Election officials report tepid response to early voting debut

Lisa Sheble, shown here depositing her ballot, was the first person in Salisbury to take advantage of early voting on Tuesday, March 26.
Karin Gerstel
Lisa Sheble, shown here depositing her ballot, was the first person in Salisbury to take advantage of early voting on Tuesday, March 26.
After months of intensive planning and training, election officials across the Northwest Corner were staffed and ready to launch early in-person voting on Tuesday, March 26 for the April 2 Presidential Preference Primary.
Patriotic “Early Voting Today” signs beckoned residents. New equipment and procedures were in place. The voters trickled in.
Despite tepid voter response during the early voting rollout, which poll workers attributed to lack of a strong contest on either the Republican or Democratic ballot, they welcomed the time to work out glitches and meet with and educate voters.
The jury was still out as to whether the expense to staff four early voting days, designed to take pressure off long lines on Election Day and give more flexibility to voters, exceeds the need in the smaller communities.
The Lakeville Journal visited the polling sites of all six Region One towns during early voting launch last week.
The early voting dates for this election were modified to reflect the Good Friday holiday and Easter Sunday. Early voting was held Tuesday, March 26 through Thursday, March 28 and Saturday, March 30. Presidential Preference Primary Day was Tuesday, April 2.
Here are snapshots of how the towns fared:
Poll workers awaited the arrival of early voters at Cornwall Town Hall on Tuesday, March 26.Debra A. Aleksinas
Cornwall
“Slow. Slow’s the word,” is how Scott Cady, moderator at Cornwall’s town hall voting site, described voter response during the first two hours of the historic first day of early voting on March 26.
Jean Bouteiller, the town’s tax collector, had cast the town’s historic first early ballot. “We had seven total by noon,” noted Republican Registrar Brittany Mosimann. The next day the pace was even slower with seven ballots cast by 3 p.m.
“But everything is working,” said an optimistic Cady, who noted that it was a good test of logistics. “When the fall comes, we don’t want to be learning.”
Registrar Jayne Ridgway noted that each town received $10,500 in state grant funding to offset the costs of training, staffing and equipment including a label maker, scanner and new laptops. But once those funds dry up, she said, the town will be footing the bill.
“If we have an August primary, even a little town like us, will use up our $10,000,” explained Ridgway, who predicted a “60% increase in our budget as a result of early voting.”
“We are very part-time,” noted Mosimann. “We had to spend many hours training in Zoom meetings, which is not typically the time we are in the office.”
“We, the registrars, feel that it will not specifically increase turnout. It will help a few voters who do shift work with lots of extra hours, such as workers at hospitals with 12-hour shifts who get out late, or people who travel a lot,” said Ridgway.
“October early voting will be indicative of voters’ interest, so a little early to gauge now.”
Poll workers hand a blank ballot to Bunny McGuire, who became the fifth person to cast an early vote in North Canaan on Tuesday, March 26.Debra A. Aleksinas
North Canaan
“It’s been a bit slow, but we love doing this. It’s the first day of early voting in Connecticut,” noted poll worker Betsy Devino, who along with Diane Cieslowski, were eager awaiting voters on Thursday, March 28.
As she spoke, North Canaan resident Bunny McGuire stepped up to the table, flashed her ID, claimed her envelope and ballot, and became the town’s fifth early voter at around 11:30 a.m.
Democratic Registrar Patricia Keilty said most of those who voted were either in the building already for town hall business or were reminded of early voting and the Presidential Preference Primary by posts on the Northwest Chatter Facebook page.
She had encouraged as many people as she could to show up and vote so that any glitches in the system could be identified. The strategy paid off, she said. So far, so good.
In an update on Saturday evening, March 30, Keilty reported that a total of 29 electors cast early votes between Tuesday and Saturday.
The town has 1,960 registered voters.
Kent resident Rob Gerowe took advantage of early voting on Thursday, March 28 at town hall for the April 2 Presidential Preference Primary.Debra A. Aleksinas
Kent
Long-time Kent resident Rob Gerowe was driving by town hall on Thursday, March 28, when he noticed the early voting sign.
