WESTPORT–Only one polling location – Bedford Middle School – will be open for Westport residents to cast ballots in next month’s Democrat and Republican primaries.

And the Aug. 11 primaries will be the first time Westport voters can vote by absentee ballot without providing a reason, said Maria Signore, the town’s Republican registrar of voters. “Previously you needed an excuse,” she said.

The change from five polling locations to only one should not result in long lines on Primary Day, Signore said. “For the primary, we are going to be having five checkers,” she said of poll workers who check voters in before they cast ballots.

Signore added that many residents are on vacation in August and 50 percent to 55 percent of voters likely will vote before Primary Day.

Hours for voting on Primary Day at Bedford Middle School, 88 North Ave., are from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Residents interested in voting early can do so at Town Hall from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Aug. 3, 5, 7, 8 and 9, and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Aug. 4 and 6.

Voters will need to demonstrate they live in Westport through, for example, either a driver’s license, utility bill with their name and address or passport, Signore said.

Residents who want to vote by absentee ballot can fill out an application on the Secretary of State’s website, Signore said.

The application will then be sent to the Westport Town Clerk’s office, which will then send a ballot by mail to the resident. The resident can then fill out and return the ballot by mail or drop it off at Town Hall, she said.

Changing from five polling locations to one also reduces the number of poll workers needed on Primary Day, Signore said. She said she’s looking to cut “close to 50 percent of workers” compared to past primaries. She did not yet have an anticipated budgetary savings from having one polling location instead of five.

Republicans and Democrats have each prepared for an overall 20-percent turnout in this year’s primary, Signore said. “We’re not sure we’ll even get their 20 percent,” she said.

Voting in all future elections also will take place in Bedford Middle School, according to the Registrar of Voters’ office.

Tabulators will be used to count ballots during early voting and in-person voting on Aug. 11, she said.

For more information, contact the Registrar of Voters’ office at 203-341-1115.