City Council Drops Polling Place Change, For Now

The Danbury City Council postponed any polling place change in the Sixth Ward until after the November election. The move in the third ward from Broadview Middle School to Stadley Rough Elementary School will go ahead as planned.

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said with the state's 31-day deadline for identifying polling place, the city just ran out of time before the November election. He didn't want to confuse voters.

Democrats had charged the city's Republican administration was trying to supress voting by moving the polling place from the Park Avenue School downtown to a private club in a suburban location on Lake Kenosia. Republicans denied that charge, and said the goal was really to increase voter turnout in a district that had an anemic 26 percent turnout in the last local election.

"I think filling Town Hall two nights in a row with people had an impact on the decision," said Danbury Democratic Party Chairman Joe DaSilva.

Voters unhappy with the idea spoke against it at the September City Council meeting, and again a large group of people appeared at Monday's committee meeting on the issue and again at Tuesday's October City Council meeting. The issue wasn't discussed Tuesday, because the council postponed the decision until November after the election, at the soonest.

Sixth Ward Councilman Ben Chianese, a Democrat, said he was relieved by that postponement.

"It shows that people can make a difference," Chianese said.

In the Third Ward, voting was moved from Broadview Middle School to Stadley Rough Elementary School. Because of changes to the city's wards, Broadview is at the very edge of the Third Ward, and due to scheduling conflicts and its location, the city moved that polling place to Stadley Rough Elementary School on Karen Road.