Voting will not make you more desirable. Participating will not provide you with some type of spectacular prize like a brand new Tesla; it won’t help you drop those unwanted extra few pounds, nor will you be enticed to your local polls — or to the Town Clerk’s Office for an absentee ballot — with promises of scrumptious treats or a delicious dinner.

Simply put, voting is just not sexy.

But it is very important, especially when this November’s ballot is giving registered Newtown voters an opportunity to decide how the local government will function in the coming years. And there is a bonus — you can also weigh in on the way you may be able to vote in all future local, state, and federal elections.

Yes, Newtown, on November 8 (or when you cast your absentee ballot), you will find more than just candidates running for office. You will see three questions for your consideration.

Question #1 appears on every ballot across all Connecticut’s 169 municipalities, and involves a constitutional amendment that would authorize the legislature to provide for early voting.

According to information provided by the state, if a majority of voters approve it, the amendment becomes part of the state constitution — which contains several provisions about the time, place, and manner of elections in Connecticut. These provisions currently require voters to cast their ballots at their polling place on the day of an election unless they qualify to vote by absentee ballot.

Because these are constitutional requirements, the General Assembly cannot pass legislation establishing a form of voting that conflicts with them. If this amendment is approved, it would allow the General Assembly to pass legislation establishing in-person voting before the day of an election.

Questions #2 and #3 are all ours, Newtown — and they could influence changes to our Charter, the community’s own constitutional document.

Question #2 states: “Shall the Charter be amended to provide the Sections 2-125, Sections (a) and (b) ‘Board of Finance’ be deleted from the Charter and all powers thereof to be vested with the Legislative Council.”

Approval of Question #2 will eliminate the Board of Finance from the Charter as an advisory body. All powers of the Board of Finance would thereafter be vested in the Legislative Council. Any reference to the Board of Finance will also be eliminated [from the Charter].”

Question #3 reads: “Shall the remaining Charter Amendments adopted by the Legislative Council on July 20, 2022 be approved?”

Approval of Question #3 accepts the 13 remaining proposed changes in their entirety, comprised of organizational, non-substantive, and substantive changes made to the document including but not limited to provisions that have already been detailed, and are reviewed again in today’s edition of The Newtown Bee and online at NewtownBee.com.

To help voters better understand these questions, your Newtown Bee also hosted and archived a 32-minute video webcast with the Charter Commission’s chairman and the current chairman of the Legislative Council. You can view it on our Facebook site, or on our Newtown Bee YouTube Channel (youtube.com/watch?v=EKg_JEU4XdY&t=2s ).

We hope you will read about, and if inclined, view this informational video. Then — as we have implored in all past elections — get your absentee ballot or turn out to your local polling place on November 8 and VOTE!