#MiddleburyCT #EarlyVoting
By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
More than 700 Middlebury voters took advantage of the four early voting days preceding the Tuesday, June 23, 2026, special election for a selectman to fill the seat vacated by Jennifer Mahr when she was elected first selectwoman in November 2025.
Seven hundred forty voters went to the polls June 17, 18, 20 and 21. Of those voters, Democrats numbered 184, Republicans numbered 360, Unaffiliateds numbered 193 and Others numbered 3.
If one assumes voters voted along party lines, the election results rest in the hands of the Unaffiliated and Other voters. That’s because the early voting Republican votes outnumbered Democratic votes nearly 2:1. This would give the Republican candidate a clear win if only the party votes are counted.
How the Unaffiliated and Other folks voted we can only guess. If all their votes went to the Democrats, the Democratic candidate would win, but in early voting that win would have been by only 20 votes. We know, however, that not all folks vote along party lines, and Unaffiliated and Other votes could go to either candidate. We won’t know until after the polls close at 8 p.m. on June 23 who has won this race.
One thing we do know by looking at the early voting results is that everyone’s vote counts. Depending on where the Unaffiliated and Other votes go, this race looks as if it will be a very close one, and that makes each person’s vote more important than ever. If you haven’t yet voted, please be sure to go to the polls Tuesday, June 23. The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Shepardson Community Center.
