A Nonpartisan Resource for the General Election
on Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Voting is one of the greatest privileges and responsibilities of citizenship in the United States, so start planning for election day!
Following are links to government and community resources about voter registration, candidate information, important dates and more:
VOTER REGISTRATION AND INFORMATION
FOR CONNECTICUT
Connecticut Fact Sheet for First Time Voters
Are you eligible? How do I register? Acceptable form of identification?
Register to vote – paper application form
(English & Spanish)
(source CT.gov)
VOTING IN STRATFORD IS AS EASY AS 1-2-3
To register to vote; change your name, address and/or party affiliation; or enroll in a political party:
https://voterregistration.ct.gov/OLVR- To check on your registration or voting location:
https://portaldir.ct.gov/sots/LookUp.aspx - To apply for an absentee ballot:
Connecticut Online Absentee Ballot Request Portal
Town of Stratford Application for Absentee Ballot
Absentee Voting: Instructions and Absentee Ballot fact sheet
*Click on the underlined link. You also can use your cellphone camera and focus on the QR code, which brings you to the underlined link. Or come and visit the Registrars of Voters office, Room 117, Stratford Town Hall; registrars@townofstratford.com; 203 385 4048
IMPORTANT DATES
VOTER REGISTRATION:
Friday, October 18, 2024
- Deadline for voter registration by mail to be post-marked.
- Deadline for voter registration at the DMV by close of business.
- Deadline for voter registration online by 11:59 pm.
- Deadline for voter registration in person by 8:00 pm.
Same Day Voter Registration:
- If you are not registered, but want to vote during the Early Voting period, you may register in person every day of Early Voting at the Early Voting location.
- If you are not registered, but want to vote on Election Day, you may register in person on Election Day at your Election Day Registration site.
VOTING:
Election Day – Tuesday, November 5th, 6:00 a.m to 8:00 p.m.
- Early voting October 21 through November 3 @ the Baldwin Center.
- Early Voting dates/times @ the Baldwin Center
Sunday, November 3
- Last day of early voting at designated locations.
Tuesday, November 5
- Last day mail-in ballots can be received.
- Deadline to drop off mail-in ballots.
DEBATES:
Presidential
- September 10, 2024: A debate will be hosted by ABC News at 9 p.m. EDT. It will take place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Vice Presidential
- October 1, 2024: The vice presidential debate will be hosted by CBS News. It will take place in New York City
CANDIDATE AND ELECTION INFORMATION
Ballotpedia – A nonpartisan information source that allows voters to see what will be on their ballots.
BestColleges.com Student Voting Guide – A nonpartisan guide designed for college students. Includes a bipartisan key issues guide and voter registration information for each state.
The Federal Elections Commission – Includes campaign filing information for candidates as well as a searchable database for voters.
ProCon.org – Pros and Cons of Current Issues – Feeling overwhelmed by all the issues being debated during the 2024 Presidential Election? Start here! ProCon.org is a nonprofit nonpartisan public charity that use professional researchers and rigorous editorial standards.
A Starting Point – A video-based civic engagement platform created by Chris Evans, Mark Kassen, and technology entrepreneur Joe Kiani. ASP’s mission is to create a bipartisan channel of communication and connectivity between Americans and their elected officials with the goal of creating a more informed electorate.
VOTE411 – Prepare for the upcoming election with information on local candidates, sample ballots, election details, and much more!
GENERAL RESOURCES
Voting and Election Laws and History
FACT CHECKING TOOLS
Annenberg Political Fact Check – Designed to help voters by “monitoring the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases.” Updated even when it is not election season. Includes information on special interest groups behind television ads.
Politifact – A fact-checking website founded by editors of Time Magazine and in conjunction with Congressional Quarterly.
VOTING – Honor, Duty, Privilege, Right
Suggested reading available at the Stratford Library:
Bending Toward Justice: The Voting Rights Act and the Transformation of American Democracy by Gary May
The Body Language of Politics : decide who is lying, who is sincere, and how you’ll vote by Donna Van Natten
Buying the Vote : a history of campaign finance reform by Robert E. Mutch
Democracy in one book or less : how it works, why it doesn’t, and why fixing it is easier than you think by David Litt
The Fight to Vote by Michael Waldman
Give Us the Vote! : over 200 hundred years of fighting for the ballot by Susan Goldman Rubin
The handy American government answer book : how Washington, politics, and elections work by Gina Misiroglu
On Democracy by E.B. White ; edited by Martha White ; foreword by Jon Meacham
One Vote : make your voice heard by Ben Carson
Votes of Confidence : a young person’s guide to American elections by Jeff Fleischer