Election Day: Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Polls will be open from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm in the Town Hall Meeting Room.
Absentee voting is available.
______________________________________________________________
Important information from the Town Clerk’s office.
With the election six days away, I would like to remind you that if you are planning to vote by absentee ballot, time is getting short. Please call our office for specific instructions on how to get your ballot in a timely fashion.
If you already have your ballot, please remember that it must be delivered to the town clerk’s office no later than 8:00 pm on election night. The official drop box is located at Town Hall in the lower parking lot at 562 Colebrook Road. This box will be locked promptly at 8:00 pm. No exceptions.
If you have already voted by absentee ballot and you have changed your mind, you have until 5:00 pm on Friday, October 30, 2020 to request your ballot back. You must make this request in person at the town clerk’s office. You may then vote in person on election day.
Please call our office to make an appointment, if you get voice mail, please leave a message and we will return your call promptly.
Debra L. McKeon, Town Clerk Catherine C. Norton, Asst. Town Clerk 860-379-3359 x 203
______________________________________________________________
WARNING
November 3, 2020 State Election
The Electors of the Town of Colebrook are hereby warned to meet at their respective polling place in said town on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, for the following purposes:
I. To cast their votes for Presidential and Vice-Presidential electors, Representative in Congress, State Senator, State Representative, and Registrar of Voters.
Notice is hereby given that the location of the polling place is as follows:
Town Hall Meeting Room (2ndFloor), 562 Colebrook Road, Colebrook, CT
Voting machines will be used. The polls will be opened at six o’clock in the morning (6:00 a.m.) and will remain open until eight o’clock in the evening (8:00 p.m.).
Dated at Colebrook, Connecticut, this 19thday of October, 2020.
Debra L. McKeon, CCTC Town of Colebrook
_____________________________________________________________
TOWN OF COLEBROOK OFFICE OF THE TOWN CLERK 562 COLEBROOK ROAD COLEBROOK, CT 06021 (860) 379-3359 X 203 Email: dmckeon@colebrooktownhall.org
September 1, 2020
The Town Clerk’s office is here to answer your questions regarding the Absentee Ballot process for the November 3rd Presidential Election.
The Secretary of the State’s Office will send an Application for Absentee Ballot to all registered voters in mid-September. Due to the CoVid-19 pandemic and pursuant to Public Act 20-03 Special Session, the threat of the virus is a reason to vote by absentee ballot for this election only.
Please wait for that application to arrive. If you have already sent in an application, please destroy the one you receive in the mail. Please do not download and mail in the application that can be found on the Secretary of the State’s website, as the application sent to you will contain a bar-code for each individual voter and will help us process them more accurately. Also please do not fill out more than one application.
If you haven’t received your application by the last week in September, please call or email me and I will send or email one to you.
Absentee ballots become available on October 2nd, and will be sent out in the U.S. mail on that day to anyone whose application I have received and processed into the State’s Connecticut Voter Registration System. For any applications received after that date, the ballots will be mailed out within 24 hours of receipt of your application.
You are also able to request your ballot in person with your application form after October 2, however you will need to call and make an appointment to drop off your application and come back the following day to pick up your ballot. We will not be able to process your ballot as you wait.
Important things to remember:
You are not allowed to collect anyone else’s ballot, nor will anyone else be allowed to pick up your ballot.
The application form, however, may be delivered to me by you or anyone you designate to deliver it.
If you will be submitting your application within six days of the election, I urge you to do so in person, as there may not be enough time for your ballot to be received by you through the mail.
The Absentee Ballot Drop Box for Town of COLEBROOK VOTERS is located outside the lower level main entrance of Town Hall. This box will be unlocked and used for your completed ballot applications as well as your voted ballots. I would encourage you, if possible, to use the drop box to ensure delivery rather than using the USPS.
Please be sure you read and follow the instructions included in your ballot packet on the proper method of absentee ballot voting in order to ensure your ballot is not rejected.
My office will be responsible for issuing all of the absentee ballots for the November 3rd Election. This election will be unprecedented in regards to the volume of Absentee Ballots that we will process. It is an enormous undertaking that the Secretary of the State’s Office has given us and we appreciate your patience and understanding during this time.
Lastly, please keep in mind that voting by Absentee Ballot is only an OPTION for you. The polls will be open, sanitized and safe, from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM on Election Day, November 3, 2020 on the 2nd floor of Town Hall.
Thank you for your attention, and please call or email me if you have any questions and I will do my best to respond as quickly as I can.
Thank you for the honor of being your town clerk.
