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Outside the Bloomfield Human Services Center, where early voting takes place. Democrats in the Hartford suburb are running for council, school board, town plan and zoning commission, and library trustee. Credit: Mark Pazniokas / CT Mirror

This story has been updated.

Early voting began Tuesday and runs through Sunday in 21 communities with Democratic or Republican primaries for nominations to municipal offices, including open mayoral seats in Hamden and Norwalk.

Republican first selectmen are running as challengers in Oxford and Plainfield after losing their party endorsements, one with a twist: The GOP in Plainfield snubbed their incumbent in favor of a Democratic predecessor.

The Democratic primaries are in Bloomfield, Bridgeport, Chester, Hamden, New Britain, New Haven, New London, North Haven, Norwalk, Stamford and Stratford.

The GOP races are in Greenwich, Griswold, Haddam, Oxford, Plainfield, Sterling, Thomaston, Voluntown, Waterbury and Wolcott.

Until a judge’s decision at midday, Bridgeport had contests for Democratic nominations for four council seats, including two held by politicians who were targets of elections complaints relating to the absentee ballot scandal in the 2023 mayoral race, Aidee Nieves and Maria Pereira.

Acting on a complaint by Nieves, the council president, and another endorsed incumbent, Marie Valle, running in the 137th District, Superior Court Judge Thomas Welch threw their challengers, Ismael Sanchez, Jr. and Isaac Dickerson, off the ballot, concluding that some of their qualifying petitions were fraudulent.

Pereira and Keyla Medina remain on the ballot as challengers to two party-endorsed candidates in the 138th District, Samia Suliman and Kevin Monks.

Warring Democratic factions in the Hartford suburb of Bloomfield are continuing a long-running feud with full slates of endorsed and challenging candidates for council, school board, town plan and zoning commission, and library trustee.

Most of the primaries are for scattered down-ballot offices, not mayor or first selectman. Endorsed Republican aldermanic candidates in Waterbury face primaries in all five aldermanic districts. Endorsed Democrats face primaries in three of New Haven’s 30 aldermanic districts. In New London, the seven endorsed council candidates face a Democratic primary forced by one challenger.

There are no mayoral primaries this year in Stamford or New Haven, the two largest cities with mayoral elections in November.

In the eastern Connecticut town of Plainfield, Republicans endorsed Paul Sweet, a former Democratic first selectman, over Kevin M. Cunningham, the Republican incumbent. Cunningham is waging a primary against Sweet.

Cunningham is facing complaints of mismanagement.

The Day of New London reported a week ago that the local police union passed a vote of no confidence in the offices of the first selectman and finance department over repeated errors in paychecks.

The neighboring communities of Sterling and Voluntown also have GOP primaries for open first selectmen seats. Myron “Jack” Joslyn, the endorsed candidate in Sterling, is challenged by Kimberly Gunn and Frank M. Bood. Brian Muschiano is the endorsed candidate in Voluntown, challenged by Christopher A. Wilson.

In Oxford, a Naugatuck Valley community hard hit by flooding a year ago, First Selectman George Temple lost the GOP endorsement to his former protege, Jeffrey Luff. Temple is waging a primary challenge.

Hamden, where Democratic Mayor Lauren Garrett is not running, has a five-way Democratic mayoral primary. The council president, Dominique Baez, is the endorsed candidate. She is challenged by Peter Cyr, Lushonda D. Howard, Walter L. Morton IV, and Adam Sendroff.

There is a two-way race in Norwalk for the Democratic nomination to succeed Mayor Harry Rilling, a long-serving Democrat. The council president, Barbara Smyth, is the endorsed candidate; Darlene Young, a council member, is the challenger.

In Wolcott, two Republicans are vying for the right to oppose Thomas G. Dunn, an unaffiliated candidate who has been unopposed in four consecutive races. The endorsed candidate is James Paolino; the challenger, Paul D’Angelo.

In Stratford, two Democrats are seeking the nomination and the right to oppose Republican Mayor Laura Hoydick. The endorsed candidate is David Chess; the challenger, Linda Manos.

Chester’s Democratic first selectwoman, Cynthia Lignar, was endorsed by the her town committee, but faces a primary challenge from Joe Cohen, a public affairs consultant and former Hartford Courant reporter.

Primary day is Tuesday, Sept. 9. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m.

Hours for early voting generally are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with extended hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2 and Thursday, Sept. 4.

Voters can verify their registration status, party affiliation and polling place at myvote.ct.gov/lookup.

It is too late for an unaffiliated voter to register as a Democrat or Republican and vote during early voting. But a new voter or a voter who has been unaffiliated for at least three months still can vote on primary day if they register with a party at their local registrar’s office by noon on Sept. 8.

It is also too late for a registered Democrat or Republican to switch parties and vote in a primary. The statutory deadline was June 9.

Mark is the Capitol Bureau Chief and a co-founder of CT Mirror. He is a frequent contributor to WNPR, a former state politics writer for The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer, and contributor for The New York Times.