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Asterisks, registration deadlines, early voting hours: A guide to the Aug. 13 CT primary

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Asterisks, registration deadlines, early voting hours: A guide to the Aug. 13 CT primary


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The Connecticut state primary election is Aug. 13, with early voting scheduled for Aug. 5-11. Winners of the primary election will be placed on the general election ballot for Nov. 5.

Connecticut primary elections are for enrolled party members only. Unaffiliated voters (those who are registered to vote, but not enrolled in a political party) must enroll in the party of their choosing prior to the voter registration deadline in order to participate in the primary election.

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Candidates who are running unopposed do not participate in the primary election.

Here is what you need to know about the state primary election.

Can I vote in the primary election in Connecticut?

In Connecticut, there is only a primary election if there is a race.

There is a Republican primary in all 169 communities; there is a Democrat primary in only 28 communities.

The following communities have a Democrat primary: Bethany, Bloomfield, Bridgeport, Chaplin, Colchester, Danbury, East Granby, Ellington, Enfield, Granby, Hamden, Hampton, Hartford, Lebanon, Monroe, New Britain, New Haven, Norwalk, Scotland, Somers, Stamford, Stratford, Suffield, Trumbull, West Hartford, Windham, Windsor, Windsor Locks.

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Want to make your vote count? Our CT voters’ guide helps make your voice heard in 2024

There is a Republican race to be on the ballot for U.S. Senate. Because U.S. Senator is a statewide office, every city and town will have a Republican primary.

The following communities have a Republican primary in addition the U.S. Senate primary: Bridgeport, Bridgewater, Brooklyn, Canterbury, Darien, Easton, Fairfield, Greenwich, Hebron, Killingly, Mansfield, Monroe, New Canaan, New Milford, Norwalk, Oxford, Pomfret, Putnam, Redding, Ridgefield, Roxbury, Scotland, Shelton, Southbury, Stamford, Thompson, Trumbull, Weston, Westport, Wilton, Windham.

Who is on the ballot for my primary election?

There are no primaries for the Democrats in Norwich area communities.

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Like all Connecticut communities, there is a Republican primary in all Norwich area communities. In this race, Gerry Smith of Beacon Falls is facing off against Matthew M. Corey of Manchester.

Of the Norwich-area communities, only Killingly will also have a Republican primary for the state Senate seat currently held by Mae Flexer. The district also includes the towns of Brooklyn, Canterbury, Mansfield, Pomfret, Putnam, Scotland, Thompson and Windham.

In the Republican state Senate race, voters will choose between Chris Reddy of Hampton or Susanne Witkowski of Thompson.

Why is there an asterisk next to some candidates’ names?

The asterisk indicates that the candidate has been endorsed by the state party.

When is early voting?

Early voting starts on Monday, Aug. 5, and is available for seven days, ending on Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. Early voting locations are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on each day of early voting, except for Tuesday, Aug. 6, and Thursday, Aug. 8, when extended early voting hours are available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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More: Connecticut elections: Add these 16 important dates to your 2024 calendar

Where do I go for early voting?

Early voting usually takes place at a location different from the election day polling places.

In Norwich, early voting will be at City Hall, 100 Broadway, Norwich.

In Griswold, early voting will be at Town Hall (Meeting Room), 28 Main St., Jewett City.

In Killingly, early voting will be at the Town Hall, Registrars’ Office, 175 Main St., Danielson.

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Plainfield has two early voting locations. Voters in district 001-47 and 002-44 will vote at Town Hall, 8 Community Ave., Plainfield. Voters in district 003-44 will vote at Moosup Fire Department, 37 South Main St., Moosup.

Am I registered to vote?

You can check your voter registration status on the CT Secretary of State’s website.

When is the deadline for voter registration for the primary?

While same-day voter registration is available for the general election in November, it is not available for the primary.

To vote in person on election day, new voters (those who have never before registered to vote in Connecticut) and unaffiliated voters (those registered to vote but not enrolled in a political party) must register in person at their Town Clerk or Registrar’s Office by noon on Monday, Aug. 12.

A comprehensive look: What’s going on around the United States ahead of the elections

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New voters who wish to participate in early voting must register in person by noon of the business day before the day they wish to vote.

Unaffiliated voters who wish to participate in early voting must register in person by noon on Friday, Aug. 2.

When will results be available?

City and town clerks will begin posting results after all votes are counted. They are not permitted to begin counting votes until after the polls close at 8 p.m. on Aug. 13.





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Connecticut

Rising food prices impacting nonprofits and food banks in Connecticut

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Rising food prices impacting nonprofits and food banks in Connecticut


It’s not only the turkey that’s going to cost you more. Grocery prices are still up from last year.

That’s why nonprofits and food banks In Connecticut are stepping in to help people struggling this Thanksgiving.

For Pastor Brenda Adkins, her annual Day of Joy brings Thanksgiving to thousands of New Haven area families unable to celebrate themselves.

“You’re not thinking about a light bill or a gas bill. You’re being served a nice hot meal,” Adkins said.

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Her church, His Divine Will Fellowship, has been doing the event for 15 years providing hot holiday meals, but year 16 has been challenging with ingredients costing more now.

“Last year, a box of mashed potatoes was $2.49. This year is $3.49,” she said.

Adkins said the church is spending $1,700 more this year on the same ingredients, much of it driven by the price of meat.

“Even the price of chicken, you know, what we paid last year, it’s double, triple than what we paid last year,” she said.

This comes as food prices have gone up since last year, especially here in the Hartford-New Haven area. That’s according to data from the marketing research firm NIQ.

