The Federal Election is Tuesday, Nov. 3, with voting at the Granby Memorial High School Community Gym from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Nutmeggers across the state will be voting for governor, congressman and other elected state officials.
The Connecticut Secretary of the State reports that approximately 76 percent of registered voters in Connecticut regularly vote, and Granby has historically demonstrated higher voter turnouts than the average. In fact, for multiple years, the Secretary of the State has recognized Granby for having the “Best Voter Turnout” in the state for towns in our size category.
Election workers are volunteers
You probably never considered the months-long planning process or the people behind the scenes that dedicate their time to ensure you can walk in, show your ID, receive a ballot and vote knowing that your vote counts. Granby polls are supported by over 200 unpaid volunteers from various party affiliations. Volunteers fill positions such as assistant moderator, ballot clerk, checker, machine attendant, data entry clerk, greeter, absentee ballot counter and parking attendant.
Each volunteer has to complete mandatory training, must be sworn in prior to performing any election duties and agree to remain non-partisan while working. Next time you vote, please show patience and appreciation as these people are doing their best to make your voting experience a pleasant one.
Importance of maintaining ballot integrity
Election integrity is paramount in all elections. This means that the Connecticut Secretary of the State’s Office requires us to maintain a chain of custody for all ballots to ensure they are kept secure. During worker training, the Registrars’ Office stresses that no ballots or checker books are to be left unattended. Every night during early voting all unattended materials are locked in a safe. While polls are open, machine monitors stand by the machine to ensure all ballots are correctly recorded.
Granby’s new voting machines not only record the vote but scan the ballot to determine that it has been properly completed. If it has, the screen will display “Accepted,” if not, you will see an error message and be given the opportunity to correct your ballot. So, when inserting your ballot, pause and wait for the “Accepted” message to ensure your vote is cast.
The new voting machines also allows the registrars to run daily tallies to track how many votes were cast each day during early voting, and that total will be added to the total number of votes cast on election day and by absentee ballot. This tabulation count is compared to the checker books to ensure that the machine count matches the number of voters identified in the checker books. It is important to note that this tally does not reveal the number of votes for any candidate, and that all voting remains anonymous.
Granby strives to provide a welcoming and secure polling place so all registered voters feel safe and comfortable about casting ballots by voting early, by absentee or in person on Nov. 3. Voting is your chance to have a say in our democracy, so please vote this year!