It was a historic day when it comes to elections in Connecticut with the debut of early voting.
The Secretary of the State’s Office tells us thousands of people made their voices heard in the 2024 presidential preference primary.
“I wanted to be one of the first, the pioneers that got into the mode of early voting,” Denise Bailey, of Hartford, said.
Bailey was among those who jumped at the chance to take part in the launch of early voting in the state.
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“I like it because it makes it convenient for those who can’t make it that day when we do actually vote in the primary,” Bailey said.
We're told things ran smoothly on day one at Hartford City Hall.
People marked their choice in the 2024 presidential preference primary as voting came to a close for Tuesday.
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“Now we're close to 55 maybe, which is not bad. For the first day, we thought it would be a lot slower, but people are starting to come in and get a grip,” Giselle Feliciano (D – Hartford Registrar of Voters) said.
The Secretary of the State counted about 5,000 early voters as of late afternoon.
The office found no reports of any major problems during the rollout of early voting which was approved back in 2022.
“Connecticut is one of the last states to adopt early voting and it’s a common-sense reform that truly helps everyone,” Stephanie Thomas (D – Secretary of the State) said.
In New Britain, about 40 people turned out for day one.
The Republican registrar said while they were able to staff these four days of early voting, there are concerns about seven days of early voting for the primary and 14 days for the general election.
“I'm not really sure how November is going to work out. I think we can get through August, very similar to what's happening here. But November is a whole different ball game,” Peter Gostin (R – New Britain Registrar of Voters) said.
The presidential preference primary is next Tuesday.
