Norfolk residents will cast their ballots on election day, Tuesday, November 4, for state-wide positions including governor and attorney general, and for local ones including Norfolk’s representative in the U.S. Congress and its state senator and state representative.

Also on the ballot is an amendment to the State of Connecticut’s constitution, which currently requires anyone applying for an absentee ballot to provide a reason for being unable to appear at the polls on Election Day. Valid reasons include illness, religious proscriptions, and absence from town during all the hours that the polling place is open.

The proposed amendment would do away with the need to provide a reason for wanting to vote by absentee ballot.

Town Clerk Linda Perkins points out that a change to the constitution is not a change to the law. If the amendment passes, it will allow state legislators to relax the restrictions governing absentee ballots, if they so choose. Until that time, applicants for absentee ballots will still have to provide a reason for their absenteeism.

A “Yes” vote is a vote in favor of removing restrictions from absentee ballots.

The full text of the proposed amendment, which includes several lesser provisions, will be available on election day at the polling place and can be reviewed beforehand at the town clerk’s office.