Forgot to Register to Vote for Tuesday? Register on Election Day

If you missed the final registration deadline for the Nov. 5 Municipal Elections, this year for the first time, residents will be able to register in person on Election Day.

Election Day Registration, which takes effect throughout the state this year, requires prospective voters to register that day during voting hours and submit the equivalent of an absentee ballot.

(Voters registering on Election Day will not be able to vote at the polls.)

The Registrars of Voters will be in their office in Town Hall from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

In order to register, voters must bring proof of ID and residence. A driver’s license meets both requirements.

The registrars will have to check whether the elector is registered to vote in another town and, if they are, contact the registrars in that town to find out if they already voted that day.

If they haven’t, the elector will be removed from the old voting list and entered onto Brookfield.

The newly registered voter can then fill out a ballot there in the Registrars Office and leave it in the specified gray envelops (see above).

According to estimates made by comparing Brookfield to similarly sized towns in states that have Election Day Registration, Brookfield Registrars were told to expect as many as 70 people throughout the day, Democratic Registrar Dotti Dori said.

Dori said she and Republican Registrar Tom Dunkerton have a file of at least eight residents who missed the last registration deadline before Election Day and will likely be showing up on Tuesday to register.

Dori also suggested that interested persons come early, as the process will be closed at 8 p.m. sharp.

So long as there isn’t a major influx at once causing lines and delays, the registrars don’t foresee any significant issues with Election Day Registration this year.

“We’re ready for it, whatever happens,” Dunkerton said.