Politics & Government
With Voter Turnout For Budget Referendum Falling Far Below Threshold Required, Town Council Budget Passes
In a North Branford budget referendum, for the vote to be considered valid voter trunout must be 15% or higher; Tuesday's vote was 11.2%.
NORTH BRANFORD, CT — In answer to this question, 'Shall the Town Council-Recommended Budget of $65,859,026, which will require a mill rate of 28.91 mills, be adopted?' voter turnout decided the answer.
With a voter turnout of just 11 percent, the North Branford municipal 2026-2027 budget passes as recommended by the Town Council," according to Acting Town Manager Rory Burke.
The total turnout was 1,073, or 11.2 percent.
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What this means
Municipal charters, especially in Connecticut, require a minimum percentage of registered voters, usually falling between 10 and 15 percent, to participate in a budget referendum for the vote to be considered valid. If voter turnout falls below this threshold, the "No" votes effectively do not count.
Find out what's happening in North Branfordfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
In North Branford, the threshold is 15 percent.
So the $65,859,026 town '26-'27 budget is the spending plan.
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