Connecticut, A National Leader in Voting Rights! 

CT Secretary of the State Denise Merrill; Cheri Quickmire, Executive Director of Common Cause CT; State Representative Russ Morin; and Karen Hobert Flynn, Vice President of State Operations Common Cause celebrate passing Election Day Registration in Connecticut

In a year where the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has been successful in passing laws restricting voting rights around the country, there is fantastic news from Connecticut.  On Saturday, May 5^th, the State Senate passed a bill providing for Election Day voter registration as well as online registration. The action followed an April 30 vote in the Connecticut House of Representatives. The bill passed in both chambers, largely on party lines with the Democratic majority supporting this important reform. This win was a long time coming and the product of support from Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, Governor  Dannel P. Malloy, House and Senate leaders and the Chairs of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, Representative Russ Morin and Senator Gayle Slossberg. 

Along with expanding voting rights in Connecticut, we must still fight to keep our elections fair and transparent. That is why Common Cause in Connecticut continues to work with policy makers to let them know how damaging the Supreme Court Citizens United decision is to our democracy. The Connecticut General Assembly passed a strong Disclosure bill in May of 2010 after the Supreme Court’s misguided ruling, which allowed corporations to use their profits to spend unlimited amounts of money in elections.   Connecticut’s disclosure bill was a good first step in revealing who is behind these damaging ads, but we need to do more. 

In the last days of the 2012 legislative session, the Connecticut General Assembly is considering a bill to strengthen Connecticut’s Disclose Law to include shareholder notification by corporations who are considering spending profits on advertising to influence our elections. Time is growing short.   UPDATE:  H.B. 5556 passed the State House on Tuesday, May 7th, and needs to be called in the Senate.

Our elected officials need to know that people care about this issue – one call from you makes a big difference! Take action now with a quick call to your legislator and ask that he or she support Raised Bill 5556, An Act Concerning Changes to the Public Financing Act and Other Election Laws.

Find your legislator here.