With the news that the Board of Selectmen has approved the referendum vote on the Academy renovation, the School Renewal project and the sale of the Island Avenue property, residents need to be informed about some changes for this February vote. For the most part, the referendum process will occur along the same lines as any other voting forum, but there are a few nuances to this vote and residents should understand their responsibilities to ensure they can cast a ballot on Feb. 15.

The most important change, according to Town Clerk Nancy Martucci, is that the town has reverted back to its previous criteria as to who is eligible for an absentee ballot. Since the 2020 election, concern over COVID exposure could be used as a qualifying reason for absentee ballot use; this is no longer a choice.

Only an affirmative answer to one or more of the following six reasons are qualifications for absentee ballot eligibility:

• Are you an active member of the armed forces of the United States?

• Will you be out of town during all hours of voting on the referendum day?

• Does illness prevent you from voting in-person that day?

• Do your religious beliefs prevent you from performing secular activities, such as voting, on the referendum day?

• Will you be performing duties as an election official at a polling place other than your own during all hours of the referendum vote? or

• Do you have a physical disability that prevents you from voting in-person on the referendum day?

According to Martucci, another important aspect to remember if planning to vote via absentee ballot is that you must first complete an application for an absentee ballot from the town, either by downloading it off of the town website www.madisonct.org, requesting via phone with the Town Clerk’s Office at 203-245-5672, or requesting in person at the Town Clerk’s Office, 8 Campus Drive, Madison, in order to obtain an actual absentee ballot.

Voting via absentee ballot is a two-step process. You cannot receive an absentee ballot unless you complete an application first. Once you complete an application and return it to the Town Clerk’s Office, the office will then mail you an absentee ballot via USPS to your address.

Completed absentee ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. on the evening of the referendum either by dropping it off in the secured drop box located at Town Hall on Campus Drive or by being mailed to the Town Clerk’s Office, 8 Campus Drive Madison, CT 06443. The postmarked date on an absentee ballot does not matter; if it arrives after 8 p.m. on Feb. 15, it will not be counted.

“We suggest that the sooner you can get that application to us, the faster we can get the ballot out to you,” said Martucci. “Then you need to turn around and get it back to our office as quickly as possible. I would not delay. If people can use the drop box, we recommend doing that.”

Though voters can request an application for an absentee ballot up until the day before the referendum, if applying in the days ahead of a vote, it is unlikely that request (unless that request is made in-person) could be successfully received, a ballot mailed out to you, and then completed and returned in time. Martucci and the Registrars of Voters recommend the following to ensure any absentee ballot application is completed correctly and to avoid some common mistakes:

• The ballot must be placed in inner envelope.

• The inner envelope must be signed, dated, and sealed.

• Place only one ballot per envelope. Residents in the same household must use separate envelopes.

• Place the inner envelope inside the outer envelope and seal it.

• The ballot must be returned before 8 p.m. on Feb. 15.

There is a video on the website madisonct.org/vote that walks residents through every step of the process.

The steps below must be followed in order to have the absentee ballot application reviewed by election officials:

• It must be completed by the voter or taxpayer.

• No one is allowed to distribute five or more applications without registering those applications with the town clerk.

• The application must include a reason checked off in Section II.

• It must have an original ink signature (electronic or stamped signatures are not valid).

• It must be dated.

No Snow Date

According to Registrars of Voters Jim Newton (D) and Ann Devine [R], by state statute the referendum date cannot be changed. Regardless of weather or any pandemic issues, this referendum vote will occur and cannot be canceled or postponed.

Another matter highlighted by Newton and Devine is that there will be no Election Day Registration for the referendum. Though voters can register to vote up until the close of business the day before the referendum (Monday, Feb. 14), residents are not eligible to register the same day as the referendum vote on Feb. 15.

Anyone with questions about voting at the polls or voter registration should call the Registrar of Voters Office at 203-245-5671. Those with specific questions about absentee ballots should contact the Town Clerk’s Office.

The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. The District 1 polling site is now permanently moved to the Polson Middle School, 302 Green Hill Road; District 2 is at Brown Intermediate School, 980 Durham Road. (Voters can also find their district via the town website www.madisonct.org.)

The Ballot Questions

Martucci said great care was taken to ensure the referendum questions were as clear and understandable as possible, and will require a simple “Yes” or “No” vote.

“They are straightforward questions,” said Martucci. “Yes means yes and no means no.”

The three following referendum questions will appear on the ballot, whether absentee or in-person.

Question 1. “Shall the Town of Madison appropriate $15,900,000 to renovate the Academy School into a community center and municipal building and authorize the issuance of bonds or notes of the town in an amount not to exceed $15,900,000 to finance the appropriation, or so much as may be necessary after deducting grants to be received for the project?”

Yes No

Question 2. “Shall the Town of Madison appropriate $89,200,000 for costs related to the construction of a new pre-kindergarten-grade 5 school on Mungertown Road, renovations and improvements for the conversion of Brown Intermediate School into a kindergarten-grade 5 school, and improvements and upgrades to Polson Middle School and authorize the issuance of bonds or notes of the town in an amount not to exceed $89,200,000 to finance the appropriation, or so much as may be necessary after deducting grants to be received for the projects?”

Yes No

Question 3. “Shall the Town of Madison sell the town property located at Island Avenue to Olm Prep Real Estate Holdings, LLC for $2,300,000?”

Yes No