Over 30,000 Residents Have Voted In Greenwich So Far: Registrar

GREENWICH, CT — Over 30,000 out of 41,521 registered voters in Greenwich have voted as of 1 p.m. on Election Day, resulting in an about 73% voter turnout rate thus far, according to the town's Registrars of Voters office. That number should continue to rise throughout the day.

More than one-fifth of the state's registered voters had already sent in their absentee ballot for several critical local, state and national races prior to Election Day in light of the coronavirus crisis, and Greenwich was no exception.

According to Registrar of Voters Fred DeCaro, Greenwich went from a range of 4,000 to 5,000 absentee ballots to a range of 15,000 to 17,000 due to the virus. (Sign up for free Patch real-time election results)

He also noted the large number of absentee ballots this year has made voting "more pleasant for those who chose to vote in person."

While weather and other factors make it hard for DeCaro to determine, at this point, if the town will see a higher number of voters this year than during the 2016 presidential election, he said more people voted earlier in the day in 2020, which is "unusual, given we don't have the number of commuters we used to have [in town]."

Nonetheless, DeCaro said this year's turnout is based more on residents' interest in the election than the manner in which they were able to vote.

"Studies show that new methods of voting have a small 'novelty effect' on voting," DeCaro said, "but, generally, turnout figures are based on interest."

See also: Voting In Greenwich: Everything You Need To Know

• Greenwich Election: How Did Voting Go For You?

In addition to selecting a president this year, residents will also vote on local representatives in the State General Assembly and U.S. Congress.

Polls in Connecticut remain open Tuesday until 8 p.m. You can use the Secretary of State's website to find your polling place.

Connecticut also allows for Election Day registration at designated centers in each town. People must be registered by 8 p.m. in order to vote using Election Day registration.