switching parties between Jan. 29 and April 27 would be ineligible to vote in either primary. Unaffiliated and new voters who register as Democrat or Republican by noon on April 27 can participate in the April 28 primary.
On Feb. 14 the Secretary of State will announce the candidates qualified to be on the ballot. Petitioning candidates have until March 6 to file their petition pages. On March 24, Denise Merrill will announce the order that the national candidates will appear on each ballot and sample ballots should be available for viewing on the SOS website, sots.ct.gov