The Connecticut Association of Realtors has endorsed Democrat Will Haskell for re-election, the first Democrat to earn the endorsement in the 26th state Senate district in more than a decade.

“Connecticut’s realtors have their fingers on the pulse of our state economy—when markets are looking strong, they’re often the first ones to see it. That’s why I’m so proud to have earned their endorsement after two years of fighting for pro-growth legislation in Hartford,” said Haskell.

Prior to 2020, the CT Realtors had endorsed the Republican candidate in consecutive elections dating back to 2010. In the past several months, Connecticut’s real estate market has seen a pronounced jump in interest and activity, driven in part by the state’s intensive COVID-19 containment policies drawing young families from New York City.

Haskell also secured an endorsement this week from the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, a bipartisan, statewide, nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting Connecticut’s environment by making it a priority for elected leaders.

A major reason the system can’t be breached is that it is not centralized, but run by each of Connecticut’s 169 towns, she said. “We’re fairly confident that the towns have secure systems.”

However, Merrill said she is concerned about disinformation campaigns aimed at confusing voters and suppressing the vote.

“Literally, hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent on these efforts,” she said.

The state will receive $5.4 million in federal funds to enhance the safety of in-person voting in polling places, expand vote at home mail-in voting, and protect the security and integrity of the election and the counting of ballots. 

Merrill said she is using some of the money, which comes from one of the stimulus bills approved by Congress this year, to hire an expert in disinformation campaigns to protect Connecticut voters from foreign attempts to influence their votes.

“We are hoping we will be able to head this off at the pass,” she said.

Gabe Rosenberg, spokesman for the secretary of state’s office, said the office has hired an election information security analyst on a contract basis through the election “to identify mis- and disinformation related to Connecticut elections, reporting and correcting it in real-time, and identifying any other information threats in the planning stage.”

Murphy said the Russians are the most active when it comes to voter disinformation campaigns.

Promoted by Russian media, stories are circulating of the posting on the “dark web” of voter information from Connecticut and a handful of other states.

According to the stories, for each American voter in the database, the following information is available: full name, date of birth, sex, date of registration, home address, zip code, email address, voter ID number, and polling station number.

Merrill said the only information identified in these circulating stories is public information already available. But she said she is concerned that misleading stories like these — stories falsely insinuating there has been a security breach — could keep Connecticut residents from casting a ballot.

“I just want to assure voters we are on top of this,” she said.

During a trip to North Carolina on Wednesday, President Donald Trump suggested that those who vote by mail “then go and vote” in person as well. Intentionally voting twice is illegal.

Today, Trump said he meant that people who vote by mail should follow up by going to a polling place to make sure their vote has been counted, and if not, to then vote again.

Merrill said it would be extremely difficult, because of the town-based electoral system, for any Connecticut voter to castSt a ballot twice.

“It is important to remember that this is only a temporary backstop. It’s imperative that the Trump administration reach an agreement with Congress on comprehensive legislation that provides stable and long-term funding to supplement weekly unemployment benefits.”

“This program will certainly provide some level of assistance to Connecticut’s weekly filers who, without the federal supplement, receive an average of $269.00 per week,” Connecticut Labor Commissioner Kurt Westby said.

The program requires states to establish an entirely new process for claimants to access the FEMA funding. New unemployment claimants and existing state and extended benefits claimants will be required to self-certify that they are eligible under the federal guidelines.

Each absentee ballot will have two envelopes. The outside one “with a serial number identifying the voter as you,” and an internal one with the candidate form to guarantee anonymity.

Strauss said that counting the votes, as well as processing requests for absentee ballots, however, will be easier thanks to bar codes that are easily scanned.

That’s not to say that absentee, mail-in voting during the COVID-19 pandemic will not have it glitches considering what the town saw during the buildup to and aftermath of the Aug. 11 primary.

True, more people voted by mail as opposed to the one polling location Democratic Registrar of Voters Marla Cowden and Republican Registrar of Voters Richard Ruggiano had set up.

For example, 2,726 registered Democrats voted by mail in the primary and only 518 in person, Straus said. For the 4,076 registered Republicans there only a 23% turnout, 965. Of that amount, 549 were absentee and 416 voted in person.

With unaffiliated voters added, Westport has approximately 19,000 potential voters for the November election.

For the August primary, 4,788 applications were requested and mailed out, yet only 3,275 were returned on time.

“About 1,500 people didn’t return their ballots,” Strauss said.

“Electors must be aware that the absentee ballots must be returned to the Town Clerk by the close of polls Nov. 3 by 8 p.m.,” she added, saying that a Nov. 3 postmark along will not qualify the ballot.

The First Selectman’s Office issued the following news release:

Town Clerk Patricia Strauss announced the following information concerning voting at the Nov. 3 election.

This year, an elector can vote either in person at the polls from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Election Day, or by mail in (absentee) ballot.

The Secretary of the State (SOTS) will be sending applications for absentee ballots to all registered voters the first two weeks in September.  Completed applications should be delivered to the town clerk’s office as soon as possible, either by dropping off in the black drop box located at the rear entrance of Town Hall or by mailing to Westport Town Clerk, 110 Myrtle Ave, Westport, CT 06880.

Ballots will be issued by the town clerk’s office starting Monday, Oct. 5 by mail or in person by appointment only. 

Beginning Oct. 5, your completed ballot may be dropped off at Town Hall using the Official Ballot Drop Box located at the rear entrance of Town Hall or by mailing to Westport Town Clerk, 110 Myrtle Ave, Westport, CT 06880.

Please note - you do not have to vote by absentee ballot.  The polls will be open on Election Day for in person voting.

More information regarding absentee voting, checking your voter registration, registering to vote, or making changes to your voter registration can be found on our website at http://www.westportct.gov under the 2020 Elections Information page.

If you have already submitted an application to receive a mail in ballot for the Nov. 3 election, please disregard the additional application you will receive from SOTS in September.

In the final primaries of the year nationwide, President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden were declared the winners tonight as Connecticut closed out the primary season for the presidential candidates.

The Associated Press called the race for Biden at 8:17 p.m. and then for Trump soon after.

However, for those eligible voters who wish to vote in person, the polls will be open on Tuesday, Aug. 11 from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

All voting will be take place at Bedford Middle School, 88 North Ave.

Please wear Personal Protective Equipment and participate in social distancing, the announcement said.

In addition to the existing qualifications to vote absentee, the Governor’s Executive Order 7QQ allows all electors to vote early due to COVID-19.

Ballots may be returned by mail delivery or by using the Official Ballot Drop Box located at the rear entrance of Town Hall.

Applications for absentee ballots can be downloaded from the town website http://www.westportct.gov.

Cowden added that all who are interested should first check the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) restrictions and guidelines at cdc.gov/coronavirus

After reading the guidelines and determining one may apply, he or she should contact Cowden at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and include name, address, email and phone number.