Board of Selectmen, including First Selectman, Jeff Manville (R). Method of voting Southbury used mechanical voting machines until 2007 when it switched to optical scanning machines. The new system has been criticized for several reasons, including a lack of privacy. Southbury utilizes up to three polling stations. for machine vote as required by a town meeting or per charter, only the firehouse is used. Consistent with Connecticut law, citizens have the option of choosing a party when they register to vote. A citizen may join or change, their affiliation later. Primary voting is limited to members of that party. Next general election for will be in November 2019 for town officials. Voting results for Connecticut and federal elected officials In 2006, veteran U.S. House Representative Nancy Johnson was ousted in favor of Democrat Christopher Murphy, who carried Southbury, 51–49%. Junior U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman dropped his Democratic party affiliation, but was re-elected as an independent, carrying Southbury with 57% of the vote; his closest opponent, Democrat Ned Lamont, had only 32% of Southbury's support. In the 2008 Presidential Election, Southbury supported Republican John McCain over Democrat Barack Obama. For the U.S. House, the town narrowly supported Republican David Cappiello over Murphy, the Democratic incumbent who ultimately won in a landslide. In 2010, Southbury voted in favor of Republican candidates Tom Foley for Governor and Linda McMahon for U.S. Senate. Though neither of the Republicans won statewide, they carried Southbury with 61% and 56% of the vote, respectively. Southbury again supported the Republican for U.S. House, voting for Sam Caligiuri over the Democrat Murphy by a 56–44% margin. Current Federal Elected Official for U.S. Congress: U.S. Senators: Chris Murphy, Richard Blumenthal U.S. Congressman: Jahana Hayes Current State Elected Official for Connecticut General Assembly State Senator: Eric Berthel (32) State Representatives: Cindy Harrison (69), David Labriola (131) Political parties Southbury Democratic Town Committee, 2,967 members (+283 from previous totals) Southbury Republican Town Committee, 4,583 members (+57 from previous totals) – Members are elected to serve two-year terms on the RTC. Education Southbury is part of the Pomperaug Regional School District, region 15, a school system that includes the towns of Southbury and Middlebury. The system contains four elementary, two middle and one high school. There has been a debate between the two towns over the amount each pays towards the system. Schools located in Southbury include: Gainfield Elementary School Pomperaug Elementary School