When voters head to the polls this Tuesday, November 6th, as Connecticut residents, they different options for identifying themselves than is often heard in the news about other states.
While some other states have been creating increased obstacles to to voting, including restrictive voter ID rules, Connecticut is a state that has different options for what voters can do to identify themselves when the go to vote.
According to the Connecticut Office of the Secretary of the State, the office in charge of voting in the state, a driver’s license is not required in order to vote. That office says,
When you arrive at the polling place the poll worker will request that you present ID but if you do not have any then in most cases, you may sign an affidavit in lieu of presenting ID. There are several options for identification and they do not need to be a driver’s license or have a photo.
The Secretary of the State’s office also says that,
When you check-in to vote, in lieu of the driver’s license, you may also show a credit card with your name and signature, an ID with your name and photograph, or any document with your name and address such as a checkbook or a utility bill.
The Office of the Secretary of the State says that driver’s licenses are valid for voting, even if they say that they are, “not for federal identification,” and that, “If your ID includes a photo, it does not need to include your address.”
The Secretary of the State’s office says that new voters will be able to identify themselves when they go to their voting location in one of two ways:
- Showing poll workers, “A copy of a current and valid photo identification that shows your name and address,” or
- Showing the poll workers , “A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or government document that shows your name and address.”
If new voters have none of these forms of identification, the Secretary of the State’s office says that the may vote by provisional ballot.
Voters who are not new voters have even more options. According to the Secretary of the State,
- The voter can identify themselves with, “Any pre-printed form of identification,” that includes any of three options:
- “name and address, or
- name and signature, orname and photograph.”
- Or a voter may identify themselves with a Social Security card.
A voter who is not a new voter can also vote by signing an official form provided by poll workers testifying that they are the voter whose name appears on the voter list.
The Secretary of the State’s office says that provisional ballots are an option for, “Any first-time voter required to produce identification, who is unable to do so”.
Provisional ballots are also an option, says the Secretary of the State’s office, for voters who are not permitted to vote by voting officials at their polling place for various reasons.
The Office of the Secretary of the State says,
You may apply for and cast a provisional ballot upon the execution of a written affirmation at the polling place affirming that you are qualified to vote in the election or primary for federal office in the polling place; and you have neither offered yourself to vote nor voted in person or by absentee ballot at said election or primary for federal office at the polling place.
A provisional ballot is sealed in an envelope and set aside from the rest of the ballots which are counted on election day.
After the election, the city registrars of voters determine if the person who cast a provisional ballot was legitimately permitted to vote. If they were, the sealed envelope containing their vote is opened and their votes are counted in the official election results.
The 2018 election will be held on November 6th. The polls will be open for registered voters at the city’s seventeen polling places from 6:00am to 8:00pm.
People eligible to vote but not registered to vote have the right to vote as well. To vote, they go to City Hall, at 27 West Main Street, to register to vote and vote on election day.
In the 2018 election, voters will chose one of Connecticut’s United States senators, New Britain’s member of the United States House of Representatives, governor and lieutenant governor, New Britain’s state senator, state representatives, the secretary of the state, the state treasurer, the state comptroller, the state attorney general and the judge of probate for the district including New Britain.
