Voting Rights

"Folks in Connecticut like to brag that their state is one of the leaders in the nation in voter turnout. But those bragging rights belong to others instead. In fact, Connecticut’s voter turnout lagged behind 15 other states in 2020 despite the state’s having the fifth highest level of educational attainment in the U.S. A likely reason for this underperformance: voting is considerably easier in almost every other state than it is here. The good news is that we will soon have a chance to make it much easier for everyone in Connecticut to vote in future elections. On November 8, voters can choose to expand voting access and bring our elections into the 21st century by voting yes on ballot question 1: 'Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to permit the General Assembly to provide for early voting?'" --Diana Evans, State Advisory Board Member, Common Cause in Connecticut

I am writing in support of voting YES on the following referendum question on the ballot in Connecticut on November 8, 2022: “Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to permit the General Assembly to provide for early voting?” Without amending the Constitution, voters who want to vote in person will continue to be restricted to voting on Election Day only. Voting YES results in giving the General Assembly the ability to pass legislation on voting in person on days prior to Election Day. Voting YES does not implement, or specify any parameters for, early in-person voting. Voting YES still provides an opportunity for the public to express its views on any early voting legislation considered by the General Assembly.

Timothy DeCarlo, the Republican registrar for the city of Waterbury, recently warned top election officials in the secretary of the state's office that Fight Voter Fraud is demanding the removal of voters from the rolls on the basis of sometimes flimsy pretenses. "The information that they are including on each voter lacks a great deal of information, especially the 'obituary' that they are including on each voter," DeCarlo wrote during the summer, adding that he was concerned people who are alive could be scrubbed from the rolls because there are 180 new registrars around the state since 2020. In a phone interview, DeCarlo said that there will always be deceased people on voter rolls until proven otherwise through the Social Security Administration; an extensive obituary from a funeral home; or report from a town clerk or the local health department. "Without actual evidence, I just can't take them off," he said. "I need solid evidence and not a one-line from Legacy.com."

Cheri Quickmire, executive director of Common Cause Connecticut, a nonprofit that works for "open, honest and accountable government," said early voting is long overdue in Connecticut. “When we talk with people about this it always sounds to them like a real no-brainier: ‘Of course we should do this,’ and ‘why in the world don’t we have it,’” she said. “We are anticipating that being the case this time at the polling place. People are ready to say that they think we should have early voting.” Quickmire reflected on the failed early voting ballot measure in 2014. “The language of the amendment was very difficult to understand. People didn’t really know what it meant and it became a challenge,” she said. “When people are confused by anything on the ballot, they just ignore it or pass it over, so they did. We have data that shows there were people who voted for (former Democratic Governor Dan) Malloy, but then they just didn’t vote for the question on the ballot.”