Politics & Government

Stevenson: Let's Have Regular Hours for Referendum

First Selectman Jayme Stevenson now recommends to the Board of Selectmen a 6 a.m. start for the referendum on the Shuffle Plan; the board meets tonight to decide that matter, pick a date and set the language of the proposal.

First Selectman Jayme Stevenson today backed off on her initial suggestion that the Shuffle referendum be held from noon-to-8 p.m. Now she recommends a 6 a.m. start.

"After counseling with my board, the Registrars of Voters and Town Clerk and in the interest of avoiding any false accusations of manipulating the outcome of the vote, I am prepared to recommend to my board that we set the time of voting to take place from 6 a.m. till 8 p.m.," Stevenson said in a news release.

Decision expected tonight

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The Board of Selectmen is meeting at 8 p.m. in Town Hall to decide on the date, time and language of the proposal to be put before the voters in a referendum on the Shuffle Plan, which would move the Darien Senior Center and various town offices.

Some objections reportedly had been voiced to Stevenson's original proposal to have the referendum start at noon. Stevenson said in an interview this morning that she was open to both changes in timing and in the date from her original, tentative proposal to hold the referendum for those shorter hours on Wednesday, Dec. 14.

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She originally proposed starting referendum voting at noon because the polls are set up in areas such as school gymnasiums and cafeterias, she said. Normally, school is not in session when elections take place. This past year, teacher in-service training took place on that day.

Since a holiday concert is planned at Darien High School for that Wednesday evening, Stevenson said, she was open to holding the vote on Tuesday. Darien High School is a polling place.

Stevenson: Prior results are not indicative of future results

"While the Town Charter stipulates that 'the polls shall remain open from two o'clock p.m. until eight o'clock p.m.,' the Board of Selectmen, at their discretion, may increase the hours for voting," Stevenson said in the news release.

The four town referendums held since 1989 have been all-day affairs from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Stevenson said, although in that year the Feb. 7 referendum about a town controversy on the Clark Hill Homes on Squab Lane was held from noon till 8 p.m. The town's last referendum, on Dec. 4, 2001, approved the replacement building for Darien High School.

"I would like to be on record that setting the voting time of 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. for this particular referendum shall not constitute a precedent for future referenda," Stevenson wrote. "The details and circumstances of each referendum are unique and future town leaders shall have the ability to exercise their rights set out by our town charter."


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