News Clips

Cheri Quickmire, executive director of Common Cause Connecticut, a voting advocacy group, said Wednesday that she's pleased with the victory. "When faced with the opportunity to strengthen our freedom to vote, people are resoundingly answering in the affirmative," Quickmire said. "We will continue to wait for every vote to be counted and for every voice to be heard, but we are pleased to see such strong support for early voting. These early returns show people from all corners of this state believe everyone should have options when it comes to casting our ballots."

“Voter approval of the early voting amendment is a huge win for Connecticut. Voting should never be an ordeal for any citizen; on November 8 Connecticut made it much easier for citizens to exercise their most fundamental democratic right,” Diana Evans, Common Cause in Connecticut Advisory Board member, said.

“If you go after work, be prepared to wait in line,” said Foster in her soft Jamaican accent, near picnic tables topped with sorrel, ginger beer and palm-sized coconut pies — all of which she made herself. The well-regarded vendor has stayed civically active during her 35 years living in the predominantly Black and Latino city, often finding it helpful to plan in advance for Election Day. Foster, who assists her 96-year-old father to the polls, knows first-hand the difficulties people experience trying to cast ballots, many of which might keep voters away altogether. Some folks work multiple jobs. Trains get delayed. Rush hour traffic clogs the highways. Anything can happen, she said. But Foster didn’t know that early voting was on this year’s ballot — a measure which, if approved, could give people more time to vote in person before Election Day.

"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."