Towns With May Elections Consider Changing to November

A small number of towns and boroughs in Connecticut have their municipal elections in May instead of November, but that number might shrink.

Woodbridge officials said that voter turnout plummets for town elections, and they would like to change to November. Naugatuck is moving in that direction already, with a proposal to change its Election Day expected to come out of an ongoing charter revision process within a few weeks.

But not every town feels the need to change. Bethany is quite happy holding town elections in May, according to one of the voter registrars.

"We kind of like it," said Republican Registrar of Voters William L. Brinton in Bethany. "We don’t really see any reason to change it."

It’s more a matter of tradition for Bethany than anything else, said Brinton, who doubles as the town’s historian.

But Woodbridge officials say there are plenty of reasons for their town to change when it holds its municipal election, starting with voter turnout. Town Clerk Stephanie Ciarleglio said only 30.9 percent of the town’s voters went to the polls last May to vote in the town election.

That contrasts starkly with turnouts for state and federal elections on odd-numbered years, which by law take place in November. Ciarleglio said voter turnout in Woodbridge for the 2008 presidential election was 95 percent.

Woodbridge elects its first selectman, Board of Selectmen, town and regional Boards of Education, Board of Zoning Appeals and Board of Assessment Appeals in the town elections.

Holding the election in May means Woodbridge gets less election coverage from the news media. Every year, the Woodbridge Registrars of Voters get calls from voters in November asking where do they vote in the town election.

"We have people calling up in November and asking, ‘Where do I vote?’ And we say, ‘You don’t,’" said Democratic Registrar of Voters Jeanette Glickson.

Glickson said not only does Woodbridge hold its town elections in May, but also on the first Monday — elections in November are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday, which only means they may not take place on Nov. 1. Even when voters know the town election is in May, some miss it because they are waiting to vote on Tuesday.

Besides Bethany, Woodbridge and Naugatuck, the towns of Bolton, Union and Andover, and the Boroughs of Bantam, Danielson, Fenwick, Groton City, Jewett City, Litchfield, Newtown, Stonington and Woodmont also hold May elections.

The process for changing when the municipal election takes place varies a little from town to town.

The state passed enabling legislation years ago to allow a town to change the date from May to November by passing an ordinance. Brinton said any public official already in office would simply have his or her term extended six months.

But some towns, such as Naugatuck and Woodbrigde, have the May election in their charter, so they prefer the alternative of holding a charter revision.

Naugatuck was due for a charter revision, which state law requires municipalities to do every 10 years, and changing the date for Election Day was one of the first proposals that was made, according to Andy Bottinick, chairman of the Charter Revision Commission.

Bottinick said the commission would hold a public hearing in about two weeks to see what the public’s opinion is about it, but so far there haven’t been any negative comments.

"It wouldn’t faze me one way or another," said Naugatuck Town Clerk Michelle Dowling. "I kind of like it in May."

Voter turnout is lower in May than in November, but Bottinick said the turnout in the municipal election seemed to depend more on whether there was voter interest in the mayor’s contest. "When there’s juice in the election, you get the bodies turning out," he said.

If the commission decides to recommend changing the date for the municipal election to November, Bottinick said it would pass its recommendation to the Board of Mayor and Burgesses, which would decided whether to put them on the ballot for the voters to decide.

In 1947, Bethany moved its town election from the first Monday in October to the first Monday in May, but the minutes of the town meeting don’t say why, Brinton said.

"I’ve never seen a clear reason why it is the first Monday in May, but I think it is agriculturally based," he said.

Since Bethany doesn’t have a town charter, he said all it would have to do to change the date is pass a town ordinance pursuant to the state enabling legislation.

Voter turnout last May in Bethany was about 42 percent, compared with 65 percent for the state gubernatorial elections and 90 percent for the presidential election years.

But no one in Bethany is in a big hurry to change it to November.

"I kind of like it because it sets us apart," said Brinton.

He said there was an attempt in 2010 in the state Legislature to change the date for Woodbridge by attaching a measure to another bill, but the language was removed before it left the Government Administration and Elections Committee.

But Brinton said he felt it was only a matter of time before the Legislature passed a law changing all elections to November.

"I think at some point the state is going to step in and say there’s only a few of you. We’re going to make a change," he said.

That would make it easier, said Glickson. Having the town election in May doesn’t just reduce the turnout. It also limits the amount of help town election officials can get from the Secretary of the State’s office.

Glickson said Woodbridge has to arrange for help setting up the optical scanner voting machines and arranging for Vote-By-Phone for sight-impaired voters, something the Secretary of the State’s office does for them when elections take place in November.

And after each election, the state requires hand recounts in 10 percent of the voting precincts, something that cost Woodbridge taxpayers an extra $2,000 last May. When you’re one of just a few towns that hold a May election, you’re much more likely to be picked for a recount, Glickson said.

"It’s an unfunded mandate," she said.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on Bethwood Patch, which covers the towns of Bethany and Woodbridge.

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