Register by Oct. 16, or on the same day you vote. Early voting runs Oct. 19 to Nov. 1 in all 19 towns, and an absentee ballot no longer needs a reason.
Every one of the 19 towns the Post covers opens an early voting site on Monday, October 19, and keeps it open every day through Sunday, November 1, ahead of Connecticut's state election on Tuesday, November 3. Anyone who misses the Friday, October 16 registration deadline can still register and vote in person the same day, during early voting or on Election Day. For a question this guide does not answer, call your town's registrars of voters; every town's number is in the table near the end.
Last checked: October 6, 2026. Hours and programs change, so call ahead when you can.
The dates to know
The dates and hours are the Secretary of the State's, from the 2026 Election Calendar and the 2026 voter guide. A voter who is in line when an early voting site or a polling place closes still gets to vote.
Registering by Oct. 16
To register in Connecticut, a person must be a U.S. citizen and a Connecticut resident, be 18 or turning 18 by Election Day, and, after a felony conviction, have completed confinement. The state's voter lookup shows whether you are already registered and where you vote, and the registrars can tell you the same over the phone.
There are four ways to register before the deadline on Friday, October 16:
- Online at voterregistration.ct.gov, until 11:59 p.m. It requires a valid Connecticut driver's license or non-driver ID.
- In person at your registrars' office, which every town must keep open that day from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- At the DMV, or another state agency that registers voters, by its close of business.
- By mail. The Secretary of the State's deadline sheet for this election says a mailed application must be postmarked by October 16, while other state and town notices say it must arrive by then. Mail it early, or register online or in person instead, and check with your registrars if the date is close.
Registration is not final until the registrars approve it, and the state says confirmation should arrive by mail within three weeks.
A permanent address is not required. The voter guide says a mailing address can be any place where you reliably get mail, such as a shelter or a post office. College students may register in their hometown or in their college town. A felony conviction does not end the right to vote for good: a person can restore it on release from incarceration, though a felony for violating election laws also requires finishing probation or parole first. People held in pretrial detention, or jailed for a misdemeanor, keep the right to vote.
Anyone who turns 18, becomes a U.S. citizen or moves to town after October 16 can still apply at the registrars' office, up to and during a limited session on Monday, November 2, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Every other new voter registers after the deadline through same-day registration, below.
Early voting: Oct. 19–Nov. 1
Early voting runs 14 days at one or more sites in every town, listed in the table below. Sites are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, including the weekends of October 24–25 and October 31–November 1, except on Tuesday, October 27, and Thursday, October 29, when sites open at 8 a.m. and stay open until 8 p.m.
Two things are new this year, according to the state's voter guide. Each voter prints and signs their name in the early voting logbook, and the marked ballot goes straight into the tabulator instead of into an envelope. Early ballots are counted on Election Day. Someone who is not registered can register and vote in the same visit, bringing the proof of identity and address described in the next section.
New Haven has a second early voting site at Southern Connecticut State University, in the basement conference room of Schwartz Hall. SCSU students can vote there, as can any registered New Haven voter.
Two towns have posted details that differ from the state's. Bridgeport's early voting page lists 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. hours on October 20 and 22 as well, while the state's schedule has the longer hours on October 27 and 29 only; call the registrars at 203-576-7281 before planning on an early start. Guilford's registrars ask new voters to register by noon on early voting days, while the state offers same-day registration during all early voting hours; anyone planning to register there in the afternoon should call 203-453-8028 first.
Same-day registration on Election Day
On Tuesday, November 3, same-day registration does not happen at polling places. Each town runs it at one designated site from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., and anyone in line there when the polls close can finish registering and vote. It is open to eligible residents who are not registered, and to voters registered in one town who have since moved to another.
The state says the site is usually the same as the early voting site. Seven towns had named theirs when this guide was checked, and they are in the table. Under the state's election calendar, the rest post the site in their warning of election by October 14; until then, the registrars can say where to go.
