Dear Darien: A Letter from the Registrars of Voters

To the editor:

The new Registrars had a lot of help in conducting this week's elections.  The turnout (30 percent) was reasonable for a municipal election with only a few challenged positions.

First of all we want to thank the voters -- including those who voted at the polls, through the absentee voting process or with the new Election Day Registration system.  A special thank you goes to the voters in Districts 1 and 5 who went to new polling locations. 

We will need to make additional changes in the future and we greatly appreciate voter cooperation at these new locations.  Poll relocations are always a difficult issue and we must constantly assess the convenience and safety issues for all involved.  As always, we were happy to see first-time voters come to the polls.

Election would not happen without the dedicated efforts of the 79 poll workers. This year all positions were fully staffed for the entire day. 

The poll workers are needed from 5:15 am to 9 pm, a very long day when they are asked to be meticulous in their work and a friendly-face to the voting public. The Deputy and Assistant Registrars in our office fielded numerous questions from the public and the polls as well as handling Election Day Registration, a new process which required coordination with the state and neighboring towns.

The Town Clerk's office handled many pre-election functions including absentee balloting and then provided invaluable assistance for the District 4 recount.

We use town and school facilities which necessitated the cooperation of a wide range of town employees in public works and the board of ed.  The custodial crews at our voting facilities are also called on to put in very long hours and a high level of service.

This year for the first time we used a non-town building -- the McGuane Field house operated by Darien Little League.  This was a new experience for the Registrars and Little League. 

The League assisted us in many ways and we hope that the voters seeing this facility for the first time were impressed by this volunteer organization.  The Darien Fire Marshall's office organized the extra lighting needed at this poll.

We all owe our gratitude to the candidates in our town.  The candidates for local offices in Darien work very hard campaigning, promoting the election, and once elected carrying out their official responsibilities.

As Registrars we hope to continue finding new ways to encourage voter registration.  Our office is open 4 hours a day, but you can also register in the Town Clerk's office, through the Department of Motor Vehicles, or from online sites (the town of Darien or the CT Secretary of State). 

The League of Women Voters actively promotes registration activities and election awareness.  Their efforts contributed to this election's success and the ability of the public to vote knowledgeably.

John Visi
Kathy Hammell
Darien registrars of voters