Registered Newtown Republicans and Democrats, as well as any unaffiliated or unregistered voter who is considering affiliating with a major party in time to vote, are called to turn out to their district polling locations Tuesday, August 14, between the hours of 6 am and 8 pm, to cast their votes on statewide primary ballots.

Next week's primaries are receiving significant attention because of open races with no incumbent running for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, the 5th District US Congressional seat, State Treasurer, and state Attorney General. Incumbent Governor Dannel Malloy, Lt Governor Nancy Wyman, Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty, Attorney General George Jepsen, and State Treasurer Denise Nappier have all decided to not run for re-election.

Local Democrats are asked to consider the following qualified candidates on the primary ballot:

*For Governor: party endorsed candidate Ned Lamont, or Joe Ganim;

*Lt Governor: party endorsed candidate Susan Bysiewicz, or Newtown resident Eva Bermudez Zimmerman;

*Party endorsed 5th District Representative for US Congress Mary Messina Glassman, or Jahana Hayes;

*Party endorsed State Treasurer candidate Shawn Wooden, or Dita Bhargava; and

*Party endorsed Attorney General candidate William Tong, or Paul R Doyle, or Chris Mattei.

Local members of the GOP have a much more challenging primary contest, with no fewer than 19 candidates from which to choose, including:

*For Governor: party endorsed candidate and Danbury mayor Mark Boughton, or Timothy M. Herbst, or Steve Obsitnik, or Bob Stefanowski, or David Stemmerman

*Lt Governor: party endorsed candidate Joe Markley, Jayme Stevenson, or Erin E. Stewart

*Party endorsed US Senator Matthew Corey, or Dominic Rapini

*Party endorsed 5th District Representative for US Congress Manny Santos, or Ruby Corby O'Neill, or Richard DuPont

*Party endorsed State Treasurer candidate Thad Gray, or Art Linares

*Party endorsed State Comptroller candidate Kurt Miller, or Mark Greenberg

*Party endorsed Attorney General candidate Sue Hatfield, or John Shaban

Voters seeking information on any of the candidates can find it by web searching the individual's name - each of the above contenders have their own internet presence, and most if not all have social network sites as well, including campaign or position videos on YouTube.

Who Can Vote?

Anyone who is already a registered Republican or Democrat, or who changed major party affiliation before the May 14 deadline, is qualified to vote during the primaries on Tuesday.

According to Ballotpedia, a primary is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders.

Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Connecticut utilizes a closed primary system in which only registered party members may vote in a party's primary.

Same-day registration is available in Connecticut for general elections, though not for primary election, the site notes, and voters in Newtown must present some form of identification at the polls - though a photo is not required.

For most voters, identification must fit one of the following requirements for it to be accepted as a valid form of ID at the polls: name and address, name and signature, or name and photograph, according to the Secretary of the State's office.

For voters who are voting for the first time in a municipality and lacked proper identification when registering, however, some additional types of identification may be required. Contact your local Registrar of Voters' office or visit myvote.ct.gov, for more information on ID requirements.

Any person who would be eligible to vote in the Republican and Democratic State and District Primary to be held on August 14 and is unable to appear in person for one or more of the reasons set forth in Connecticut General Statutes Section 9-135 may cast his or her vote by absentee ballot.

Qualified absentee voters must attest they are experiencing an illness or physical disability preventing them from reporting to the polls, will be absent from town during voting hours, subscribe to religious practices which forbid secular activity, are involved in active US military service, or serve as an election official at a polling place other than his/her own polling place.

Any person who is eligible to vote by absentee ballot may apply in person or by mail to the Town Clerk of Newtown, as applicable for an absentee ballot for the August 14, Republican and Democratic State and District Primary.

Absentee ballots are available in the Town Clerk's Office, and the Town Clerk will also be available to process applications and absentee ballots on Saturday, August 11, from 9 am to noon, at the Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street.

An absentee ballot must be returned either in person by close of business the day before the election or by mail. If returned by mail, the ballot must be received by close of polls on Election Day.

New, Unaffiliated Voters

The deadline for new voters and for unaffiliated voters to enroll in a party for the primary was August 9 via mail. After that date, in-person registration is required.

The Newtown Registrar of Voters office will be open from 8 am to noon on Monday, August 13, to accept in-person voter registration for voting in the August 14 Primary.

According to Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, "Every year, thousands of people enroll in a party or change their party registration. Last year, there were more than 32,000 changes to party registration. In 2016, there were more than 132,000 changes to party registration."

Qualified primary voters can cast ballots in Newtown depending on the local voting district where they reside:

*District 1 and 1-5 voters report to Newtown Middle School;

*District 2 and 3-2 voters report to Reed Intermediate School;

*District 3-1 and 3-5 voters report to Head O' Meadow School.

To find out the location where to vote, or to check party and registration status, click here and fill out the information requested. Also, click on the map below for a full view of Newtown's voting districts.

Any questions regarding absentee ballots, call the Town Clerk's office at 203-270-4210. Direct questions to the Registrars at 203-270-4250.

For general primary or Election Day information, visit the Secretary of the State's site at ct.gov/sots.

[naviga:img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-333851" src="https://newtownbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/voting-districts.jpg" alt="voting districts" width="806" height="823" /]