Advocates revive push for early voting via amendment

Democrats in legislature back another effort to change the state constitution; Republicans urge caution

HARTFORD — Saying it’s time for Connecticut to join 39 other states, advocates started pushing Tuesday for a rare constitutional amendment to allow early voting.

Unlike most states, Connecticut permits voting in person only on Election Day from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. While the final details are not set, an early voting system could potentially allow voting on the three weekends before Election Day.

Voting would likely only be permitted at town halls in order to curtail the costs from opening every polling place around the state, lawmakers said.

While Democrats in the state House of Representatives and Senate are pushing strongly for the measure, Republicans who have voted against the idea in the past are urging caution and saying state officials instead should be more concerned about voter fraud.

A similar constitutional amendment that was on the ballot in the gubernatorial election year of 2014 failed by 52 percent to 48 percent, but advocates say the wording was unclear and likely misunderstood.

“It was worded very awkwardly,” said Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, a Democrat who is the state’s chief elections officer. “I think they probably didn’t understand it. ... But I don’t know.’’

The precise wording in 2014 was “Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to remove restrictions concerning absentee ballots and to permit a person to vote without appearing at a polling place on the day of an election?”

The proposed wording in 2018 would be “Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to provide a minimum of three days of early voting and to allow all voters to vote by absentee ballot?”

At least 75 percent of legislators in both the state House of Representatives and the Senate would need to approve the measure in order to place the question on the ballot in the high-turnout presidential year of 2020. If they fail to reach that total and gain a simple majority in two separate years, the matter would be pushed off until the November 2022 ballot. Constitutional amendments have been relatively rare in Connecticut in a long, time-consuming process.

The 75 percent goal is difficult because it would require 27 votes in the 36-member Senate and 114 votes in the 151-member House, lawmakers said. Democrats currently have 23 members in the Senate and 92 in the House — short of the threshold in both chambers.

“Before we can have a conversation about changes to our constitution — especially changes which voters already rejected — we need to talk about how to ensure any new system will be protected from fraud,” said Senate Republican leader Len Fasano, of North Haven. “I have concerns about changing the constitution without having a full vision to implement early voting in a way that guarantees fraud cannot occur. I look forward to discussing these concerns with the secretary of the state and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.”

Legislators stressed that no changes can be made until the constitutional amendment is approved by the voters. The long-running process will take years, but advocates say that Connecticut should join Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine and New York in allowing some form of early voting.

Unlike many other states, Connecticut requires a constitutional amendment to deal with early voting. Many other states allow changes under the law by voting in the legislature.

Unlike “no-excuses absentee ballots,” Connecticut currently requires an explanation for why voters cannot be at the polls in order to obtain an absentee ballot. The state constitution mandates that residents must “appear on Election Day” if they do not obtain an absentee ballot.

“Throughout our history access to the ballot box has increased with progressive changes to our laws and Constitution,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, a New Haven Democrat. “Connecticut should take the next step in expanding voter participation and enact early voting as so many other states have done. This expansion of enfranchisement will strengthen our democracy and encourage responsible citizenship.”

Senate majority leader Bob Duff, of Norwalk, said it is “a common-sense issue” that should be approved as part of a broader, pro-voting package that already allows citizens to register to vote online and register on Election Day. “Where other states are restricting voting rights, we’re working to expand voting rights here in the state of Connecticut,’’ Duff said.

The voting rules are important because many elections have been close in Connecticut in recent years. Democrat Dannel P. Malloy, for instance, was elected governor in November 2010 by 6,400 votes in the closest gubernatorial election in 56 years. Democrat Ned Lamont was elected by about 2.5 percentage points over Republican Bob Stefanowski of Madison.

Republicans have called for small, slowmoving changes through the years. They note that permanent absentee ballots were not allowed in Connecticut until 1932, long after the founding of the state.