Bring proof of who you are and where you live. The state's handbook for election officials lists a birth certificate, a driver's license or a Social Security card as proof of identity, and students may use a current photo ID from their college. If the ID does not show your address, documents that do include a lease, a utility bill due within 30 days after the election, a paycheck, a property tax bill, a library card, a recent passport, a learner's permit or, for a student, a college registration or fee statement. A person with no documents can have identity or residence confirmed by the testimony of another registered voter, under the handbook's rules.
Absentee ballots and drop boxes
Any registered voter can vote by absentee ballot this year without giving a reason. Public Act 26-42, which carried out the result of the November 2024 statewide referendum, ended the requirement. Town clerks began mailing ballots on Friday, October 2.
It takes two steps: you apply, and the town clerk mails you a ballot. Apply through the state's online portal, on the paper form ED-3 in English and Spanish, mailed to the clerk, handed in or left in the drop box, or in person at the town clerk's office. A phone number and an email address on the application let the clerk reach you about a mistake. Applications are accepted through Monday, November 2. The voter guide cautions that in the final week the mail may be too slow, and suggests early voting in person, or filling out an absentee ballot at the clerk's office, instead.
The return envelope needs your printed name and your signature; using the privacy sleeve is up to you. A missing signature can be fixed: the clerk will try to reach you, and you have until the polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day. The state's voter lookup shows whether your ballot has arrived, and so does a call to the clerk.
Page 28 of the voter guide sets the return deadlines:
- By mail or in an official drop box, the ballot must reach the town clerk by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3. A postmark does not count.
- A voter handing in their own ballot must bring it to the clerk by the close of business on Monday, November 2.
- A family member, or the designee of a voter who is ill or disabled, can hand it in until 8 p.m. on November 3.
State law limits who may handle a voted ballot. It can be mailed or put in a drop box by the voter; by a spouse, child, parent or sibling who lives with the voter; by a designee caring for a voter who is ill or disabled, named on the application; by a police officer; or by a registrar, deputy registrar or assistant registrar. Only the voter, that family member or that designee may hand it to the clerk. Anyone may give a neighbor an application, but handling someone else's voted ballot outside these rules is a felony. The voter guide's "What's OK and What Isn't OK" list, on pages 25 and 26, spells out the rest.
A voter with a permanent physical disability or a long-term illness may be able to get permanent absentee status by filing a certificate from a primary care provider with the town clerk. In the last six days before the election, an emergency application covers a voter who has an unforeseen illness or disability or is a patient in a hospital or nursing home.
Each town has one or more official drop boxes, most of them at town or city hall, and the table below lists them. From October 2 until the polls close, the clerk collects what is inside every weekday, and the state has put video monitoring at the drop box sites.
ID at the polls
Connecticut does not require a photo ID to vote. Poll workers will ask for identification, and a Social Security card works, as does any preprinted form of ID that shows your name together with your address, your signature or your photograph. A voter with no ID can, in most cases, sign a statement on Form ED-681 instead and vote. A driver's license marked "Not for Federal Identification" is accepted.
One group needs more. A first-time voter who registered by mail and has a mark next to their name on the voter list brings a copy of a current photo ID with name and address on it. A copy of a current bank statement, utility bill, paycheck, government check or other government document showing the voter's name and address also works. Without one, that voter can cast a provisional ballot.
Finding your polling place
Each voter has an assigned polling place. The state's voter lookup shows it, and the registrars can tell you over the phone. The Secretary of the State posts each town's sample ballot as it comes in.
Some towns keep it simple. Everyone in Bethany votes at Town Hall, 40 Peck Road, and everyone in Woodbridge votes at the Center Gym, 4 Meetinghouse Lane, opposite the library. All three of Orange's districts vote at the High Plains Community Center. In Hamden, Miller Memorial Library is the early voting site, the Election Day registration site and District 1's polling place. Cheshire's District 4 votes at the YMCA; confirm the street address with the registrars at 203-271-6680.
Bridgeport moved four districts for this election:
- District 127-03, from John Winthrop School to Discovery Interdistrict Magnet School, 4510 Park Ave., for now
- Districts 130-01 and 130-02, from Bassick High School to Cesar Batalla School, 606 Howard Ave.
