Absentee Ballots Available This Week For Feb. 3 Special Election In Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, CT — Absentee ballots for the Feb. 3 Special Election in Fairfield will be available beginning Monday, according to Town Clerk Betsy Browne.

The Special Election will decide the town's next First Selectperson from three candidates, incumbent First Selectperson Christine Vitale, a Democrat; state Sen. Tony Hwang, a Republican; and petitioning candidate Matthew A. Hallock, an independent. Click here to view a sample ballot.

To qualify to use an absentee ballot, a registered voter in Fairfield must be on active duty in the military or out of town on the day of voting; have an illness or disability that prevents them from voting in person; the voter is an election worker, who will be stationed at a polling site other than where they normally vote; or, due to religious tenets, the voter is prohibited from secular activity on election day.

The application for an absentee ballot is a two-step process. An application must be signed and filed with the Town Clerk before a ballot can be issued.

Hallock, a fence flag painter and founder of a Fairfield news website, qualified to appear on the ballot by obtaining more than 179 petition signatures; he turned in 188, according to Browne. Click here for more information on Hallock.

"Congratulations," wrote state Election Officer Taffy Davis in a letter to Hallock, dated Dec. 5. "The nominating petition filed with this office on behalf of the following candidate for the office listed below, as a Petitioning Candidate, has been examined as required by law and is hereby approved."

Absentee ballot pplications are available at the Fairfield Town Clerk’s Office between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Monday through Friday, or through the Connecticut Online Absentee Ballot Request Portal.