Early voting in Connecticut is still going through Sunday, and extended hours are being held again on Thursday, Oct. 31, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. It’s also Halloween.
In the small town of Pomfret in Windham County, John Charest, the Republican Registrar of Voters, said his team was prepared for the holiday.
“We have five pounds of candy,” he said. “We’ll share but we’re hoping people will replenish our supply.”
It’s the first election in Connecticut that overlaps with Halloween, since this is the first general election with early and in-person voting as an option. So if you’re thinking about dressing up to cast a ballot, there are some rules about what you can — and can not — wear to the polls.
Decisions surrounding voters’ costumes, masks that hide their entire face, props they can bring in, are up to each municipality, according to the Secretary of the State’s office.
But Connecticut is among the states requiring a “75-foot rule” at polling places. The main takeaway from that law is to not wear anything with a candidate’s name or image within 75 feet of a polling place.
To be more exact, Connecticut law says that limit applies to an outside entrance to a polling place, in a hallway or other approach leading from the entrance, or in a room opening upon any such hallway or approach. It also includes showing campaign materials or offering them to another person within those boundaries.
That means it’s OK to wear that Spider-Man costume, Charest jokes, as long as Spider-Man isn’t running for office.
“The end result is everybody seems to understand what makes sense and what doesn't," said Bill Anderson, Pomfret’s Democratic Registrar of Voters. “But Halloween, it would be great if people came … because that gives us some level of humor involved in what it is that we're trying to do.”
Across Connecticut, early voting turnout continues to be good with under a week left before Election Day. According to the Secretary of the State’s office, over 455,000 early and in-person votes were cast by 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 30.
