Voter Turnout Slow in Middlebury, Steady in Southbury on Region 15 Referendum

Turnout has been slow at the Middlebury polls today, while Southbury turnout has been steadier, for the Region 15 referendum.

In Middlebury, 361 voters had filled out their ballots as of 1 p.m. Wednesday, lower than previous years according to Voting Director Marilee Dabkowski.

“It’s less than in past years at this time,” said Dabkowski. “It may be the weather, but we usually have more by now.”

Dabkowski said Middlebury numbers should not be expected to jump up exponentially as the day goes on.

“For referendums, if they come, they usually stop in on their way to work, way home from work, during lunch, I wouldn’t say it’s a steady flow throughout the day here,” she said.

In Southbury, 960 residents had cast their vote as of 11:58 a.m., and more than 600 votes were cast before 9 a.m.

“Voter turnout has been pretty steady all morning,” said JoAnn Bolin of the Southbury Registrar Office. "I have been watching because the weather has not been cooperating. It's been raining to beat the band. But there still has been a steady stream of cars up into the polling site."

Bolin couldn't say how the voting compared to years past, as she did not have the data on hand. But the 960 voter turnout represented just under seven percent of Southbury's 14,150 registered voters.

The budget submitted by the Region 15 Board of Education for the 2011-12 fiscal year is $60,251,578, a 0% increase from the 2010-2011 budget. If passed, the total cost to the region’s two towns is $60,022,578. Middlebury would owe $17,964,315 with state aid cost sharing of $713,571. Southbury would be responsible for $38,948,528 with state aid cost sharing of $2,396,164. The mil rate in Southbury is currently 21.5 and Middlebury is 23.37.

The polls will remain open until 8 p.m. Votes can be cast at the Shepardson Building on Whittemore Road for Middlebury residents and the Southbury Fire House on Main Street South for Southbury residents.

Both the Woodbury-Middlebury and Southbury Patches will have live results as soon as polls close at 8 p.m. this evening.