- District 130-04, from Cesar Batalla School to Roosevelt School, 680 Park Ave.
Every polling place and early voting site has an accessible ballot-marking device and offers curbside voting, and the state says no proof of disability is needed for it. A voter can ask the moderator for a chair or to have their place in line held; towns may offer that, though the law does not require it. A registered voter whose name is missing from the list can cast a provisional ballot. Some towns offer a video interpreter service in more than 250 languages, American Sign Language among them; ask your registrars ahead of time.
The statewide offices on the ballot are governor and lieutenant governor, elected together on one vote, and secretary of the state, treasurer, comptroller and attorney general. Every ballot also carries all five of Connecticut's seats in the U.S. House, all 36 state senators, all 151 state representatives and judge of probate, and some towns elect registrars of voters. Four towns add local questions: five bond questions in Cheshire, three Town Charter questions in Durham, a school bond in Middletown and an elementary schools bond in Southington.
The Secretary of the State's office answers questions at 860-256-2925 during early voting and on its Election Day hotline, 866-733-2463, or by email at Elections@CT.gov. Texting VOTE to 860-321-4221 signs a phone up for the state's election alerts.
Town by town
Same-day registration is offered at each early voting site during all early voting hours. The fourth column covers absentee ballots: the town's official drop box, and the town clerk, who handles absentee ballots. The registrars handle registration, early voting and Election Day.
* From the Secretary of the State's drop box list, dated July 2024; the town has not posted its 2026 boxes. Call the town clerk to confirm.
** From the town clerk's list of September 2025. Call the clerk to confirm.
In Meriden, confirm the early voting room with the registrars. For curbside voting, North Branford's registrars take calls at 203-484-1033 and North Haven's at 203-672-0598. In New Haven, voters in the 24th Ward go back to the polls a week later, on Tuesday, November 10, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., for a special election to fill the vacancy for the ward's alder.
Working the polls
It takes thousands of poll workers at more than 750 locations to run an election in Connecticut, according to the Secretary of the State. Signing up starts with the state's poll worker interest form, which passes your name to your town's registrars. Bethany's registrars say residents can also check the box when they register to vote, or call them, and Branford's say they hire and train more than 100 poll workers.
Poll workers must be U.S. citizens, 18 or older and registered to vote in Connecticut. Sixteen- and 17-year-olds who live in the town can serve with a parent's or guardian's permission, with some limits on what they do, and candidates for office cannot serve. Training comes before each election: one to two hours for most jobs, about three for moderators and assistant registrars. The state says early voting shifts are likely to run 9 to 13 hours, and Election Day shifts typically run at least 15, an hour longer than the polls are open. Pay typically ranges from $12 to $18 an hour, and the state strongly encourages speakers of other languages to apply.
Frequently asked questions
I missed the October 16 deadline. Can I still vote?
Yes. Register and vote in person the same day, at your town's early voting site any day from October 19 through November 1, or at its same-day registration site on November 3. Bring proof of identity and of your address.
Do I need a photo ID?
No. Any preprinted ID with your name and your address, signature or photo works, and so does a Social Security card. A voter with no ID can usually sign a statement and vote.
I moved to a new town this year. Where do I vote?
In the new town, once you register there. Before October 16, register the usual ways. After that, register on the same day you vote, at an early voting site or on Election Day, and bring proof of the new address. Anyone who moved after October 16 can also apply at the new town's registrars' office through its session on November 2.
Is it too late to mail my absentee ballot?
In the last week, it may be. A mailed ballot must reach the town clerk by 8 p.m. on November 3, and a postmark does not count. The town's drop box takes ballots until the polls close, and you can hand your own ballot to the clerk through the close of business on November 2.
What if my name is not on the list at my polling place?
Ask for a provisional ballot. A voter who registered but is missing from the list is entitled to cast one. Checking the state's voter lookup before Election Day shows whether you are on the rolls.
Know something we missed? Email tips@thequinnipiacpost.com to help us keep this guide up to date.
