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Registrar details early‑voting surge, equipment costs and service contracts
Summary
Registrar Lou DeSilio told councilors early voting drew sustained turnout and that new state optical‑scan machines carry higher service contract costs; the office delayed adopting state machines for the most recent special election due to training timing concerns.
Registrar of Voters Lou DeSilio told the March 19 budget workshop the town’s early‑voting program produced heavy, sustained turnout and that planning and machine service costs are the major budget drivers for elections in fiscal 2026.
DeSilio said Stratford’s early‑voting pilot drew thousands of ballots and that the town processed about 12,000 ballots (absentee plus early voting) in the recent presidential cycle. He said the state is supplying new voting machines but the new machines come with higher service contracts: older machines carried about a $250 annual service fee per machine; the new machines carry approximately a $315 annual fee, and the single high‑speed unit carries a contract around $6,500 per year. DeSilio said the registrar and town chose not to deploy the state’s new machines for a recent special election because the machines would have arrived one week before the vote, which staff judged too little time for training and moderator preparation.
The registrar described operational details that shaped costs: early voting typically requires seven days before a local primary and 14 days before a general (longer in federal years), and ballot‑processing methods affect staffing and equipment needs. DeSilio said legislation allowing early ballots to be run directly through scanners (rather than kept in envelopes for manual opening later) would reduce the need for high‑speed machines and the associated service costs; the registrar noted he would adjust equipment plans if that legislation passes.
DeSilio also said precinct staffing costs are rising and noted an increase in minimum wage raised poll worker floor pay; he proposed modest raises for poll staff to keep the local recruiting pool robust. He told councilors the office will continue to monitor costs and that the overall registrar budget presented to the council is slightly down year‑over‑year but includes higher equipment service estimates tied to the state transition.
No formal council vote occurred; registrars asked for council awareness and possible capital purchases to improve polling furnishings and privacy partitions.
