Even Facebook is reminding you about this year’s election!
DERBY — Here is a guide to the November ballots in Derby.
Election Day 2020 is Nov. 3!
Click this link to find your polling place (and to see if you’re registered).
The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 27. After that, you can register on Election Day at Derby City Hall.
Voting By Mail
Note: On Wednesday, Oct. 28, Gov. Ned Lamont urged people to drop off their ballots in their local drop-off box, given the fact that Election Day (Nov. 3) is so close.
“You should not rely on #USPS mail delivery at this point,” Lamont said in a Tweet.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, every voter was sent an application for an absentee ballot. If you don’t have your application, click this link for a printable PDF application.
If you haven’t done so already, fill out your application and get it (as soon as humanly possible) to the Derby City/Town Clerk’s Office, 1 Elizabeth Street – Derby, CT 06418. You can mail the application, or place it in the drop box on the Minerva Street side of Derby City Hall.
(FYI/hugely important: if you have any questions: the city/town clerk’s phone number is 203.736.1462 ext 0. The email is .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)).
Here is a short video from the Connecticut Secretary of State’s Office about the application:
Once you have an absentee ballot, fill it out and return it to Derby City Hall.
The deadline to return absentee ballots in Connecticut is 8 p.m. Nov. 3. However, you can mail your ballot back as soon as it is completed. You can also drive/walk/run to Derby City Hall and drop your ballot in a ballot box on the Minerva Street side of the building.
(If you wait until Election Day to return the ballot, it must be returned to Derby City Hall. Don’t bring it to a polling location)
Here’s a video from the Connecticut Secretary of State’s Office about absentee ballots:
Voting In Person
You do not have to vote by mail if you don’t want to vote by mail.
You can vote in-person in Derby at your regular polling place (either the Bradley School or the Irving School).
Click this link to find your polling place (and to see if you’re registered).
FYI, Derby: The Derby Registrar of Voters is also on every ballot in Derby this year. Both will be elected, because each town and city in Connecticut has a Republican Registrar of Voters and a Democratic Registrar of Voters.
Federal Races
This year there is a U.S. Presidential election, as you probably heard. The choices for U.S. President (Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, and Green) will appear on every ballot.
The three candidates for U.S. Congress District 3 will also appear on every Derby ballot:
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro is running on the Democratic and Working Families lines.
Candidate Margaret Streicker is running on the Republican and Independent lines.
Candidate Justin Paglino is running on the Green Party line.
State Senate
This Election Day voters in Derby are being asked to choose a state Senator to represent the city in Hartford.
Incumbent state Sen. George Logan of Ansonia is running on the Republican and Independent lines.
Candidate Jorge Cabrera of Hamden is running on the Democratic and Working Families lines.
The Logan-Cabrera race is the second time the candidates have faced each other. Click here for a New Haven Independent story.
The district includes parts of Hamden, Woodbridge, and Naugatuck, and all of Derby, Ansonia, Bethany, and Beacon Falls.
SAM GURWITT PHOTO
George Logan (left) and Jorge Cabrera (right).
State House of Representatives
While each ballot in Derby has the same names for U.S. President, Congress, State Senate, and Registrar, (and Charter Revision, which I’ll post about separately), the ballots have different names when it comes to the races to represent Derby in the Connecticut House of Representatives.
Derby is sectioned into three state House Districts (also referred to as “Assembly Districts”): the 104, the 105, and the 114. Each of these districts has different races for state representative.
Facebook/State House
Myra Rivers (top) is challenging incumbent state Rep. Kara Rochelle (bottom).
Click here for a sample ballot for the 104th District, provided by the Derby City/Town Clerk’s Office.
This district includes large chunks of Ansonia and Derby. The map below is not official. It is from the Ballotpedia website. It attempts to show the general area for the 104th District.
A 104 District map from Ballotpedia. This map is unofficial.
Click here for a 2011 redistricting map from the state, the most current available.
Incumbent state Rep. Kara Rochelle of Ansonia is running on the Democratic, Independent, and Working Families lines.
Candidate Myra Rivers of Ansonia is running on the Republican line.
Click here for an article on the race published by The New Haven Register in May.
The 105th District
State Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria (top) is being challenged by Chris Bowen (bottom).
The 105th District
Click here for a sample ballot for the 105, as posted on the City of Derby website.
The district includes Beacon Falls, west Derby (generally west of North Avenue) and Seymour.
A Ballotpedia map is below.
Ballotpedia
The area in white designates the borders of the 105th District.
Click here for a map of the district from the state’s legislative website.
Incumbent state Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria is running on the Republican line.
Candidate Christopher Bowen is running on the Democratic line. Correction: an earlier version misstated Bowen’s party.
Click here for a Valley Indy story about Klarides-Ditria.
Click here for a Valley Indy story about Bowen.
Click here for a profile from Citizen’s News.
(Left to right) Mary Welander and Dan DeBarba.
The 114th state House district includes Derby, Orange, and Woodbridge.
The incumbent, state House Minority Leader Themis Klarides of Derby, opted not to run for re-election.
The map below, from Ballotpedia, shows the district’s boundaries.
Click here for a PDF map of the district from the state.
Candidate Mary Welander is running on the Democratic and Working Families lines.
Candidate Dan DeBarba is running on the Republican and Independent lines.
Click here for a Valley Indy story on the race.
