LYME/OLD LYME — Tuesday, Sept. 22, marked the 9th annual National Voter Registration Day – a nonpartisan and collaborative effort that involves partners of all stripes and sizes across the country to register voters ahead of the November election.

One in four eligible Americans is not registered to vote, and National Voter Registration Day seeks to make voter registration calls to action impossible to ignore, so that as many citizens as possible are empowered to participate in our democracy.

There are two simple ways to register to vote:

• You can register online here.  To register online, you must have a current, valid driver’s license, learner’s permit or non-driver photo ID card issued by the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and a signature on file with DMV.
• If you are a Lyme resident, you can register in person any weekday during normal business hours (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) at the Lyme Town Hall at 480 Hamburg Road.
• If you are an Old Lyme resident, you can register to vote Monday through Friday (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) in the Registrar’s Office or in the Town Clerk’s office if the Registrars are not available.

If you are not sure if you are registered, you can check your current voting status by visiting the link here and entering your name, town of residence and date of birth.

Latest Information on Absentee Ballots for Nov. 3 Election From our Towns

Town of Lyme

The Secretary of the State’s office has mailed absentee ballot applications to every registered voter in Connecticut for the November 3, 2020, General Election.  Registered voters in Lyme began receiving their absentee ballot applications in the mail on Thursday, September 17.  If you wish to use the absentee ballot application you received in the mail, follow the directions on the insert included with the application, which are also listed here:

1. Check that your personal information is correct in Section 1.
2. Select a reason for voting by absentee ballot in Section 2. All voters may choose “COVID-19.”
3. Sign your application in Section 3.
4. Seal it in the envelope and drop it in the secure Official Ballot Drop Box at Lyme Town Hall on the sidewalk (preferred) or mail it in the postage-paid envelope included.

Things to remember:

• If you have already submitted an absentee ballot application to the Lyme Town Clerk for the General Election on November 3, please destroy the application you receive from the State.
• If you submitted an absentee ballot application for the Primary in August, that application was only for the Primary. If you wish to vote by absentee in the General Election in November, you must submit an absentee ballot application for the General Election.
• Be sure to sign your application in Section 3, not Section 4. If someone assisted you in completing the application, that person would sign in Section 4.  You will not receive a ballot if you do not sign the application in Section 3.
• Deposit your application in the Town of Lyme Official Drop Box only, not in the drop box of any other town. Residents should only deposit their applications in the drop box for the town where they are registered voters.
• Absentee ballots will be sent out starting October 2.

Should you have any questions, contact the Town Clerk by phone at 860-434-7733, Mondays through Fridays, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Town of Old Lyme

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, all voters will be permitted to vote by absentee ballot rather than appear in person in the Nov. 3, 2020 Election.

For those who wish to appear in person, the polling place located at the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School, 53 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day to cast your ballot.

The Secretary of the State’s (SOTS) office will be mailing Applications for Absentee Ballot to all registered voters beginning mid-September.  The completed Applications can then be sent to the Town Clerk’s office and absentee ballots will be issued by the Old Lyme Town Clerk’s office.

You may also drop your completed Application in our Official Ballot Drop Box located in the front of the Town Hall.

The Old Lyme Town Clerk’s office will begin mailing out Absentee Ballots on Friday, Oct. 2, 2020.

As great numbers of voters wishing to vote absentee are anticipated, the following is recommended:

• Do not use the Application for Absentee Ballot which was mailed to you for the Aug. 11, 2020 Primaries as it will be rejected. You will receive a new one specifically for the Nov. 3, 2020 election.
• Applications for Absentee Ballots will be mailed to you from the SOTS beginning mid-September.
• If you do not receive your Application for Absentee Ballot for the Nov. 3, 2020 election in the mail by Sept. 30,  contact the Old Lyme Town Clerk’s office or you may visit the link here to obtain one.
• If you have previously filed an Application for Absentee Ballot for the Nov. 3, 2020 election with the Town Clerk’s office, disregard the one received from the SOTS.  Your initial Application will be processed.
• Completed Applications for Absentee Ballot can be mailed to the Old Lyme Town Clerk’s office or dropped in the Official Ballot Drop Box located in front of the Old Lyme Town Hall.
• Absentee Ballots will be mailed by the Old Lyme Town Clerk’s office beginning Oct. 2, 2020.
• Once you have received your Absentee Ballot and cast your vote, you may mail it to the Old Lyme Town Clerk’s office or drop it into the Official Ballot Drop Box located in front of the Old Lyme Town Hall.  As time is of the essence, do not wait to deliver it to us as the Old Lyme Town Clerk’s office will need time to process it.

Should you have any additional questions concerning the upcoming election, contact the Town Clerk’s office at (860) 434-1605 Ext. 220 (Vicki) or Ext. 221 (Courtney).

LYME/OLD LYME — Yesterday (Monday) morning, the Town Clerks of both Lyme and Old Lyme held recounts of the Republican 2nd Congressional District Primary votes this morning.

The recount was ordered by Theodore Bromley, the state’s director of elections, because the original vote counts of 9,225 for Gilmer and 9,199 for Justin Anderson showed a difference of less than 0.5 percent of all the votes cast.

The recounts were required to be completed on or before today, Tuesday Aug. 18.

The recount results were as follows with the original number shown in parentheses:

LYME

Thomas Gilmer: 59  (61)
Justin Anderson: 64  (64)

OLD LYME

Thomas Gilmer: 190  (190)
Justin Anderson: 152  (152)

8/17 from The Day: An ongoing recount in the race shows Gilmer winning by 14 votes, according to unofficial results from the Secretary of the State’s Office on Monday …

An attorney representing Republican congressional candidate Tom Gilmer sent a cease and desist order to his opponent Justin Anderson in May, seeking to stop Anderson from making “defamatory” statements about Gilmer and from disseminating a video that shows Gilmer in a violent altercation with a former girlfriend in 2017 …

Visit this link to access the full article about Gilmer’s arrest by Julia Bergman and published Aug. 17 on TheDay.com

8/11 from The Day: Thomas Gilmer, the endorsed Republican candidate on Tuesday’s primary ballot for the 2nd Congressional District, said he has dropped out of the race after police in Wethersfield arrested him on a warrant late Monday night.

Police charged Gilmer with second-degree strangulation and first-degree unlawful restraint. He was arraigned Tuesday in New Britain Superior Court.

Visit this link to access the full article about Gilmer’s arrest by Julia Bergman and published Aug. 11 on TheDay.com