The views stated here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors of this newspaper. We welcome supporting or opposing views on any published item. Received August 15, 2024.
The State of Connecticut’s mandate resulted in seven days of early voting preceding the August 13, 2024 all-day, fourteen-hour voting session to select the Republican U.S. Senate candidate to run in the general election in November.
Five of those early voting days were eight-hour days and two were twelve-hour days. The approximate cost for the voting officials who were required to be present was $60 per hour for the sixty-four hours of early voting. There were three officials per day present in addition to the registrars. The total cost was approximately $3,840 for the labor of the voting officials during early voting.
Only twenty-six voters availed themselves of the opportunity to vote during this early voting period. The alternative to early voting is to vote using a mail-in absentee ballot or to go to the Town Clerk’s office where you can vote absentee during town office hours. Is early voting really necessary? Is this an efficient way to spend tax dollars?
Edward Munster, Haddam
