Early Voting Begins At City Hall

Steve Winter didn’t have to walk far from his second-floor City Hall office on Monday to cast his ballot on the first day of early voting — in a Democratic primary where he himself is a candidate for state representative.

Winter voted early at around 11:30 a.m. Monday in a meeting room on the very same floor of City Hall where he works as the city’s executive director for climate and sustainability. (The early voting polling place is in a second-floor meeting room in City Hall’s main building; Winter’s office is in City Hall’s second-floor annex.)

Early voting began on Monday at 10 a.m. Eligible registered Democrats and Republicans can cast their ballots early through 6 p.m. on Monday; from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; or from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. 

The two primaries open to certain New Haven voters are a three-way Democratic race for the 94th General Assembly district in the state House of Representatives, and a two-way Republican race for the U.S. Senate. Primary day for both races is Aug. 13. Whoever wins these primaries will advance to November’s general election.

Monday marks the second time ever that Connecticut voters can cast their ballots early in-person, following state voters’ approval in 2022 of a constitutional amendment designed to make voting less of a hassle than making it to the polls on a random Tuesday.

Winter was the second New Havener to vote on Monday in the Aug. 13 Democratic primary for the 94th General Assembly district seat — where his is one of the names on the ballot.

A former Prospect Hill/Dixwell/Newhallville alder, he’s one of three Democrats running in this month’s Democratic primary to replace ten-term incumbent State Rep. Robyn Porter, who is not running for reelection. Also running in the Aug. 13 Democratic primary are Hamden legislative council member Abdul Osmanu and local pastor and school resource coordinator Tarolyn Moore.

Click here, here, here, here, here, here, and here to read more about the race, which gives New Haven Democrats the first time in eight years to pick a new state legislator.

The two candidates on the ballot for the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by incumbent Democrat Chris Murphy, who is running for a third-term in office, are Gerry Smith and Matthew Corey.

“I’ll have a lot going on on Election Day,” Winter said with a smile when asked why he decided to vote early in the Democratic state rep race on Monday rather than on primary day itself on Aug. 13. He noted how the polling place couldn’t be more conveniently located for him, given how his office is on the same floor of City Hall. 

He also recalled advocating for an early voting constitutional amendment before the pandemic at the same time that he and other New Haveners were (successfully) pushing for Connecticut to join a national popular vote interstate compact. ​“It’s cool to see the fruit of that whole early voting movement,” he said.

Winter checked in with Democratic Registrar of Voters Shannel Evans and deputy registrar Elizabeth DeMatteo.

He then took his ballot and an envelope to a privacy booth. There he filled out his ballot and signed a statement printed on the envelope in which he attested that he is eligible to vote early and does not plan on voting absentee. Finally, he put the ballot in the envelope, brought it over to a desk at the far end of the room for Voter’s Clerk Cynthia Cavo to scan, and then dropped off the sealed envelope and ballot in a deposit box.

“It was great! Super smooth,” Winter said about the early voting process, noting how there were fewer steps this time around then during the first go at early voting, which was held in the basement conference room at 200 Orange St. for April’s presidential preference primary.

Reached by phone later on Monday morning, Osmanu said he too plans on voting early on Monday at his Hamden early voting polling place. He said he’s voting early to ​“really demonstrate my faith in the process,” given how new early voting is to Connecticut. Casting a ballot on Monday is also ​“really paying respect to the fact that this was fought long and hard for.”

Moore did not respond to a request for comment by the publication time of this article.

According to the Registrar of Voters office, New Haven currently has a total of 34,685 registered Democrats, 3,030 registered Republicans, 16,631 unaffiliated voters, and 534 voters registered with third parties. That adds up to a total of 54,880 registered voters.

All of New Haven’s registered Republicans are eligible to vote in the Aug. 13 U.S. Senate primary. Only the 3,771 Democrats who reside in the New Haven portion of the 94th General Assembly district are eligible to vote in that state rep primary.