Early Voting is On the Ballot in Connecticut

As voters in many states battle erosion of their voting rights, here in Connecticut expansion of voting rights is moving forward. A question about early voting will be on the ballot on November 8 which reads: “Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to permit the General Assembly to provide for early voting?”

Connecticut is one of only four states without in-person early voting. In Connecticut, election laws are part of the state constitution..

The General Assembly voted to place this question on the ballot four years ago but due to confusing language the ballot measure failed. This year there is a concerted effort to alert voters that a “yes” vote supports the expansion of voting rights to allow for early voting.

Early voting will give voters more opportunities than the 14 hours on election day to cast their ballots. It takes into account that due to work, travel and family schedules there are those who cannot make it to the polls between 8 am and 8 pm on election day.

If the Early Voting question is passed, the legislature will be required to put it in place in time for the 2024 election.

Last year, several other voting rights advances were won in the state legislature including automatic voter registration, restoring voting freedom for people on parole, and no-excuse absentee ballots for 2022.

“At this exact moment in America, state legislatures across the country are actively curbing the right to vote, putting laws in place in the dead of night to undermine democratic rights and attempting to shred the very fabric of our democracy,” said Cheri Quickmire director of Common Cause Connecticut.

“Here in Connecticut,” she said, “we took not just a smart step, but a bold one to move voting rights forward. Automatic voter registration will modernize our voting systems. Restoring voting rights for residents on parole will help ensure that Connecticut turns the page on the policies of the past.”

Last year's session also banned the 230 year practice of “prison gerrymandering,”which gave more power to rural, largely white communities where most prisons are located by counting those in prison, disproportionately Black, as part of the community where the prison is located instead of counting those imprisoned as part of their home communities.