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09/22/2020 12:00 AMStarting last week, registered voters in Madison began receiving their absentee ballot applications. Town Clerk Nancy Martucci was invited to a recent Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting to address a variety of concerns and questions the town has been fielding from residents regarding the November election.
With the pandemic still making gathering in crowds potentially dangerous, the state allowed all Connecticut voters to cast an absentee ballot, with applications mailed out to all registered voters over the past week or so.
This mailing is not an actual ballot. Anyone who wishes to cast an absentee ballot must fill the application and turn it into the Town Clerk’s Office, which will begin sending out the ballots on Oct. 2.
The secretary of the state additionally has set aside $2.3 million in grants to be distributed to towns based on estimated absentee ballots, voter turnout, and polling locations.
Madison has been allocated just under $10,000 based on a projected 7,097 absentee ballots cast, and having just two polling places. Those projections are based on an 80 percent turnout rate and 66 percent of voters choosing to mail their ballots rather than vote in-person.
The 2016 presidential election saw an 83 percent turnout in Madison, while the only other election held during the pandemic—the Aug. 11 primary, which had only one seriously contested race—saw more than 70 percent of voters turn in absentee ballots.
A tool for people to track their absentee ballots, such as whether the application has been received, when their ballot is sent, and when it is received, is currently in development and will be available through the secretary of the state’s website portal.ct.gov/SOTS, according to Martucci.
The secure drop box at Town Campus has been moved from where it was during the August primary from the back side near the Police Department to the front entrance closer to the gym.
At the BOS meeting, Martucci said she had received a variety of questions from worried or uncertain residents, many of whom are navigating the absentee voting process for the first time, and others who have expressed worries that it is not safe, effective, or is vulnerable to fraud.
“Everything is counted,” Martucci said. “We’re tracking everything...Basically it’s the old fashioned way. We’re counting every single ballot by hand and then referring back to the report [sent to polling places] to make sure that everything matches.”
Town clerk employees will remain in “constant contact” with polling locations during election day to make sure that absentee ballots that are handed in or received by mail that day are accounted for, and people can’t vote twice.
If someone has not turned in an absentee ballot and comes in and votes at the polls, the Town Clerk’s Office will be informed, and if later an absentee ballot is received in that name it will be rejected, according to Martucci.
“We do have checks and balances, and a lot of it is manual, honestly,” Martucci said.
Another concern that First Selectman Peggy Lyons said she had heard was recently deceased people receiving ballots, which are then fraudulently turned in by someone else.
Martucci said the odds of this slipping through is very low, as the secretary of the state is aware of all deaths occurring up until a few weeks ago, and the town clerk is able to remove names as they receive death certificates over the next few weeks.
If a registered Madison voter were to die out of state, Martucci said she would have to at least partially depend on family members to notify the town.
As far as shouldering the extra workload, Martucci said she has five more computers and “all the necessary equipment” for the job, along with bringing on several extra workers—including current town employees working evenings and weekends—as well a list of volunteers who currently are not needed, but who Martucci said she could call if need be.
“I do think we have a good team right now,” she said.
Absentee ballots, as of right now, will not be tabulated until Election Day, though Lyons said she thought the state might consider letting town clerks begin opening and counting ballots before that.
Martucci said she had not heard anything recently about this, but said that currently, the process of counting ballots could easily last into the night, and even the next day.
All ballots must be received by the town clerk—either deposited in the drop box or in the mail—by 8 p.m. on Nov. 3 in order for them to be counted.
With how unique this election is and with all the misinformation spreading around absentee voting, Martucci said Madison is confronting the challenges between now and November with the utmost seriousness.
“I’ve taken the approach that this is kind of a mission, and we need to be really organized and plan this out, and kind of really think, ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’ and be prepared for it,” Martucci said.
For more information about the election, along with instructions on how to fill out an absentee ballot or how to request one if you haven’t received it, visit the town clerk’s website www.madisonct.org/400/Voting-Elections or call 203-245-567.