FAQs

General Information FAQ

The next General Election in Southington is for Municipal Offices to be held on Tuesday, November 7, 2023



Any U.S. citizen who attains the age of 17 years and will be 18 by the date of the November election and who has not been convicted of a felony unless their voter rights have been restored, and truthfully fills out a voter registration application (Form ED-671).
1.)  You may now register to vote on line.  You can begin the process by clicking here.
2.)  Contact us in person or writing, or by phone, fax, or e-mail requesting a mail-in application. You can download an application form here.
3.)  Use the motor vehicle application received with your drivers license application.

Important facts to remember if you want to register just before an election:

Mail in registration cards: We can accept your mail in voter registration card provided it is postmarked on or before the 14th day before Election Day.

Voter making sessions:
a) Saturday, three weeks before the election 10:00AM to 2PM in Registrars of Voters office at the Town Hall.
b) Tuesday, one week before Election Day 9AM to 8PM. In Registrars office.
c) Up to 7 days before the election you may register in person in the Registrars office. You must present identificaton. This is the last time you can register for this November’s election.

Exceptions to the above cutoff dates are:
a) If you move into town after the one week cutoff date. (You must show closing papers or a lease dated after that date.)
b) You become a citizen after the one week cutoff date. (You must show your citizenship papers dated after that cutoff date.)
c) You turn 18 after that cutoff date.
If you fall into one of the above categories you can register up until noon the day before the election in the Registrar of Voters office.
 
Click here to go to a site to look-up your polling place.  (You first need to be registered to vote.)
 
Special Referenda are usually held at one location only - Derynoski Elementary School from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Persons eligible to vote in:
  • General Elections: all regstered Southington voters.
  • Primary Elections: those who meet the above requirements, plus be a member of the appropriate political party.
  • For Referenda: all registered Southington voters and, for expenditure questions taxpayers who own at least $1,000 of property in the Town of Southington.

To find out more information about your voting district, please call us at (860) 276-6268 or e-mail us. A special voter making session is held at Southington High School for students who are 18 years old, or have turned 17 and will be 18 prior to Election Day of that year. The session is usually held during May in the school atrium.
You may apply for an Absentee Ballot if you will not be in town on the day of the election, if you are physically unable to go to the polls on election day, and if you are a poll worker working at another poll on election day.
Absentee Ballot applications are available through the Town Clerk's office. Click here for further information.

Voting & Registration FAQ

Southington now uses optical scan voting machines. Once you are checked in, you will be given a paper ballot with a listing of offices and candidates running for each office. You will take the ballot to a privacy booth where you will fill in the ovals next to the names of the candidates for which you wish to vote. Once you have finished, take the ballot to the voting tabulator. Insert the ballot into the tabulator where it will be counted and stored in the ballot box.

Election Pic Ballot Box   Election Pic Tabulator
Yes, the paper ballot allows you to cast write-in votes. You need to fill in the oval in the bottom row labeled "Write- In" then write in the name of the person for whom you wish to vote. Be sure that your write in vote does not cause you to vote for more candidates for an office than are allowed. Caution: Under current Connecticut Statutes only those names that have been pre-approved by the Secretary of State as write in candidates will be counted in the final tally.
If you change your mind after filling in an oval, or if you made a mistake, you may go back to the Ballot Clerk and request a new ballot. The Ballot Clerk will mark your first ballot as "SPOILED," fold it, and place it in an envelope ensuring that it will not be placed in the voting tabulator. You may be limited to a total of three ballots.
  • The machine will not accept a ballot in which a voter votes for more candidates for an office than the election allows: ie. voting for two candidates running for governor, or voting for 7 Town Council candidates when the limit is 6. This is called an "Over Vote". 
  • The machine will reject a ballot on which none of the ovals are filled in. In this case the screen will read "Blank Ballot". 
  • The machine will reject a ballot that is not designed to be voted at your particular polling place. 
  • And it may reject a ballot that is bent, folded, or has stray marks that interfere with the coding of the ballot. 
  • Whenever a ballot is rejected the machine will push the ballot back to the voter and a message will appear on the small screen on the machine. Read that message and ask the machine attendent what to do next. The attendent will then direct you to the proper station. 
Under Connecticut Statutes you cannot vote in a Political Party's Primary unless you are a member of its Party. 
If you are not currently in a party, you will be in the new Party of your choice immediately upon the receipt, by the Registrars, of your completed Form ED-671 (See Above). If you are in one Party and want to change to another, you become an unaffiliated voter for a three month period and then you are automatically placed in your new Party. If you want to go from your present Party to Unaffiliated, it is done immediately upon receipt of the properly completed ED-671 Form.
You are an "unaffiliated" voter. 
Your vote is secret and you may vote for anyone you choose in the November election. 
There is an Assistant Registrar of Voters from each major Political Party and election officials and workers for the most part have Representation from each major Political Party.
  • You are on active duty with the Armed Forces.
  • You are absent from town during all the voting hours on Election Day.
  • You are ill.
  • You are physically disabled.
  • Your religion tenets forbid secular activity on the day of election, Primary or Referendum.
  • You are working as an election official or worker at a polling place other than your own. 
In Southington, call the Town Clerk's Office at (860)276-6211 or stop by their office in the Town Hall, located at 75 Main Street, and request an application. Return the completed application to the Town Clerk and the ballot will be mailed to you at the address you request when it is available. 
It is important to vote in the correct district to make sure you are voting for the office holders who represent you, as they differ throughout the town. When we do our yearly mandated canvass of voters early in each year, the Registrars might be advised that you have moved. If your forwarding information has expired, your name will be removed from the active voting list and placed on the inactive list, which may cause you a delay at the polls.
It is necessary to register in your new town. Connecticut registrars will automatically move your voting from Southington to your new town. This will also be helpful in removing your name from the Southington jury duty list. If you move out of state you should also contact the Southington Registrars to remove your name. This will also remove your name from any jury duty list.
Yes, you most likely will have been removed from our list and it will be necessary to register once again.
Armed Forces members are treated differently and will be retained at the address they give us until we are advised differently.
You may retain your prior address even if the nursing home is out of town so that you may continue to vote for the people and offices you are most familiar with.
You lose the right to vote in Connecticut. The Registrars in the town of your last reported residence are notified by the Courts to suspend your voting right. When it's determined that you have fully fulfilled all of the requirements of your sentence you can obtain a release from the court officers and with this you can register to vote again. (NOTE: This procedure is under review at this time in Connecticut, so if it applies to you, you may want to check with your Registrars of Voters for the latest statute determination).
All voter status changes are made with the application form which is a multiple use form. Changes of address, name and Party enrollment changes as well as new registration can be done on Form ED 671--Mail-In Voter Registration Application.