Absentee ballots are now available for the Saturday, October 5, referendum, which will be held from 6 am to 8 pm at the Newtown Middle School gymnasium. The purpose of the vote is to register public consensus on the town accepting state financial assistance to remediate and demolish the Sandy Hook School building, and to design and build a new school in Sandy Hook.

The single ballot question is as follows: “Shall the $49,250,000 special appropriation for architectural and engineering services for the design of a new elementary school in Sandy Hook, demolition of existing school and for the construction of said school and the acquisition of two parcels of land for the purpose of relocating the entrance of said school, said special appropriation to be funded by a grant from the State of Connecticut, be approved?”

Pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes Sec. 7-6, any person who is a registered voter in the Town of Newtown or who is a US citizen who is assessed at least $1,000 for the real estate or motor vehicles on the 2012 Grand List for the Town of Newtown is qualified to vote at the referendum.

Absentee ballots are now available for the referendum during office hours Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm at the Town Clerk’s office at Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street.

Any qualified person who meets any of the following criteria may vote by absentee ballot:

1) active service in the Armed Forces

2) absence from the town during all the hours of voting

3) illness           

4) physical disability

5) religious tenets which forbid secular activity on the day of the referendum or

6) duties as a referendum official at a polling place other than your town during all the hours of voting.

As per Connecticut General Statutes Sec. 9-140 and 9-369c, for a referendum held with less than three weeks notice, you may obtain an absentee ballot by applying at the town clerk’s office in person.

Absentee ballots can be returned in person to the town clerk by 4:30 pm Friday, October 4, or by mail or designee before the closing of the polls on referendum day, 8 pm, October 5.

Anyone with questions is asked to contact town clerk’s office at 203-270-4210.