Middlebury’s Town Hall is rife with election drama. But the most recent problems aren’t with political donations or scheduling issues; it’s getting officials to follow state law.
Election officials in Middlebury are not following the state’s ballot security protocols for early voting.
Middlebury’s protocols for early voting call for ballots to be locked in a closet at the voting site overnight, and then delivered to the Town Clerk’s Office the next day, according to emails exchanged between Middlebury officials, on which an Inside Investigator reporter was included.
However, the 2025 Early In-Person Voting Handbook states, “At the conclusion of each day during the early voting period, registrars of voters must transport the receptacles containing the day’s early voting ballots, and (Same Day Registration) ballots in the case of a general election, to the municipal clerk who must secure and store them in a manner as similar as possible to the security and storage of absentee ballots.”
On Tuesday, Oct. 21, the ballots from Monday were not delivered until 12:35 p.m., according to Middlebury Town Clerk Brigitte Bessette. Those are being stored in the Town Vault.
The Handbook does say that towns can deviate from these procedures “if such manner is not practicable.” The early voting plan that was submitted by Middlebury’s Registrars of Voters, Democrat Francis Barton Jr. and Republican Nancy Robinson, does not give a reason as to why the ballots need to be delivered the next day.
Ultimately, Secretary of State (SoS) Stephanie Thomas signed off on the voting plan.
“If the Secretary feels that the orderly, secure process of voting was not violated, she will allow it,” SoS Assistant Director of Communications Roger Senserrich said in an email. Senserrich did not answer questions about why it was deemed impractical to deliver ballots to the Town Vault at the end of the day.
“I don’t know what the reasoning was that we didn’t comply with the rules in the first place,” Middlebury Selectman Jennifer Mahr said.
Mahr said that Barton did not respond to her questions on the matter.
“The ultimate responsibility for administering an election falls with the Secretary of State’s Office,” Mahr said.
The Chair of Middlebury Democrats, Sally Romano, raised several questions about the early voting protocols with Barton ahead of the election. In an email sent on Friday, Oct. 17, she asked Barton to “clarify why the ballots aren’t being directly brought to the town clerk for storage each night?” She also asked him if the ballots would be stored in a fire-proof and tamper-proof receptacle, and who would have access to that closet. Barton did not respond to that email, and they are not in the early voting plan that was submitted to the state. She followed up with him again on the morning of Oct. 20.
This isn’t the first issue that has arisen with Barton in his role as registrar of voters during this election.
Before early voting started, Barton registered as a write-in candidate for the Pomperaug Valley Water Authority while maintaining his position as the Registrar of Voters.
The Connecticut General Statute states that “A known candidate for any office shall not serve as an election official on election day or serve at the polls in any capacity, except that (A) a municipal clerk or a registrar of voters, who is a candidate for the same office, may perform his or her official duties, and (B) a deputy registrar of voters, who is a candidate for the office of registrar of voters, may perform his or her official duties.”
Multiple people attempted to contact Barton via email about his candidacy in the weeks and days leading up to early voting, according to emails shared with Inside Investigator. He did not respond to any of those emails, nor give any indication that he was trying to arrange for his deputy to step in for him.
Mahr said she tried to ask Barton in person at Town Hall why he applied to be a write-in candidate for the Pomperaug Valley Water Authority, but he yelled at her, stormed out of the building, and got in his car.
Inside Investigator reached out to Barton twice in the past week to ask questions about his candidacy, his alleged conduct, and the early voting protocols. Both times, he refused to speak over the phone and ended the call before all of the questions could be asked.
The first time a reporter got him on the phone was shortly after 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 16. Barton confirmed he was the Democrat Registrar of Voters, and when he was asked questions about his candidacy, he said he was too busy to talk because he was at work. When a reporter was in the middle of asking him when she could call back, he yelled, “I’m busy! Goodbye,” and hung up.
On the evening of Thursday, Oct. 16, Barton withdrew his candidacy and sent a statement to at least two news outlets that said, “I feel that my obligation and responsibility to the Middlebury Registrar of Voters office and the requirement to run a fair and equitable election far out weight (sic) my pursuit of elective office. Therefore I have withdrawn my name as write-in candidate to Secretary of the State.”
Barton did not disclose to his coworkers that he had spoken to the press until he got into a heated email exchange with Bessette and Mahr the next day.
Barton castigated Bessette for telling a reporter, via email, that he withdrew his candidacy and answering a question about state statute. In an email, he wrote, “She is a reporter and we as town people should not expect a town official to research on state statutes and provide that information on Town Time!”
Bessette defended herself by pointing out that answering questions for the public is a part of her job, as is having “A thorough understanding of the state statutes that govern both the Registrar of Voters and the Town Clerk’s Office is essential to fulfilling our respective duties.”
A reporter from Inside Investigator was included in this email chain.
The next time a reporter from Inside Investigator spoke to Barton was at 3:21 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 22. Barton initially said that he was “working” and too busy to talk. When the reporter asked when she could call back, he said that he is in the office from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursdays, and that he doesn’t work on Wednesdays. When the reporter asked what he was doing in that moment, he said he was busy with his “real job,” and when she asked if that meant she should call him when he was in the office, he yelled, “You’re not listening! Goodbye,” and hung up the phone.
The early voting location in Middlebury is at the Shepardson Community Center on 1172 Whittemore Rd., in Room 5. Early voting began on Oct. 20 and will run until Nov. 2. The polls are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, except for Oct. 28 and 30. On Oct. 28 and 30, the voting site will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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