No one can say for sure, but you have to wonder if it were anyone but Gretchen Chipperini trying to get on the Town Council ballot in November, the Republican registrar of voters would have figured out a way to qualify the candidate.

Instead, Chipperini found herself denied ballot access on a technicality.

Chipperini has a combative reputation. On July 25, 2008, a drunken firefighter with the Mystic Fire District department set fire to a house she owned at 23 Library St. The firefighter, William Celtruda, confessed to arson for setting three arson fires in Mystic. He is serving a 14-year sentence.

Chipperini sued the fire department, arguing that the department shared responsibility because of drinking at the station, and because Celtruda was teased about his lack of firefighting experience, motivating him to act. The jury disagreed, concluding legal responsibility did not extend beyond Celtruda.

She also had a prolonged fight with the town over its repeated orders that she raze the house after the fire. It took three years before Chipperini had the last major vestige of the house — its chimney — demolished.

Feeling no love from the Republican Town Committee, she petitioned for an open slot on the Republican line for Town Council, gathering 183 signatures from party members, enough to qualify. Pages, however, became separated at Town Hall and the fully completed petition, with all necessary bells and whistles, was not filed by the deadline, at least in the opinion of Republican Registrar Kristen Venditti.

Chipperini deserved every benefit of the doubt and help make sure things were filled our correctly. The inclination should be to give people access to the ballot, not deny it. If someone wanted to challenge that access in court, so be it. Chipperini could go to court — she has done so before — but would probably not get a decision in time to gain ballot access for the Nov. 3 election.

Out of the GATE

While the Chipperini drama was getting much of the attention, a new minor party petitioned and gained access to the ballot in Groton. It calls itself GATE — an outgrowth of the political action committee Groton Advocates for Tax Efficiency.

Scott Aument will be the first name on the third line of the ballot as the GATE candidate for Board of Education, while Rosanne Kotowski will be the first name on the third line for the RTM in District 5.

The two fiscal conservatives have a history of challenging spending priorities in Groton and are critical of its duplicative and sometimes triplicative governance.

In taking on the Republicans and Democrats, the pair pointed to a platform of better controlling spending, limiting tax increases, amending the charter to allow budget referendums and term limits, and improving government transparency.

Welcome to the fray, GATE.

New London ballot

Sticking to ballot issues, I have to wonder if the Democratic primary ballot in New London will cause some confusion among voters Sept. 16.

The featured race pits City Councilor Michael Passero, the endorsed candidate of the Democratic Town Committee, against petitioning candidate Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio. Their names will appear on the first row with Passero on the line above Finizio.

The City Council primary is the race that could cause confusion. The names of the seven council candidates endorsed by the town committee appear in alphabetical order on the same line as Passero. The lone name next to Finizio — Ryan C. Henowitz — qualified for the primary ballot through his own petition initiative.

The eight candidates are vying for the seven positions on the Democratic line Nov. 3. The ballot instructions read “Vote for Any Seven.” However, with incumbent councilor and endorsed candidate Efrain Dominguez’s name the only one appearing directly above Henowitz, I have to conclude some voters will think they must choose one or the other, as in the mayoral race. A quick glance could lead a voter to mistakenly conclude that the other council candidates are running unopposed in the primary, leading some to vote for all of them or none of them.

Small turnout elections can turn on such ballot quirks. New London primary voters need to make sure they know how the ballot works before they start filling in the circles.

Paul Choiniere is the editorial page editor.

Twitter: @Paul_Choiniere