Politics & Government

Merrill Kicks Off Voter-Registration Contest for High-Schoolers

The winning school gets to host an "Ask Me Anything" session with Merrill and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill on Tuesday kicked off the state's first-ever high-school voter-registration contest.

Merrill kicked off the contest with an event last Tuesday — National Voter Registration Day — at Berlin High School. High schools have until Oct. 22 to register as many voters as possible and until Oct. 31 to submit the results to Merrill's office. Students can register other students but can also hold events in the community to spur voter registration.

The school registering the most voters wins the right to host an "Ask Me Anything" discussion with Merrill and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

For more information about the contest rules or to download a submission form, click here.

“One of my top goals as Secretary of the State is to increase voter participation,” said Merrill, Connecticut’s chief elections official.  “We must focus on the next generation of voters and get them civically engaged in democracy early.

"I hope this contest inspires young people throughout our state to register citizens to vote in our crucial municipal elections.  Not only is it important to vote, but I hope the competition can be a fun way to help our citizens make sure their voices can be heard in November.”

According to Merrill, there are 2,014,504 active registered voters in Connecticut, including 740,163 registered Democrats, 415,106 registered Republicans, and 840,936 unaffiliated voters in the state.  

Merrill encourages voters to go online to www.sots.ct.gov to find out if they are registered to vote and where their polling place is located.  

Absentee ballots will also become available to registered Connecticut voters by Oct. 4, 2013.  Polls will be open for municipal elections from 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Nov. 5, 2013.


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