Southington GOP Incorrectly Addresses Absentee Ballot Mailer

SOUTHINGTON, CT — A recent mailer from the local GOP urging folks to apply for absentee election ballots mistakenly indicated it came from the town.

Southington Town Clerk Kathy Larkin, a Republican, said the mailer in question contained a letter from the party as well as an absentee ballot application.

What caused confusion in town circles was the fact the mailer came with a return address being the Southington Town Clerk's office.

The mailer, however, was not sent from the Southington Town Clerk's Office, Larkin said, and the office's return address was mistakenly used by the local GOP.

A municipal department advocating on behalf of one party is a definite state elections law no-no.

The issue was discussed at the last Southington Town Council meeting Oct. 10, when Democratic Councilman Christopher Palmieri questioned Larkin on the matter.

He called the mistake "a little disturbing."

Palmieri said he wanted it stated the mailer was a GOP mailer, not something out of Southington Town Hall.

"Many residents have reached out to us and so the public is aware of a mailing that was sent out using the Southington town clerk as the provider of that mailing and the letter inside is from the Southington Republican Town Committee," Palmieri said.

Larkin said the only way her office mails out ballots is when they are requested by a voter and are never done en masse.

"No, we don't send out any mailers," Larkin said in response to Palmieri's questioning.

For more information concerning absentee ballots, call the Southington Town Clerk's office at 860-276-6215.