He explained that while his job at the University of Bridgeport allows him flexibility of working some days from home and others on campus, he has an out-of-state, UB alumni reunion coming up which conflicts with the April 2 Presidential Primary.
Gerowe said he had intended to fill out an absentee ballot but was so busy at work that it got put on the back burner. “I was just passing by and decided to vote today to make it easy,” he said. He was the second voter to show up by midday.
According to Registrar Therese Duncan, 13 people voted on Tuesday; 10 on Wednesday and up until Gerowe’s vote on Thursday, only one other vote had been cast.
“Statistically, it has the opportunity to be about 30 percent of the voters who will use early voting,” noted Duncan.
On a bright note, said Deputy Registrar Judy Sheridan, the slow pace allows election officials time to fix hiccups, like one of the registrars’ two computers that went down and a broken label printer.
“We’re very glad we’re doing it now, and not during the presidential election. It’s a good run-through.”
Sharon registrars, from left, Marel Rogers, Patricia Chamberlain and BZ Coords reviewed early voting procedures as they awaited voters on Thursday March 28.Debra A. Aleksinas
Sharon
The first three days of early voting drew a total of 41 voters to Sharon Town Hall, according to registrar Patricia Chamberlain. “We were pretty happy.”
“We are hoping the state will shrink the number of days for the early ballot, maybe only three days of early voting will be needed. That’s a distinct possibility,” noted registrar Marel Rogers.
“All of us normally work two hours a week, so during early voting it’s like a month’s salary.”
Small towns like Sharon, with limited staff and volunteers, face an unfair cost burden, Rogers noted. “Cities have staff there five days a week, so doing early voting is not going to be so expensive. They are already paying those people.”
Educating residents is another challenge that will hopefully come with time, said BZ Coords, Republican Registrar of Voters. “One person came in to say ‘Nice sign! What are we voting for?’”
From left, Falls Village poll workers Corinna Fleming, ballot clerk, Susan Kelsey, registrar, Dorothy Jacquemin, ballet clerk and Roxann Whitaker, moderator, review early voting paperwork as they awaited voters on Thursday, March 28.Debra A. Aleksinas
Falls Village
“Very stressful, as is any new experience,” is how Falls Village registrar Susan Kelsey, described the new process. The first day’s turnout was seven voters, six the second day and roughly the same number by mid-day on Thursday, March 28.
“By and large, most people wonder why we don’t have no-excuse absentee voting instead,” noted Kelsey. For a small town, this is not cost effective at all. A minimum of four days, eight hours a day at this point …for 19 votes.”
Election officials in Falls Village and elsewhere expressed concern about finding and training enough staff, traditionally retirees, to man the polls for the general election in the fall, which allows 14 days of early voting.
Salisbury
Fifty-eight voters cast their ballots on the first day of early voting in Salisbury, 20 of which did so before lunchtime.
“Early voting is going smoothly as we were well prepared,” reported registrar Jenny Law.
The first person to cast a ballot was Lisa Sheble, and the historic moment was captured in a photograph taken by poll worker Karin Gerstel.
“I think people were curious. But we also made a point of spreading the word. We told people we would love the practice, and contacted both town committees to spread the word,” said Law.
Law noted that on April 4 an early voting debrief via Zoom is planned for of all the registrars in the state, followed by a gathering of the state registrar of voters, legislators and the secretary of state’s office “to see what kind of modifications they are going to make.”
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Bunny McGuire Park
Canaan Carnival
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Bunny McGuire Park
Cocktail Party
5 to 7 p.m.
Douglas Library | 108 Main St.
Canaan Carnival
6 to 10 p.m.
Bunny McGuire Park
Boot Drive
8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
North Canaan Fire Co. | 4 E. Main St.
3rd Annual Fly-In
8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Triumph Airfield | 547 W. Main St.
