Community Corner
Guilford Tops State in Large Town Voter Turnout In 2018 Election
Four Connecticut towns earned the coveted Democracy Cup, which is awarded to municipalities that saw the highest voter turnout in the state
Four Connecticut towns, including Guilford, earned the coveted Democracy Cup, which is awarded to cities that saw the highest voter turnout in the state in the 2018 mid-term election.
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill will present titles in four categories based on town size—small, mid-sized, large, and city. The winners were Washington (small), Granby (mid-sized), Guilford (large) and West Hartford (city).
“Record breaking voter registration was followed by record breaking voter turnout in Connecticut!” said Secretary Merrill. “Our democracy is healthy, and I will fight to continue to make both registration and voting convenient and without unneeded obstacles.”
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Secretary Merrill will award the Democracy Cups as follows:
Small Town: Washington Town Hall, Main Hall March 11, 2019 1:30pm
Find out what's happening in Guilfordfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Mid-sized Town: Granby Senior Center, Community Room March 4, 2019 6:30pm
Large Town: Guilford Town Hall, First Selectman’s Office March 28, 2019 1:00pm
City: West Hartford Town Hall, Council Chambers March 26, 2019 7:30pm
Under Democracy Cup criteria, cities and towns with fewer than 5,000 people are considered small; cities and towns with between 5,000 and 14,999 people are considered mid-sized; cities and towns with between 15,000 and 49,999 people are considered large towns. Cities and towns with more than 50,000 people are categorized as cities. The competition has been co-sponsored by the East Haddam Civic Association since 2000.
In the 2018 general election, a midterm election record 1,421,953 people cast a ballot out of an all-time high of 2,181,197 registered voters. Total statewide turnout was 65.19%.
Turnout among the four winners was: 87.66% in Washington, 76.79% in Granby; 79.96% in Guilford and 74.94% in West Hartford. Each community awarded the Democracy Cup will be able to host and display a trophy until the 2020 election.
Democracy Cup Winners
2000-2018
Year
SMALL TOWN
MID-SIZE TOWN
LARGE TOWN
CITY
2018
Washington
Granby
Guilford
West Hartford
2016
Pomfret
Somers
Wallingford
Greenwich
2014
Cornwall
Guilford
Glastonbury
Fairfield
2012
Bridgewater
Granby
Middletown
Stamford
2011
Hampton
Middlebury
Trumbull
Waterbury
2010
Roxbury
Granby
Simsbury
Stamford
2009
Bridgewater
Orange
East Haven
Stamford
2008
New Hartford
Avon
Newtown
Stamford
2007
East Haven
North Haven
West Hartford
2006
Union
Westport
West Hartford
2005
Middlebury
Shelton
West Hartford
2004
Washington
Wethersfield
Fairfield
2003
Washington
Naugatuck
West Hartford
2002
Middlebury
Glastonbury
West Hartford
2001
Washington
Trumbull
Waterbury
2000
Essex
Westport
West Hartford
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