Southbury Evaluates Election 2012 After Changes in Voting Districts

Editor’s Note: The following is a press released issued by the Town of Southbury.

Election Day 2012 marked the beginning of a new voting experience for Southbury residents: the prior five districts had been consolidated into three and the polling sites had been moved into three Town-owned buildings. The closely contested races resulted in a nearly 90% voter turnout. In an effort to learn from the experience, Southbury decided to convene a “hotwash” after the event to review the day’s events and identify how we can improve. This is similar to other reviews that have been done in Southbury under the current administration.  “Continuous improvement through assessments like this is the key to providing effective government.  I appreciate the cooperative spirit of the team that prepared this excellent report as it provides positive steps based on solid information," noted First Selectman Ed Edelson.

A gathering of those who were involved in the voting process - which included registrars, moderators, Police, Fire Marshal, and Head Librarian - agreed that everything went well, overall. Everyone was glad that so many Southbury voters showed up to vote and all agreed that most voters did not complain about lines or delays. With the power outages caused by Storm Sandy fresh in everyone’s mind, all agreed that it was a relief to know that all three polling sites are equipped with back-up power generators.

Several suggestions for improving future voting experiences were identified, including realigning Districts 1 and 2 to better balance the number of voters in each polling site, closing the library for normal business when a high voter turnout is expected as was done at the Senior Center and Parks and Recreation, smaller checker tables and higher signs to improve traffic flow inside the polling site, alerting transport drivers in advance of the protocol for dropping off and picking up voters – not to stand and wait, effectively creating a traffic jam.

A complete, detailed report of this after event summation can be found on the Town’s website: www.Southbury-ct.org under Notices and Announcements.