Presidential Preference Primaries will be conducted at Newtown Middle School on Tuesday, April 2, from 6 am to 8 pm. Registered residents of the Democratic and Republican parties will all go to 11 Queen Street and then to their district and political party within the gym.

Absentee ballots for the Presidential Preference Primary have been available since Tuesday, March 12, at the Office of the Town Clerk, within Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street. The office is open weekdays from 8 am to 4:30 pm.

Absentee ballots may be requested through regular mail, email, or in person. The ballot can either be mailed to residents or they can go in person to request and pick one up. While residents can only pick up their own ballot, they can drop off an application for someone else and the ballot will be mailed to them.

Residents may drop off their completed ballot in the ballot receptacle outside the municipal center’s north and south entrances or deliver it to the Town Clerk’s office during business hours.

Anyone submitting an absentee ballot should make sure their ballot is in the inner envelope and that the inner envelope is signed. The inner envelope is then placed into the outer envelope to be mailed or dropped off. Only the inner envelope can go into the outer envelope. Each ballot comes with its own set of envelopes and must be processed that way.

Registered voters with a valid Connecticut DMV operator’s license or State ID card can also apply online for an absentee ballot. Visit oabr-sots.ct.gov for full details and the application.

The Town Clerk will be notified of the application and will promptly mail the ballot to the voter requesting it.

For additional information contact the Office of the Town Clerk at town.clerk@newtown-ct.gov or 203-270-4210.

Early Voting

For the first time in the state, early voting for the Presidential Preference Primary is being offered this year.

Early voting will be conducted in the Office of the Registrar of Voters, within Newtown Municipal Center. The early voting hours are 10 am to 6 pm Tuesday through Thursday, March 26-28; and Saturday, March 30.

Residents must be a registered Democrat to vote in the Democratic Primary and a registered Republican to vote in the Republican Primary.

To vote early, residents are to go to the Registrar of Voters office and get checked in to receive a ballot and an envelope. From there, they will fill in the oval and put the ballot into the envelope. Finally, residents will sign the envelope and return it sealed. Residents are not allowed to leave with either the ballot or the envelope.

For more information, contact the Registrar of Voters at registrar.of.voters@newtown.ct.gov or 203-270-4250, or visit newtown-ct.gov/registrar-voters.