‘I Don’t Understand What It Takes’: Selectmen Push Back on Registrar’s Request for Higher Pay

The Board of Selectmen following a strained discussion at its most recent meeting voted 2-1 to increase the compensation for each of New Canaan’s registrars of voters by 3%, to $41,200. 

The figure is far less than the $52,000 that one of the registrars, Joan McLaughlin, had been seeking. In addressing the selectmen at their Jan. 7 meeting, McLaughlin said her work doubled with the introduction of early voting in Connecticut last year, as well as a recent shakeup of state legislature districts that resulted in three more for New Canaan. McLaughlin, who serves two-year terms as the Republican registrar in New Canaan, said during the meeting that she worked an average of 32 hours per week last year (up from 20 to 22 hours per week in the past) and that the higher figure was due to 14 days of early voting. “I have 14 days of early voting that starts at 10 o’clock in the morning and ends at 6 o’clock at night,” McLaughlin said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.

Registrars: 2022 Canvass of Voters Underway

Joan McLaughlin and John A. Amarilios, your Town’s Registrars of Voters, have begun the 2022 Canvass of Voters. Under current state law, the Registrars verify and update the current addresses and continued residency of New Canaan voters using the Annual Canvass of Voters. Those voters who were reported to have moved from New Canaan, or had moved within town, or whose addresses could not be confirmed, along with those who have not voted since 2018 will receive notices. Anyone who has received a notice is asked to return the notice, in the envelope provided, confirming that they have moved out of town, that they have moved to a new address in town ( Listing the new address), or that they wish to remain on the voter registry. Parents may speak for any children who no longer reside in New Canaan, but should also advise those children to register in their new location.