This Tuesday, April 26, between the hours of 6 am and 8 pm, qualified Newtown residents can exercise their right and privilege by taking five minutes or so to vote on the two local budget proposals and two bonding requests.

If Tuesday is bad for you, there is still no excuse to not vote, because Town Clerk Deb Aurelia Halstead, along with expanded criteria provided through a recent action by the legislature, makes it easy to apply for and vote by absentee ballot.

Regarding the statewide action: on April 8, Public Act 22-2 was enacted expanding two of the six statutory reasons under which voters in Connecticut can qualify for an absentee ballot. As a result, out-of-town commuters, and caretakers of those who are ill or have a disability may now file an absentee ballot.

And as far as making it even easier to file that absentee ballot, on Saturday, April 23, between 9 am and noon, qualified residents can vote at the Town Clerk’s Office within the municipal center.

Any person who is a registered voter in the Town of Newtown, or who is a US citizen who lives out of town but is assessed for at least $1,000 for real estate or motor vehicles on the 2021 Grand List for the Town of Newtown is qualified to vote by absentee or at the referendum, which is being held at the Newtown Middle School gym.

Any qualified person who is active in the Armed Forces, who will be absent from town during polling hours, who is sick, physically disabled, honors a religious tenet forbidding secular activity on referendum day, or has duties as a referendum official at a polling place other than their own during all hours of voting may vote by absentee ballot.

On this year’s budget ballot, voters are being asked to separately endorse or reject the Board of Education’s budget request of $82,134,639; and the municipal operating budget request of $46,891,399, which includes all debt service on bonding including for all school projects.

Each request also asks voters to note whether the revision should be higher if the proposed sum is not approved. These answers would help the Legislative Council modify one or both new requests if one or both are rejected.

Finally, voters will be asked to accept or reject requested underwriting in the amount of $850,000 for the Newtown High School ventilation systems and HVAC renovations, and $600,000 for improvements to the Edmond Town Hall parking lot.

In the course of our in-depth reporting on this year’s budget process, we found both budget proposals received hundreds of hours of intensive and responsible due diligence from both paid and elected officials involved, and deserve taxpayer endorsement. We similarly endorse supporting the two bonding requests.

Now it is your turn to be civic-minded and ultimately responsible for authorizing the budgets and projects every taxpayer will be paying for in the coming fiscal year. Last year, fewer than nine of every 100 qualified voters passed the budget you are paying for today.

That is just not right and Newtown taxpayers should not stand — or sit idly by and let that happen again.

Please turn out and vote on April 26, or get your absentee ballot in now.