Primaries show voting in pandemic can work

Consider Connecticut’s statewide party primaries Tuesday a trial run for the far larger Nov. 3 election. While the winning presidential nominees on the ballot were a foregone conclusion, some districts had interesting state house or senate contests that matter. But the biggest takeaway from the exercise is what was learned about conducting an election during a pandemic with an unprecedented number (for Connecticut) of mail-in votes. The result leads to cautious optimism.

First, the safety of in-person voting. Most local officials appear to have gotten this right, despite the extra efforts. Voters were directed to socially distance; masks were required. Self-standing units, some with Plexiglass sides, were spaced at least 6 feet apart. Pens used to mark ballots were disinfected between uses. Some, if not all, polling places recruited younger volunteers to assist voters, giving relief to the typically older poll workers now at risk for the coronavirus.

Second, the efficacy of widespread mail-in voting. This is new to Connecticut — though not most other states. Generally, by state statute, absentee ballots can be obtained for only a handful of specific reasons. But because of the pandemic, through executive order of Gov. Lamont for the primary, and approval by the General Assembly for the November election, anyone concerned about the health risk of voting in person can request a mail-in ballot.

Though controversial, this proved popular with primary voters with nearly 300,000 absentee ballots issued by the state — 10 times the typical total. This is a high volume for election officials to count, but registrars were able to start while the polls were open — and lines were short — and have until Thursday (a deadline extended because of the effects of last week’s tropical storm) to report the results.

The ongoing controversy is whether the process can be conducted without fraud.

A possible glitch may have created the opposite. Some voters, in Bridgeport in particular, reported they hadn’t received a mail-in ballot after returning an application from the state. The evidence so far is anecdotal and the numbers not known.

The mass mailings of applications and ballots was handled by a third-party mail house hired by Secretary of the State Denise Merrill. But state Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano said Wednesday town clerks are questioning the process and he requested state Attorney General William Tong investigate “whether the proper labeling and security features were followed, and whether clerks received appropriate notice of who in their towns were receiving which applications.”

This is a reasonable request and should be addressed so that either the process can be fixed or concerns can be allayed.

Further, Fasano is also concerned that pre-stamped envelopes containing ballots mailed on election day won’t be postmarked and therefore counted. It would seem Lamont can give registrars leeway on the postmark if the envelopes are received by Thursday.

Overall, Tuesday’s primaries show promise that voting in a pandemic can work, with fine-tuning, for the all-important Nov. 3 election that will attract a far greater volume.

Though controversial, mail-in voting proved popular in the primary with nearly 300,000 absentee ballots issued by the state — 10 times the typical total.