A Letter Corrected

To the Editor:

I humbly apologize because I gave you some incorrect information in my letter last week having to do with voting. Although my heart is in the right place, incorrect information is still wrong, so please accept my apology as well as the correct information. Most of the mistakes were my misinterpretation of information, but some of the wrong information was given to me by town employees who were as wrong as I was. This is both frustrating and concerning. Mrs Frampton, from the Registrar of Voters, was kind enough to call me and help set me straight in an effort to get the correct voting information out there.

First (and most important), ballots will not be at the town clerk’s office on April 6. The ballots will not be available until the Legislative Council votes (on April 14 ) and they have been printed. My suggestion here is to call the town clerk’s office to ask if the ballots are available about a week before the actual referendum vote (April 27). You still will need to fill out an absentee ballot application, but you will be able to vote in the town clerk’s office, once the ballots are printed.

Secondly, you must call the town clerk’s office (270-4210) for an absentee ballot application, not the voters’ registrar.

Lastly, let me clarify voting as a nonregistered voter. You must be an eligible voter (18 years old, US citizen, and have not committed a felony) and be on the Grand List from October 1, 2003. If you own property valued at $1,000 on which you paid taxes (car, house, land, etc), you owned that property as of September 30, 2003, and your name is on that property, then you will be listed on the Grand List, and therefore, are able to vote. Let me give you some examples of problems that could occur. If you are not listed as the owner of your house (maybe it belongs to your parents), you will not be listed on the Grand List. If you purchased your home/car/land after September 30, 2003 (and therefore didn’t pay taxes on it in Newtown), you will not be on the Grand List. If you are confused about your Grand List status, I would call the tax assessor’s office to find out your status.

Again, I apologize for my mistakes and hope that this clarifies things for you. I feel it is extremely important to get out and exercise your right to vote. If you need more information, please call Cindy Simon at the town clerk’s office (270-4210) and LeReine Frampton at the Registrar of Voters (270-4250). See you at the voting booth!

Sincerely,

Jill Bontatibus Beaudry

36 Queen Street, Newtown                                              April 4, 2004