Know Your Ballot - 2025 Municipal Election

By Jody Dietch, ODTC Chair

This sounds like a silly headline, but understanding your ballot is important in a local election. It can be confusing with so many boards and names.

There are nine different positions and categories for which we cast our vote in Orange: first selectman, Board of Selectmen, tax collector, town clerk, Board of Finance, Town Plan & Zoning Commission, Orange Board of Education for our K-6 schools, Amity Board of Education for our middle and high schools, and constables. You can learn about our candidates at OrangeCTDems.org if you haven’t already had the opportunity to meet them at your door, on the phone or at one of our town hall “Inside Scoop” meetings.

Out of those positions, only first selectman, tax collector and town clerk are “head-to-head” races and the only paid elected positions. This means that on your ballot you will select one candidate for each of these positions.

As our candidates have been out meeting you, they have learned that not everyone is familiar with what the first selectman position actually is. It is equivalent to a mayor in a city. It is not just a figurehead position. This is the person guiding the town – the CEO, if you will. It is important that this person represents your views and your values.

Of the other positions, you will be asked to select a certain number of candidates. The ballot will list up to three or four candidates for a certain board, but the ballot will say only vote for up to two or three. Whereas the names are listed next to each other on the ballot, Democrats on the line above the Republican candidates, that doesn’t mean the two candidates listed in the same column are running against each other. You can choose any two or three candidates for that board regardless of the column they are in. If there is only one name in a column, it is because the party chose not to fill all the open slots.

For the Board of Selectmen, you vote for three of the candidates running; for Board of Finance three; Town Plan & Zoning two; Orange Board of Education three; Amity Board of Education three; and constables four. This will all be written on the ballot to direct you when you vote.

Since these are not head-to-head races, you can vote for any two or three candidates regardless of whether there is a name opposite it on the other party line. Read your ballot carefully to make sure you vote for the correct number of candidates. This newspaper generally prints the ballot ahead of the election and we will post it on our website so you will have the opportunity to review it before going to vote.

To complicate it slightly this year, there were resignations on the Orange Board of Education and Town Plan & Zoning. Those positions were filled by appointment, but those people appointed are up for election to finish the term of that position. There will be two additional “head-to-head” races, one for the Orange Board of Education that Kelly Berwick Billings is running for, and one for Town Plan & Zoning for which Doug Fenichel is the candidate.

The other important thing to know about our municipal elections every other year (odd years), is that the ballot is double-sided. It is important that you fill out both sides of the ballot. Make sure your vote gets counted and you complete both sides.

Municipal elections influence your daily lives more than any other. Your taxes are set here, if and when your road is paved, your voice is heard, and your concerns addressed. Election Day is Nov. 4, but early voting begins Oct. 20 at Town Hall. Why wait? Vote early so you don’t have to worry about missing Election Day due to unforeseen circumstances such as getting ill.

And of course, if you are unable to vote in person, absentee ballot applications are available now. Exercise your right to vote this year and help us strengthen our town.

This article originally appeared in the Milford-Orange Times, October 2, page 8.