Canaan Railroad Station Museum
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Canaan Union Station
New England Accordion Connection
9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Canaan Union Station
Canaan Carnival
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Bunny McGuire Park
Berkshire Resilience Brass Band
5 to 8 p.m.
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Barbecued Chicken Dinner
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St. Martin of Tours | 4 Main St.
Canaan Fireman’s parade
6 p.m.
Rosa setigera is a native climbing rose whose simple flowers allow bees to easily collect pollen.
After moving to West Cornwall in 2012, we were given a thoughtful housewarming gift: the 1997 edition of “Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs.” We were told the encyclopedic volume was the definitive gardener’s reference guide — a fact I already knew, having purchased one several months earlier at the recommendation of a gardener I admire.
At the time, we were in the thick of winter invasive removal, and I enjoyed reading and dreaming about the trees and shrubs I could plant to fill in the bare spots where the bittersweet, barberry, multiflora rose and other invasive plants had been.Years later, I purchased the 2011 edition, updated and inclusive of plants for warm climates.
On the cover of the new edition, a quote from Adrian Higgins of The Washington Post boasts, “Michael Dirr is the oracle of ornamental horticulture. I trust his judgements implicitly.”I heartily disagree with Mr. Higgins:I blame this book — and my poor use of it — for some of my worst tree and shrub choices.
I realize some readers might find this declaration inflammatory. The book still occupies a place of high regard among experienced and novice gardeners alike, so please allow me to explain.
In addition to giving the reader his opinion on the aesthetic worthiness of the woody plants included in the book, Mr. Dirr makes good on the book’s title with a review of each species’ hardiness. What makes a tree hardy?It thrives in its intended site, resisting disease with leaves and bark not readily eaten by insects and other critters.
Non-native plants make up the majority of the recommended hardy plants in the book.And here is why:Native trees and shrubs are, by evolution’s design, food source and host to our native fauna — critters large and small. There is no substitute equal to the fauna’s co-evolved flora.A native caterpillar cannot eat a kousa dogwood leaf, as it has not evolved to digest it.Non-native plants seemingly have the advantage if the lens we look through values pristine, uneaten leaves.
In the days when there were sufficient thriving ecosystems to maintain local habitats, a non-native specimen tree here and there was just fine.But where we live in Northwest Connecticut, our woods, meadows, marshes and other natural areas have, for a couple of decades, been severely compromised by invasives that have almost entirely removed the food sources for native insects. It is up to us — now — to plant native plants to save the food chain.Without insects, not only will native animals die, but human food sources will also be at risk.
The security of our food pipeline seems a worthy exchange for some caterpillar-eaten leaves — and to be clear, we’re not talking about non-native infestations such as spongy moth, but rather native caterpillars, which are the singular food source for nesting birds.
My issue is that, in being a trusted source for plant selection, Dirr’s book should give equal — if not prioritized — space to information on ecological impact.For example, it would be good to know when selecting a tree, that a native oak provides food and other ecosystem services to more than 400 native animal species, while a native tulip poplar supports fewer than 30 — though that includes the Eastern tiger swallowtail. Including information on the birds and insects attracted to a given plant would enable reader to weigh these factors in choosing what to grow.But this information is not mentioned at all.
Dirr makes no mention of the role some of these plants have played in the degradation of our natural areas — an omission that is highly relevant, as many of the plants featured in his book are, in fact, invasive culprits. Plants like barberry, porcelain berry and tree of heaven are showcased for consideration alongside native plants without recognition of the devastating infestations they can manifest. Tree of Heaven is now responsible for hosting the spotted lanternfly, which is devastating crops.
Similarly Euonymous alatus (winged euonymous) and Actinidia arguta (hardy kiwi) — two highly invasive plants touted in the book — have been banned or are close to being banned for sale from nurseries in the state of Massachusetts. To his credit, Dirr does point out the invasive nature of Ligustrum sinense (Chinese privet), calling it “a terrible and devastating escapee that terrorizes floodplains, fencerows and even open fields, reducing native vegetation to rubble.” Yet Japanese honeysuckle gets an understated warning, with Dirr describing this massively invasive shrub as “bullying their way into understory and open areas.”
