Elections 2011: A Comprehensive Look At Today's Ballot

Election Day 2011 is here. Are you prepared with the information you need to go out and vote?

Today we are providing you with a comprehensive look at the ballot you will see when you go to the polls, including an in-depth look at each of the candidates and the referendum for an $85 million bond allocation to renovate-as-new the and middle schools.

Polls with open at 6 a.m. across the town and voters can submit their ballots by going to one of the town's polling places, which are conveniently located at Southington schools across the community.

There are 11 voter registration districts, which are broken down by street address on the Southington website, www.southington.org, with polling places established at the (District 1), (District 2), (District 3), (District 4), (District 5), (District 6), (District 8), (District 9), (District 10), (District 11) and (District 12).

A note to residents: there is no district 7 and North Center School is not being used this year due to construction.

A complete list of district locations and where residents should go to vote is available on the town's website and can be accessed by clicking on the link provided.

Ballot Information
There will be one referendum question and five boards included on this year's ballot. A sample ballot provided by the Connecticut Secretary of State's Office is included above will show you what this year's ballot will look like when you get to the polls.

To see the ballot, or view the PDF above.

Referendum Question
Residents this year will be asked to vote on the referendum question at the top of the ballot. The question will appear as follows:

“Shall the Town of Southington appropriate $85,000,000 for renovations, improvements and additions to and Middle Schools; and authorize the issue of bonds and notes not to exceed $85,000,000 to finance the appropriation, the amount of such bonds and notes to be reduced by the amount of project grants received?”

The $85 million project will be used for full renovate-as-new and expansion of the existing facilities at the DePaolo and Kennedy middle schools. Project details are included in a separate article today, which can be seen .

Candidates for Office
There are five boards with candidates up for election this year: Town Council, Board of Finance, Board of Education, Planning & Zoning Commission and Board of Water Commissioners.

We have compiled the candidates for each as they will appear on the ballot and have included links to profiles for each candidate to help you be more informed on who you are voting for.

Here's a line-by-line look at the ballot:

Town Council
Line 1 - 6A: Democrats

Line 1 - 6B: Republicans

Board of Finance
Line 7 - 10A: Democrats

Line 7 - 10B: Republicans

Board of Education

• Line 11 - 16A: Democrats

Line 11 - 16B: Republicans

Planning & Zoning Commission
This is for a four-year full term.
Line 17 - 19A: Democrats

• J

Line 17 - 19B: Republicans

• Gregory Klimaszewski*

Planning and Zoning Commission
This is for a replacement, two-year half term.
Line 20A: Democrat

Line 20B: Republican

Board of Water Commissioners
Line 21A: Democrats

Line 21 - 22B: Republicans

• Michael Domian*

*Did not submit requested profiles to Southington Patch.

Now that you have all the information you need to go out and vote, we hope to see you at the polls. Take a second to review and vote for what you feel is the best candidate and decision for you and your community - and be sure to follow the results as they are posted live on Southington Patch!