Registrars warn early‑voting mandates will raise Stratford election costs sharply

Stratford’s registrars told the Town Council on March 20 that new early‑voting requirements and anticipated higher turnout for presidential contests are driving a material increase in election costs for fiscal 2025.

Registrars explained the elections account rose from roughly $55,000 in the prior year to about $74,000 in the proposed budget. They cited higher ballot printing costs, poll‑book and card‑programming fees and increased pay for poll workers and greeters. The registrars said they added two greeters per polling place this cycle to help voters find lines and manage higher turnout; poll‑worker pay levels were adjusted upward to reflect minimum‑wage increases and longer early‑voting hours.

Early voting is the largest projected new cost: registrars estimated an early‑voting budget line near $67,800 to cover multi‑day early voting (the April presidential preference early‑voting period is four days; an August primary could be seven days and November general elections can reach 14 days). The office said the state provided a $10,000 grant for presidential preference early voting but that their early‑voting costs already exceed that grant.

Registrars urged the council to recognize the unfunded mandate from the state and said they are pressing state representatives for additional funding. Councilors asked about reducing registrar staffing or reallocating hours; one registrar acknowledged proposals to reduce an administrative assistant’s hours and make positions float, but staff noted those changes produce internal budget shifts more than net town savings because work is reassigned among departments.

The registrars also described outreach plans — school visits, social‑media posts and community events — to publicize early voting but acknowledged studies show early voting typically does not increase overall turnout, even if it changes when voters cast ballots. The registrars asked councilors to consider the budget implications when weighing municipal priorities.