The latest edition of Dirr’s book devotes seven pages of copy and photos to various Berberis species, about which Dirr waxes poetic. He notes the addition of “30 new cultivars” in the latest revision and complains that “this species is under assault for its aggressive invasive nature.” He refers to Berberis thunbergii — Japanese barberry, the most invasive of them all — as “the species of major importance in garden commerce.” This plant has already been outlawed for sale in New York, Pennsylvania, New Hamphsire and Maine.A few weeks ago, a bill was passed in Connecticut recognizing the harm of a broad group of invasive plants. Under this new legislation, barberry will be phased out from sale or transport by October 2028.
In understating the invasive nature of many non-natives and de-prioritizing the importance of native species, Dirr’s widely used reference may be partly responsible for many a devastated woodland, forest, meadow and marsh in New England — if not across the U.S.Certainly, the evolution of species, and scientific knowledge about the environment, is changing faster than new editions of books can be printed. I can only hope that if a new edition of Mr. Dirr’s reference book is in the works that it will account for this criteria we now know to be vital in plant selection.
Which brings me back to that quote on the cover from The Washington Post and the larger issue it suggests:Should “ornamental horticulture” get a pass when it comes to ecological survival?I think we can agree — it should not.The consequences are simply too destructive.
Dee Salomon ‘ungardens’ in Litchfield County.
Foxtrot Farm & Flowers’ historic barn space during UAW’s 2024 exhibition entitled “Unruly Edges.”
Art lovers, mark your calendars. The sixth edition of Upstate Art Weekend (UAW) returns July 17 to 21, with an exciting lineup of exhibitions and events celebrating the cultural vibrancy of the region. Spanning eight counties and over 130 venues, UAW invites residents and visitors alike to explore the Hudson Valley’s thriving creative communities.
Here’s a preview of four must-see exhibitions in the area:
1. Wassaic Project (37 Furnace Bank Road, Wassaic)
“So It Goes” is a powerful group exhibition curated by Eve Biddle, Bowie Zunino, Jeff Barnett-Winsby, and Will Hutnick. The title, drawn from Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five,” signals a reckoning with how we process the horrors of the world. Through play, reflection, and immersive scale, 43 artists respond with urgency and imagination. Installations can be seen throughout the town of Wassaic at Maxon Mills, Gridley Chapel, and Luther Barn, each space transformed by this deeply thoughtful show.
2. Foxtrot Farm & Flowers (6862 Route 82, Stanfordville)
“Queer Bestiary,” a group show curated by Charlotte Woolf, is inspired by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian’s book “Forest Euphoria.” The exhibition investigates queer ecology and human relationship to land through the work of 10 artists using painting, sculpture, textiles, and photography. The exhibit is accompanied by a variety of interactive experiences including tattoo pop-ups, karaoke, book readings, and pick-your-own flowers.
3. ChaShaMa North/ChaNorth (2600 Route 199, Pine Plains)
ChaShaMa North (ChaNorth) will have open studios all weekend and has partnered with Paradice Palase, a platform for emerging artists, to mount a site-specific sculpture exhibition featuring 20 artists entitled “Alone, You Are Heard.” On Saturday evening, July 19, stop by for Weird Music Night for an audio-visual synthesis of experimental music, performance art, and unexpected happenings. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience an eclectic lineup of acts that redefine the boundaries of performance.
4. Millbrook Arts Project(3 Friendly Lane, Millbrook)
The Millbrook Arts Project is hosting a curated exhibit entitled “Generated Utility” at the newly renovated gallery at the village library. The exhibit will feature the work of artists Natalie Beall and Kathy Greenwood. Additionally, visitors will have access to 12 open artists studios across town. The weekend culminates in a free outdoor concert on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. at the Millbrook Bandshell. Enjoy the Indie-Folk sounds of Strawberry Runners and She Keeps Bees.
For more information and a complete list of participating artists and locations, visit: upstateartweekend.org