Groton’s spring political season got a bit shorter Monday night when the Board of Selectmen merged the Town Election for 17 seats in town offices with the state’s Special State Primary on April 30.
“We will save approximately $2500-$3000 by combining into one election. We leverage people time and some (undetermined) partial state reimbursement into one election,” Town Clerk Michael Bouchard wrote in an email. “This decision is beneficial to the town and townspeople in that we will save some money, we will likely improve voter turnout for the town election and perhaps reduce “voter fatigue” with one fewer election.”
The Town Election was originally scheduled for May 21. The revised schedule is in the table below:
| Special State Primary | April 30 | Partisan election to determine U.S. Senator candidates |
| Annual Town Election | April 30 | Town Boards and Commissions |
| Special State Election | June 25 | General election for U.S. Senator |
The change means that the deadline to submit nomination papers moves is pulled in to March 12. Nominating petitions were made available Monday in the Town Clerk’s office. It also has the potential to add three weeks to incoming office holder’s terms, although that depends on when the town body they join holds a meeting after the election.
