About 35,000 additional voters came out in this year’s municipal elections across the state compared to the election in 2023, unofficial numbers from the Secretary of the State’s office show.
Statewide, voter participation was about 35.9% this year compared to 33.7% in the municipal election two years ago. However, eight towns do not yet have voter participation numbers listed for this year in the online database, so total voter count will rise, and voting percentages could change slightly.
So far, the numbers show that in 2025, a total of 777,151 voters cast ballots – whether on Election Day, during early voting or via an absentee ballot – out of the state’s about 2.1 million registered voters. In 2023, a total of 741,831 voters cast a ballot in the municipal election, out of the 2.2 million voters registered at that time.
Several small towns saw among the highest voter participation this year, with Lyme (66.1%), Bridgewater (63.2%), Woodbridge (61.8%) and Old Lyme (60.5%) leading the way. In all, 16 municipalities had more than 50% of their registered voters cast a ballot this year.
In two of Connecticut’s major cities – Hartford (6.7%) and Bridgeport (4.8%) – voter participation remained low, while New Haven (24.9%) and Stamford (33.4%) saw higher participation, according to the Secretary of the State database.
While the database indicates all districts in those cities have been reported, it is possible numbers will change slightly as officials certify all the votes.
Some towns that saw a much higher turnout this year compared to two years ago where those with highly contested races, like Wolcott, or some where an incumbent did not run for reelection, like Torrington.
More than 30 municipalities flipped party control – most of the towns going from Republican-led to Democratic-led towns – and several of those saw higher voter participation than two years ago, including Ansonia and New Britain, which went from 35.1% and 26.6% in 2023 to 38.7% and 30.8% respectively.
Several races were too close to call and are headed for a recount, including the first selectman race in Easton.
Overall, elections officials said Election Day in Connecticut was fairly smooth with only minor issues reported. New tabulators were rolled out statewide, and about half a dozen towns reported some issues with those.