New Britain Chooses to Have Only One Location for Early Voting for Primary

The city of New Britain has chosen to have only one polling location for early voting under the new law that allows people to vote before election day, at least for the August 13th primary.

The office Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas (D) says that, “Early Voting allows you to vote in person safely and securely before Election Day.”

The city Registrars of Voters said that, “New Britain, due to a population in excess of 20,000, has the option to designate more than one polling location.”

However, the city has decided, instead, to hold early voting in a single location, at least for the primary, which is to be at the New Britain Senior Center, located at 55 Pearl Street. The Registrars of Voters said, “Access would be around the back and to the far side of the parking lot with entrance into the building through a sidewalk and/or ADA compliant ramp.”

The Registrars say that, “Enacted at the November 7, 2022 election and passed into law in the 2023 legislative session, Connecticut will be offering Early In-Person Voting for the August 13, 2024 Primary.”

The Registrars recommended a single early voting location, they said, because,

• Early Voting remains new to CT and there is no data to indicate what would be the turnout;
• The process is new and having a single location would allow us to evaluate and determine the setup and controls necessary to conducting the expansion of additional early voting days for the November general election;
• Early voting hours will staff between 5 to 9 persons depending on the type of Election. This means for the August Primary we will add sufficient staff for 7 days to work a total of 355 to 639 hours. We will pay workers between $16 – $21 an hour depending on the position.

For the anticipated Democratic primary in the 26th Assembly district on August 13th, the early voting dates are to be:

MONDAY AUGUST 5 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
TUESDAY AUGUST 6 8:00 am – 8:00 pm
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 7 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
THURSDAY AUGUST 8 8:00 am – 8:00 pm
FRIDAY AUGUST 9 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
SATURDAY AUGUST 10 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
SUNDAY AUGUST 11 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

The New Britain Senior Center is not located within the 26th Assembly District.

While the decision on having one early voting location appears set for the August 13th primary, the Registrars say that, “Designating a single location for the August Primary does not preclude the Registrars or the Town Council from revisiting the issue prior to General Election.”

The early voting dates for the November general election are to be,

• Monday October 21st, 10:00am to 6:00pm
• Tuesday, October 22nd, 10:00am to 6:00pm
• Wednesday, October 23rd, 10:00am to 6:00pm
• Thursday, October 24th, 10:00am to 6:00pm
• Friday, October 25th, 10:00am to 6:00pm
• Saturday, October 26th, 10:00am to 6:00pm
• Sunday, October 27th, 10:00am to 6:00pm
• Monday, October 28th, 10:00am to 6:00pm
• Tuesday, October 29th, 8:00am to 8:00pm
• Wednesday, October 30th, 10:00am to 6:00pm
• Thursday, October 31st, 8:00am to 8:00pm
• Friday, November 1st, 10:00am to 6:00pm
• Saturday, November 2nd, 10:00am to 6:00pm
• Sunday, November 3rd, 10:00am to 6:00pm