Two votes ahead: What you need to know about the Oct. 13 Beecher referendum and Nov. 3 election

Woodbridge voters will head to the polls at least twice in the coming weeks — first to decide the proposed $118.5 million Beecher Road School project on Tuesday, Oct. 13, and then for Connecticut’s state election on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

The rules for the two votes are not entirely the same. The Beecher referendum includes some property owners who are not registered Woodbridge voters, does not offer early voting and, because of the timing of the vote, is subject to special absentee-ballot procedures. The November election, by contrast, includes 14 days of early voting.

Here is what voters need to know.

Oct. 6: Special Town Meeting comes first

Before the Beecher referendum, a Special Town Meeting will be held Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. in the Center Gym. The Board of Selectmen called both the meeting and subsequent referendum at its Sept. 23 meeting.

The Woodbridge Charter requires notice of a Town Meeting at least five and no more than 30 days before the meeting. For the Oct. 6 meeting, the mailing must occur no later than Oct. 1. For a special meeting held under the Charter provision governing a capital expenditure of this size, notice must also be mailed to each household containing at least one person eligible to vote at a Town Meeting. That distinction can matter because eligibility to participate in a Woodbridge Town Meeting is broader than eligibility to vote in an ordinary election.

Oct. 13: Beecher referendum

The referendum on the proposed Beecher Road School project will be held Tuesday, Oct. 13, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Center Gym. The question approved by the Board of Selectmen asks:

“Shall the town of Woodbridge appropriate $118,500,000 for the new Beecher Road School project and authorize the issue of bonds, notes, and obligations in the same amount to finance the portion of said appropriation not defrayed from grants.”

Voters supporting the proposal will vote “Yes”; voters opposing it will vote “No.”

There is no early voting for the Oct. 13 referendum.

Who can vote in the Beecher referendum?

You do not necessarily have to be a registered Woodbridge voter to vote on the Beecher proposal. Connecticut law provides two routes to eligibility.

Registered Woodbridge voters may vote in the referendum. Residents who are eligible to register but are not currently registered may register before the referendum. However, same-day registration is not available for a referendum: someone registering as a new Woodbridge voter must do so before referendum day.

There is also a second category, commonly referred to as voting from the Grand List. Under C.G.S. §7-6, a person who is not a Woodbridge elector may nevertheless vote if that person is a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old, and liable to the Town for taxes on property assessed at $1,000 or more on Woodbridge’s last-completed Grand List.

This is not voter registration. A person qualifying through the Grand List does not have to become a registered Woodbridge voter — or already be registered to vote elsewhere — to exercise that right in the referendum.

That can be particularly important for nonresident property owners. Someone who lives in another state, for example, but meets the statutory requirements through qualifying Woodbridge property may be entitled to vote on the Beecher referendum even though that person cannot vote in Woodbridge’s Nov. 3 state election.

The Board of Selectmen’s Sept. 23 resolution specifically provides for both groups, with electors and other persons entitled to vote at the Town Meeting checked separately at the Center Gym. Property owners who are uncertain whether they qualify should check with the Town Clerk or Registrars of Voters before the referendum.

Absentee voting will be available beginning Sept. 29

Connecticut expanded access to absentee voting this year. Public Act 26-42 eliminated the requirement that voters provide a specific reason or excuse to request an absentee ballot, including for referenda.

Special procedures apply to the Beecher referendum, however, because the Board of Selectmen authorized the Oct. 13 vote on Sept. 23 — less than three weeks before the referendum.

C.G.S. §9-369c provides a separate absentee process for referenda authorized with less than three weeks’ notice. The Secretary of the State’s short-notice referendum application states that absentee ballots in such cases are to be made available within four business days after the questions to be voted on are finalized.

Town Attorney Nicholas Bamonte confirmed Sunday that the short-notice provision applies to the Beecher referendum and that Sept. 23 is considered the date the question was finalized. He said the ballot, explanatory text and absentee instructions will be available Tuesday, Sept. 29, through the Town Clerk’s office.

There is also an important question for Grand List voters who live outside Woodbridge. A qualifying property owner may be eligible to participate in the referendum even while residing elsewhere, making the procedures for obtaining an absentee ballot particularly important. Bamonte said he and Town Clerk Kim Rioux are still consulting on the absentee-ballot implementation questions and will provide additional guidance.

Could there be another Beecher vote?

Possibly. Under the Woodbridge Town Charter, a capital project of the size put forth for Beecher can be approved in one of two ways: by a two-thirds majority on the first vote, or by a majority vote at each of two votes.

That means if the Beecher proposal receives more than 50 percent but less than two-thirds support on Oct. 13, it would proceed to a second referendum, where it would again need a majority to pass.

The Charter requires that second vote to occur not less than seven nor more than 14 days after the first. That would place a possible second Beecher referendum between Tuesday, Oct. 20 and Tuesday, Oct. 27.

The Sept. 23 Board of Selectmen resolution did not set a contingency date for a second referendum. That differs from the procedure followed for the 2014 Beecher renovation referendum. In January 2014, the Selectmen established both voting schedules in the same resolution: a Feb. 3 Special Town Meeting followed by a Feb. 11 referendum, and, if a second vote became necessary, a Feb. 20 Special Town Meeting followed by a Feb. 27 referendum. The Chronicle reviewed that earlier process in a previous article, “Revisiting the record of the 2014 Beecher Road School referendum” (see WTC article 07/27/2026).

Nov. 3: Connecticut state election

Three weeks after the Beecher referendum, Woodbridge voters will return to the polls for the Tuesday, Nov. 3 state election. Woodbridge’s Registrar of Voters identifies the Center Gym as the town’s Election Day polling location. Polls for Connecticut elections are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Unlike the Beecher referendum, the state election includes early voting. Woodbridge has announced early voting at the Center Gym from Monday, Oct. 19 through Sunday, Nov. 1. Regular early-voting hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with extended hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27 and Thursday, Oct. 29.

Same-day voter registration will also be available during the early-voting period.

Absentee voting is also an option. The Secretary of the State says the online absentee-ballot portal for the Nov. 3 election opened Sept. 19, absentee ballots begin being issued Oct. 2, and the deadline to request one is Nov. 2. As with the referendum, no excuse is required.

See what will be on your Nov. 3 ballot

The Connecticut Secretary of the State has posted two Woodbridge sample ballots for the Nov. 3 state election — one for each of the town’s two voting districts (see PDF of the two sample ballots for Woodbridge). Both districts are in the 3rd Congressional District, 14th State Senate District and 114th State House District.

The Nov. 3 ballot includes races for governor and lieutenant governor, U.S. representative, state senator, state representative, secretary of the state, treasurer, comptroller, attorney general, judge of probate and registrar of voters.