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Eggs, for instance, are up about 7% in our area, and a loaf of bread is up about 2.5% from last year. Other items are going up like ground beef, which is now 10% more ,and chicken breast which is up about 3%.

At the Seymour Oxford Food Bank, Executive Director Kristina Walton said she’s seen double the families come through compared to last year. The delays with food stamps and the coming holiday season bringing much of the traffic with items not on shelves for long.

“It goes, it moves very quickly. It comes in, it goes out,” Walton said.

While she credits partnerships with local grocery stores and the generosity of the community, Walton worries about the future.

“Once we get through the holiday season, donations drop off in both physical donations and monetary donations. And that could be concerning when the need is still so big,” she said.

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But for Adkins, she’s committed to having the day of joy despite the challenges.

“It’s an event that you have to come and experience it for yourself,” she said.



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Connecticut veterans affairs ID’s plot near Middletown state cemetery for small expansion

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Connecticut veterans affairs ID’s plot near Middletown state cemetery for small expansion


The state Department of Veterans Affairs will be adding additional cremains plots at 197 Bow Lane in Middletown, which abuts the State Veterans Cemetery.

Cassandra Day/Hearst Connecticut Media

MIDDLETOWN — State veterans officials are working on a small, immediate expansion of the 21-acre State Veterans Cemetery grounds, which is projected to run out of room for buried cremains by July 2027.

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Charles Pickett, state commander of the New Haven-based Veterans of Foreign Wars Connecticut division, who runs the Save our Cemetery website, has called the issue an “impending crisis.”

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He has been advocating for a cemetery annex for some time.

The move is expected to extend the cemetery’s capacity for about five years, according to state Department of Veterans Affairs Deputy Commissioner John S. Carragher. 

The land abutting the columbarium, located at 197 Bow Lane and adjacent to the cemetery, was previously owned by the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, and is part of the overall cemetery property, Carragher added. 

It was “declared excess to their needs in 2020 and subsequently placed under the care and custody of CT DVA,” he continued. 

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The flat and grassy plot, formerly used by Connecticut Valley Hospital, is approximately half-an-acre, he said, and includes a circa 1950 Colonial revival structure informally known as Cottage 22.

“We are in the process of surveying the plot to formally move it from the larger CVH plot to the current cemetery plot. We are planning on taking down the cottage to maximize the available space,” Carragher said.

The total acreage of land to be expanded upon is “unknown until the project is fully designed,” Carragher said.

“We have less than an acre on the current cemetery site in Middletown,” he said. “We’re going to have to take down a building if we can get approval to do that. That would provide some additional time.” 

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Last year, the DVA had to decline a $4 million federal grant after Middletown officials rejected a request to expand the cemetery.

Common Council members voted unanimously in November 2024 not to sell about 90 acres of open space to the state for a much-needed annex. That property, on Bow Lane and parts of Cedar Lane and Reservoir Road, is among five parcels totaling 256 acres of land near the hospital.

The agency went through a very competitive national process to apply for a limited amount of money through the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Cemetery Grants Program. 

DVA Commissioner Ron Welch, who spoke during the office’s September podcast, said finding a larger, permanent expansion continues to be officials’ top priority. 

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Cremains spots are four-by-four feet in size, he added.

“We’re looking for 50 to 100 buildable acres, ideally, somewhere in the central part of the state,” he told the program host. 

The DVA has been searching across Connecticut, he added, looking at some 15 sites, three of which he expects will undergo feasibility studies.

Although the state hasn’t specified where the sites are, Welch said during the episode one is in the eastern part of the state, and others in the western and south central portions of Connecticut.

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Pickett is hopeful knowing a temporary solution is underway.

“It is heartening to see progress into the expansion of the Middletown cemetery,” he said Friday. “It buys the state more time to find a suitable replacement.”  



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Darien’s Hay Island sells for $26.5 million, 3rd highest sale in Connecticut this year

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Darien’s Hay Island sells for .5 million, 3rd highest sale in Connecticut this year


Connected to mainland Darien by a vehicle causeway, Hay Island is just south of Great Island which was purchased in separate transactions in 2023 by the town of Darien and a private buyer. Both properties were owned by William Ziegler Sr., who generated his fortune through Royal Baking Powder Co., with the brand still sold today by Mondelez International.

Hay Island was Connecticut’s third largest residential sale on record this year as reported by Zillow, and the biggest outside of Greenwich. The property’s listing agent was Leslie McElwreath of Sotheby’s International Realty.

The $43.5 million transfer of 214 Clapboard Ridge Road in Greenwich remains the state’s high sale with less than six weeks to go in the calendar year. Including commercial properties, the $25.8 million sale of the Thorndal Circle office complex is Darien’s biggest real estate sale this year, with the property slated to be converted to apartments.

The Hay Island property at 157 and 161 Long Neck Point Road was originally listed for $35 million last March, with the price cut to $29.5 million after two months on the market. The town appraised the property at $25 million as of October 2024.

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The main house at 161 Long Neck Point Road was built in 2010, with six bedrooms and nearly 8,700 square feet of space according to a town property card. A Cape Cod-style cottage at 157 Great Neck Road dates back to 1920 with two bedrooms and 2,300 square feet. A small pool house is also on the property.

Darien’s record residential sale is the Ziegler’s Farm section of Great Island, which sold in December 2023 for $57.5 million. The town’s $85 million purchase of a 60-acre portion of Great Island, now a public park, put the total parcel’s value at $142.5 million.

Includes prior reporting by Mollie Hersh, Andy Blye and Nathaniel Rosenberg.



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