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Connecticut
Ballots in question in North Stonington due to missing signatures
Hundreds of ballots that were cast in North Stonington in recent weeks may not count after local election officials instructed voters not to sign their names on ballot envelopes, a step that is required during early in-person voting.
North Stonington’s Republican and Democratic Registrars of Voters issued a press release on the town’s website on Saturday afternoon instructing voters who cast a ballot via early in-person voting between Oct. 21 and Oct. 31 to return to their voting location to “correct their ballot.”
“Through October 31, voters were inadvertently misinformed about the need to sign their early voting ballot envelope,” the release said. “As a result, it is believed that ballot envelopes submitted during this period went unsigned by voters, which is required by law.”
The release does not state how many voters in North Stonington failed to sign their ballot envelopes.
But in a phone interview, Connie Berardi, the town’s Democratic Registrar of Voters, said around 1,000 ballots lacked the required signature.
In this year’s election, the ballots in North Stonington include choices for president, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, two legislative seats and the local registrars of voters.
For perspective, a little over 3,000 voters in North Stonington cast a ballot during the last presidential election in 2020.
Berardi referred other questions about the ballot mistakes to the Connecticut Secretary of the State’s office, which is in charge of overseeing the state’s elections.
The Secretary of the State’s office did not immediately respond to questions for this story.
Connecticut’s new early voting law, which lawmakers passed in 2023, clearly states that voters casting a ballot during the 14-day early voting period need to sign the envelope that they receive with their ballot.
It’s unclear how voters will be able to “correct their ballot,” as the town’s release states.
Connecticut does not have a ballot curing process, which allows voters to fix signature issues and other mistakes after their ballot is received.
Sen. Heather Somers, who is running for reelection this year in the state Senate district that includes North Stonington, learned of the ballot errors late Saturday afternoon.
“I’m very upset,” Somers said.
Somers said she was told that any ballot that does not have a signature on the envelope may not be counted, and she said voters are being advised to return to the North Stonington Education Center, the town’s early voting location, to cast a brand new ballot.
With only a couple days remaining before election day, Somers said she is very concerned that some of the impacted voters may not be able to make it back to the polls to cast a new ballot.
“That’s a huge issue for me because people came in good faith to cast those votes,” said Somers, who is the Republican candidate in Senate District 18.
Her concern is that the people who cast those ballots won’t be available on Nov. 3 — the final day of early voting — or on Election Day itself.
“Some people may be out of town. Some people may be in surgery,” Somers said. “They early-voted for a reason.”
The mistake is the second to potentially disenfranchise voters in the 43rd House District of North Stonington and portions of Stonington and Ledyard.
“It’s frustrating,” said Rep. Greg Howard, R-Stonington, who is seeking reelection from the 43rd.
Roughly 519 ballots were previously sequestered in Stonington after officials learned that some voters had received the wrong ballot on Oct. 22, the second day of early voting. Stonington spans the 41st and 43rd House Districts.
The mistake in North Stonington involved each of the 1,100 ballots cast in 13 of the 14 days of early voting, he said.
“Now, you’re talking about 1,600 votes. They are both in places where I win by big numbers,” said Howard, a police officer who was elected in 2020 and reelected in 2022.
If the 1,100 early voters in North Stonington do not return to cast new ballots on Sunday, the last day of early voting, or on Election Day, those ballots will not be counted, Howard said.
Howard said the impact of the single-day, wrong-ballot problem is relatively limited. No one expects the majority of the sequestered ballots from Oct. 22 in Stonington were the wrong ones.
Voters who cast ballots that day have been urged to vote again. If they do, the original ballots, which are sealed in envelopes with the voters’ names, will be discarded.
The other sequestered ballots will be opened and hand-counted on Election Day, with officials checking to ensure the voter had received the correct ballot.
Only the two House districts are affected, and only one is contested. Rep. Aundre Bumgardner, D-Groton, has no opponent in the 41st of Groton and Stonington. If a vote was cast for the wrong House contest, that vote will not be counted. But the votes cast for the other offices will be tallied.
“I don’t think anybody did anything malicious or on purpose,” Howard said. “I am trying to be reasonable. But at some point, you say, ‘Enough is enough.’”
Connecticut
A 300-Year-Old House, the Oldest in Ridgefield, Connecticut, Is Selling as Part of an Amenity-Filled Family Compound
This two-house, two-barn compound includes the oldest home in Ridgefield, Connecticut, and stands right on the town’s historic and famously charming Main Street.
“It’s actually two distinct houses, two really iconic landmark properties on Main Street” that have been carefully restored and renovated, said listing agent Laura Ancona, of William Pitt/Julia B Fee Sotheby’s International Realty.
“Over $10 million has been spent in top-of-the-line improvements and designer appointments inside and out,” according to the listing.
The older home, known as the Hawley House, was built in 1713 for the Rev. Thomas Hawley, a minister who was also the schoolmaster and town clerk, Ancona said. “It’s quite a stylish home for the time, with high ceilings, wide-board floors and multiple fireplaces,” she said.