With best regards,
Debi McKeon Colebrook Town Clerk
_____________________________________________________________
Press Releases
08/25/2020
Secretary Merrill Outlines Process and Timelines for November General Election
Every Connecticut voter will have the opportunity to safely and securely cast their ballot by the method of their choosing and make their voice heard
HARTFORD – Connecticut’s Secretary of the State Denise Merrill today outlined the process and timeline for the November general election in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Every Connecticut voter must and will have the opportunity to safely and securely cast their ballots, by the method of their choosing, and make their voice heard,” said Secretary Merrill. “My staff, and our partners at the local level, the hard-working registrars of voters and town clerks in each of Connecticut’s 169 towns, are busy ensuring the most important goal of every election – that every Connecticut voter who wants to participate has the opportunity to easily register and conveniently cast their ballot, and that every valid vote cast is a vote counted. Our efforts to expand absentee balloting, to deliver secure drop boxes to every town, to protect the health and safety of voters and poll workers in polling places, and to protect the cybersecurity of our election infrastructure from the foreign actors attempting to compromise it, are all designed to provide an election that is safe, secure, and accessible for every voter in Connecticut.”
The Office of the Connecticut Secretary of the State will be sending out applications for absentee ballots to all eligible (active, registered) voters on a rolling basis between Tuesday September 8th and Friday September 11th. Voters can check their registration status at myvote.ct.gov/lookup. All voters are eligible to vote by absentee ballot for the 2020 election by checking the COVID-19 excuse on the application. Although absentee ballot applications will be mailed to every eligible voter, they are also available in English and Spanish at myvote.ct.gov/absentee.
“Mailing absentee ballot applications to all eligible voters makes it easier for every voter to exercise their right to vote without jeopardizing their health, if they choose to vote by absentee ballot,” said Secretary Merrill. “By including postage paid envelopes with the applications, and with the absentee ballots, we are using federal funds to make sure everyone who chooses to can vote by absentee ballot with no cost to the voters or to their towns. We are committed to using federal CARES Act funds to make sure that the town clerks have the resources they need to process and fulfill what will certainly be an unprecedented number of absentee ballots in November.”
Given the well-publicized problems with the United States Postal Service, Secretary Merrill is encouraging voters to use the secure ballot drop boxes to return their absentee ballot applications and the ballot themselves, in order to be sure that all critical mailings are received in a timely fashion. The USPS has made clear that they are not a reliable method for delivering election mail; the ballot drop boxes are and should be used to deliver the absentee ballot applications and the absentee ballots themselves back to the towns.
Additionally, several legislative delegations have requested more secure ballot drop boxes for their towns. To that end, we have used federal CARES Act funding to order 50 additional secure ballot drop boxes to be distributed to the towns that need them and to be installed in secure locations convenient to voters aside from town halls.
“The secure ballot drop boxes have been a fantastic addition to Connecticut’s democratic process by making it easier for voters to vote,” said Secretary Merrill. “They are even more critical because the United States Postal Service has made it clear that they are either unable or unwilling to help voters cast their ballots. I encourage all voters to not rely on the post office and to deliver their absentee ballot applications and their absentee ballots directly to the ballot drop box in their towns.
“I’m thrilled to be able to provide additional secure ballot drop boxes to the towns that want them,” Merrill continued. “Making it more convenient for voters to cast their ballots in a safe and healthy way is our most important mission as election officials.”
Although applications will be mailed to voters after Labor Day, voters should be aware that the absentee ballots themselves cannot be distributed prior to October 2nd, by Connecticut law. The small amount of time between October 2nd and November 3rd makes it imperative that voters return their applications and their ballots as soon as possible. Returning the applications and the ballots early will make it easier for the town clerks to do the work that is necessary to process all of the applications and the ballots. Connecticut law only allows the counting of ballots that have arrived by the close of polls, 8:00pm on Election Day November 3rd, so returning ballots early and not relying on the post office are the best way for voters to ensure that their votes are counted and their voices heard.
“If you choose to vote by absentee ballot, please return your application as soon as you can to relieve the burden on the local election officials who process them,” said Secretary Merrill. “By law, the ballots themselves cannot be mailed out before October 2nd, so please return them as soon as possible as well, as they must be received by 8:00pm on Election Day. And use the secure ballot drop boxes in your town to ensure that they are received on time!”
More information can be found at myvote.ct.gov.
__________________________________________________________
Presidential Preference Primary: Tuesday, August 11, 2020
Click here to view larger.
Click here to view larger.
********************************************************************************
LEGAL NOTICE – Presidential Preference Primary
************************************************************************************
LEGAL NOTICE – Official Notice of Primary State and District Offices Only
************************************************************************************
************************************************************************************
Voter Information
2020 Connecticut Voting Plan
************************************************************************************
View larger version here.
