Election 2020: Dathan, Haskell, O’Dea Re-Elected; How New Canaan Voted [TABLE]

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Voters on Tuesday re-elected at least three members of New Canaan’s delegation to the state legislature. 

In an election that saw strong turnout and especially high numbers of absentee ballots cast amid the COVID-19 pandemic—leading to a delay in tallying votes—State Reps. Lucy Dathan (D-142nd) and Tom O’Dea (R-125th) and state Sen. Will Haskell (D-26th) retained their seats in the General Assembly. (O’Dea, a New Canaan resident, was unopposed.)

State Sen. Alex Kasser (D-36th) remained locked in a close race with Greenwich Republican Ryan Fazio as of 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. As in 2018, most New Canaanites backed Republican candidates for state offices, though they did so at lower overall percentages. New Canaan voters also backed U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D-4) for the first time since his election to Congress one dozen years ago.

Around Town

Election 2020: Voting Results To Come Wednesday; Absentee Ballots Not Yet Counted

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It won’t be clear until at least Wednesday evening how New Canaan voted in the election, officials say, because the more than 5,000 absentee ballots cast by New Canaan voters must be cross-checked before they’re counted. In all, New Canaan voters cast 5,256 absentee ballots for the election, according to Town Clerk Claudia Weber—about 40% of all ballots cast and nearly four times the absentee ballot total from 2016. 

Those ballots must be cross-checked with the ballots cast in-person Tuesday in order to ensure that no one voted both ways, Weber said. Once that’s done, the absentee ballots will be counted—a process that likely will run into late afternoon or early evening Wednesday, she said. (It’s unclear just when other municipalities will count ballots for the state races, as each state legislator representing New Canaan also represents others towns.)

Overall turnout from New Canaan voters this year finished at about 81.5% of eligible electors—nearly two points higher than 2016, itself an historically high turnout. Voters queued up outside Saxe Middle School and New Canaan High School in the dark, well before polls opened at 6 a.m. on Nov.

Election 2020

Election 2020: New Canaan Hub [UPDATING]

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Click here to see how New Canaan voted. Update 6:10 p.m.

State Sen. Will Haskell (D-26th) said on Tuesday evening two hours before polls closed that he’s feeling “cautiously optimistic.” 

“Most importantly, we are seeing just incredible voter turnout,” he told NewCanaanite.com. 

Haskell added, “We should all celebrate that this election for the first time in Connecticut voting had been convenient and accessible.” The state should look to creating long-term measures that will allow constituents to participate in elections “in a plan of their choosing,” he said. Update 1:45 p.m.

State Rep. Tom O’Dea (R-125th), who is unopposed this year, said he’d been at the polls in Wilton and New Canaan since 6 a.m.

“It’s great seeing such a large turnout this Election Eay,” O’Dea told NewCanaanite.com in an email. “I am proud and honored to have bipartisan support in my reelection and I look forward to representing the 125th District for a 5th term.” Update 11:45 a.m.

State Rep. Lucy Dathan (D-142nd) came to the polls in New Canaan at Saxe Middle School in the morning.

Election 2020

Letters to the Editor: Election 2020

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[Note: NewCanaanite.com through Oct. 21 will publish Election 2020 endorsement letters from New Canaan residents for candidates seeking to represent the town.]

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I have represented the people of Wilton and New Canaan in the General Assembly since 2013. From 2017-2018 we had all Republicans representing New Canaan and Wilton and during that time we passed a bipartisan no tax increase budget that implemented the spending and borrowing cap that created an approximate $3 billion dollar rainy day fund. Then in 2018, because of people’s dissatisfaction with DC, the District voted out three of the best legislators our state has ever had. As a result of the above loses, in 2019, the legislature passed some of the most anti-business legislation in our state’s history and increased spending and taxes, not to mention the anti-police legislation, attempted school regionalization, and state control of local zoning.

News

Letters to the Editor: Election 2020 

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[Note: NewCanaanite.com through Oct. 21 will publish Election 2020 endorsement letters from New Canaan residents for candidates seeking to represent the town.]

To the Editor,

Schools are open. Some kids are in school and some are at home. Teachers are doing their best to meet the needs of all the kids, to keep them safe, to make them feel loved, and to make sure they have the best educational experience possible. Most of those teachers, I’m sure, would rather be at home, completely safe from exposure to COVID.