Is Conn. ready to finally make voting easier?
Connecticut’s absentee ballot laws are restrictive and archaic; and keep many people from voting. Connecticut’s constitution currently allows a voter to vote by absentee voting only under very strict circumstances — but what if you work two jobs and can’t
In the coming weeks, the General Assembly will vote on two important resolutions that could place constitutional amendments on the ballot in November 2022 on early voting and no excuse absentee balloting in our future elections. Unlike Georgia which recently adopted a new law to make it harder for voters to cast their ballots, Connecticut can be on the right side of history.
Unfortunately, voter suppression seems to be a top priority for the Republican party nationally. The Georgia law is a poisonous offshoot of baseless conspiracies about voter fraud that were fertilized constantly by former President Donald Trump and his loyalists after decisive losses in the 2020 presidential election and U. S. Senate special elections in Georgia.
However, in Connecticut, we are fighting to make voting accessible and make democracy democratic. The more people who vote, the healthier our democracy.
Connecticut’s absentee ballot laws are restrictive and archaic; and keep many people from voting. Connecticut’s constitution currently allows a voter to vote by absentee voting only under very strict circumstances — but what if you work two jobs and can’t get to a polling place on Election Day? You would be breaking the law if you tried to vote by absentee ballot.
The COVID pandemic forced Connecticut’s hand on temporarily modernizing our absentee ballot process. We mailed ballot applications to every voter in 2020 and allowed everyone the opportunity to vote by absentee due to pandemic concerns. And guess what? People liked it and there was no voter fraud — The State Election Enforcement Commission received no complaints alleging voter fraud after the 2020 election and our voter turnout hit record highs.
To build on that success of increasing voter participation, we have HJ 58, a constitutional amendment that will be put to the voters on allowing “No- Excuse” absentee voting under the state constitution. The amendment would allow the legislature to expand who is eligible to vote by absentee ballot — a chance to make the voting process work for modern life.
Early voting
In addition, HJ 59 proposes another constitutional amendment to authorize the General Assembly create an in- person early voting system for any election or referendum.
We proudly call ourselves “The land of steady habits,” but sometimes that just means slow and behind the times. There are currently 44 states that allow early voting before Election Day. Connecticut finds itself in the company of South Carolina, New Hampshire, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Missouri by requiring inperson voting on Election Day unless the voter has a statutorily defined excuse to vote absentee.
Our absentee ballot reforms during the pandemic have been overwhelmingly bipartisan and I hope that trend continues as we move forward with early voting and no- excuse absentee ballots. Let’s buck the nationwide trend of voter suppression.
Matt Ritter is speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives. He is the state representative from the 1st Assembly District in Hartford. Jason Rojas is House majority leader. He represents portions of East Hartford and Manchester in the state House of Representatives.