By Morgan Pilz, Staff Writer

No decisions made yet, but town might consider having different voting scenarios

(May 28, 2020) The Town of Berlin still has a few months to go before its 2020 election in October, but depending on how the pandemic continues to affect people’s routines, consideration could be given different voting scenarios.

Currently, no out-of-the-ordinary plans have been made for the Tuesday, Oct. 6 election, Deputy Town Administrator Mary Bohlen said, although contingencies could be planned during the next election board meeting held in July.

Mary Bohlen

“What I am thinking at this point is that we’re going to proceed as normal with contingency plans because we’re a fairly small town with a small, comparatively speaking, voter roll,” she said. “We can adapt plans fairly quickly. What I do need to determine, though, are what kind of legal requirements might impact how we handle that sort of thing.”

The Berlin’s municipal elections are held every two years on the second Tuesday of October, with three seats up for election each year.

Up for reelection this year are Mayor Gee Williams, District 2 Councilmember Zackery Tyndall and District 3 Councilmember Elroy Brittingham. There will also be an empty seat for Councilmember Thom Gulyas, who is retiring in October..

As of earlier this week, only one person – Jack Orris – has filed to become a candidate.

The filing deadline for these seats would be Sept. 4, as well as a write-in candidate deadline on Sept. 29. These candidates will not appear on the ballot, Bohlen said.

Bohlen added that, especially given the circumstances, residents can request an absentee ballot.

“They don’t have to have a particular reason for being absentee,” she said. “If we do go forward with the in-person election, but people are uncomfortable, they can still request an absentee ballot.”

The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot is not until Sept. 4.

Should elections remain as usual, voters for Districts 1 and 2 will vote at Buckingham Presbyterian Church on 20 South Main Street. For the first time this year, voters for Districts 3 and 4 will vote at the Police Department on 129 Decatur Street.