Other features include a gambrel roof, original paneling on the fireplace wall of one living room, original fireplace mantels, many of the original hand-blown glass windows, an original Dutch door and hand-hewn beams, according to information provided by the agent. An original double-seated, white clapboard outhouse rests about 100 feet behind the home.
The 300-year-old house is on the National Register of Historic Places as well as being one of the 32 “Stations of History” on Ridgefield’s “Museum in the Streets” tour, Ancona said.
MORE: Tour More One-of-a-Kind Homes In Out Listing of the Day Series
The 1777 Battle of Ridgefield in the Revolutionary War was fought on Main Street and it was also where Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold’s horse was shot out from under him, she said. “We’re very historic, very Colonial.”
“It’s one of the top Main Streets in the country,” Ancona said. “It’s a Norman Rockwell-esque, tree-lined Main Street. Ridgefield is very protective of its Main Street.”
The second house on the compound, a Gothic Revival Victorian, was built by Hawley’s descendants in 1826, she said. “It’s very grand, very colorful,” now with four finished levels.
“It was not as well upkept as it should have been” when the sellers bought it in 2002 and began a multiyear renovation soon after, Ancona said. They were able to recreate much of the original architectural details from old photos.
The gray barn/carriage house associated with the Victorian has been renovated to now include a kitchen and great room that opens to the pool area, a gym and sauna, a poker room, a game room with a bar, an arcade and a movie theater for 30-plus people, she said. “It’s a completely tricked-out party barn.”
There’s also a circa-1900 red barn that now holds an indoor basketball court, an arts-and-crafts studio and a second-floor office with a conference room, according to the listing. It was updated and redone in 2012.
Both lots, which together are 3.16 acres, are quite deep with long driveways, which offers a great deal of privacy, even while being on Main Street, Ancona said.
“You can walk to town and still have all of this privacy,” she said.
Stats
The 8,934-square-foot compound has eight bedrooms, seven full bathrooms and two partial bathrooms. It sits on a 3.16-acre lot.
Amenities
Amenities include a heated pool and spa, a pool/carriage house, two two-car garages (one with two Tesla chargers), seven fireplaces, a gym and sauna, an indoor basketball court, a brick courtyard, a pergola, an outdoor kitchen, a home office with a conference room, an arts-and-crafts studio, a bar and game room, a poker room, an arcade and a movie theater.
Neighborhood Notes
The home is within walking distance of everything Main Street has to offer, including museums, the library, Ballard Park, an old-fashioned hardware store and lots of independent shops and restaurants, Ancona said. “There is no fast food in all of Ridgefield.”
Ridgefield is adjacent to Westchester County in New York, and it’s about a 30-minute drive to the Westchester County Airport, she said. Ridgefield is about 90 miles from Manhattan.
Agent: Laura Ancona, William Pitt/Julia B Fee Sotheby’s International Realty
View the original listing.
Connecticut
Child hospitalized after drowning incident at Connecticut campground
GRANBY, Conn. (WWLP) – A juvenile was brought to the hospital on Wednesday afternoon after a reported drowning at a campground pool in Granby, Connecticut.
According to the Granby, Conn., Police Department, the incident was reported around 2:30 p.m. at High Meadow Day Camp, located at 311 North Granby Road. A Simsbury officer working a private detail at the campground was called to the pool area and began providing medical care. The patient was identified as a juvenile, whose name has not been released.
The juvenile was treated at the scene before being brought to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. Officials have not released information on the child’s condition.
Azell Cavaan, the Chief Communications Officer for Springfield Public Schools, confirmed with 22News that a SPS student was taken by ambulance from High Meadow on Wednesday. It is unclear if the two incidents are connected.
Police said numerous children who witnessed the incident later became emotionally distressed. Ambulance crews from Granby, Windsor Locks, Simsbury, and Suffield all assisted in response. In the aftermath of the incident, police encouraged anyone affected to seek support services.
“Witnessing traumatic incidents can be very unsettling. If you need to access support, the best way is by calling 211, which can connect individuals with crisis support services and other community resources,” the department said in its release.
Counseling and support services are also available through local municipalities, including the Granby Youth Service Bureau for residents.
This incident remains under investigation. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
Local News Headlines
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Download the 22News Plus app on your TV to watch live-streaming newscasts and video on demand.
Connecticut
Connecticut driver spots snake in car while driving, police say
LEDYARD — A Connecticut State Trooper snagged a snake from a car after the driver saw the slithering serpent while driving in Ledyard Tuesday, police said.
The woman was driving on Route 2 near Foxwoods Resort Casino when she noticed the snake and called for help, police said. Trooper First Class Charles Workman responded.
“TFC Workman was able to wrangle the unwanted hitchhiker from the caller’s car despite the slippery nature of the accused,” Troop E in Montville posted on Facebook.
The snake’s species could not be determined, but police said there were no injuries in the incident. Troop E’s Facebook post, however, drew comments from people who said they would have wrecked the car after such a discovery.
“Here I was thinking I only needed to check for spiders…,” one person wrote.
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