Polls open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday for the election not just for president of the United States, but for U.S. representative, state representative and state senator.
Both of New Haven’s state senators and five our six state representatives — all Democrats — have no opponents in their races. All are incumbents except for Al Paolillo Jr., who’s seeking the open 97th General Assembly District seat.
The one contested state legislative race pits incumbent Democrat Toni Walker against Republican Doug Losty for the 93rd General Assembly District seat. Click here and here for stories about their race.
And click on the above sound files to hear in-depth interviews with them on WNHH’s “Dateline New Haven” program.
Technically you can vote Tuesday “for” one of the city’s two registrars of voters. But you can’t vote against them. Incumbent Democrat Shannel Evans and Republican Delores Knight are on the ballot. By state law, they automatically win no matter what happens. That’s because — in an arrangement that would seem to violate antitrust laws if it took place in the private sector — Democrats and Republicans wrote the law to guarantee that every city and town will have a Republican and a Democratic registrar of voters. Even if (as has happened in Hartford, for instance) a third-party candidate gets more votes. In that case, all three candidates end up serving, meaning taxpayers have to pay extra to have someone they actually want in the job to hold it along with two other people. (Click here for a story on how New Haven’s registrars have been faring these days.) The statute does require that you vote for only one registrar even though both are guaranteed victory.
You do get to choose Tuesday between two candidates for the third U.S. Congressional District seat. And only one of them gets to win. Click on the above sound files — and on this article and this article and this article — to learn about the two candidates incumbent Democrat Rosa DeLauro and Republican Angel Cadena.
And — oh yeah! almost forgot — there’s a “contested” election for U.S. Senate. You’re excused for not having noticed. Republican Dan Carter is on the ballot against incumbent Democrat Richard Blumenthal. You can find out more about the race in this article by the Connecticut Mirror’s Ana Radelat.
Click here to find out where to vote, or call the registrar of voters office at (203) 946‑8035.
Below is a chart of New Haven polling places.
